There has been quite a bit of conversation about empathy over the past few years. Studies show its benefits in improving relationships, team dynamics and the social development of our children. At the same time, a body of research reveals that empathy often fails when needed most, like after large scale disasters and with peopleRead… Read more »
New logos are far from easy. Government agencies may feel like they have it easier than global brands are so closely tied with their logos. In our online, social, attention-strapped world, a strong, memorable logo can help an agency connect with constituents, gain credibility, and accomplish its goals. A well-conceived, beautiful logo and a thoughtful process that makesRead… Read more »
After slogging through the Great Recession, cities are making a comeback in a big way. Residents have been flocking to urban areas across America to take advantage of jobs, parks, convenience and amenities. Population growth in large cities exceeded 1% on average from 2010 – 2013, and cities gained more residents in the first few yearsRead… Read more »
Federal agency and department presence on social media varies widely—some have multiple accounts on various platforms while others have just a page or two that is updated infrequently. I wanted to find out what makes some sites more useful than others, so I set out to look at as many federal social media pages asRead… Read more »
Understanding online behaviour In March, the results of research into how New Zealanders manage their online identity were published by Professor Miriam Lips, the first Professor of E-Government at Victoria University of Wellington. The research revealed some interesting aspects of online behaviour. To start, you’ll want to check out the report, which is titled “KiwisRead… Read more »
“So, what exactly do you do at City Hall?” This question is always asked at conferences, events, or at parties. Usually as a precursor or follow-up to my elevator pitch — “I’m a civic innovator, I bring best practices and new ways of thinking to City Hall operations. I work on special projects relating toRead… Read more »
Before beginning my detail here at the beginning of July, I had visions of what it would be like working at the Innovation Lab at the Office of Personnel Management (also known as the Lab at OPM). I had been to its ‘Introduction to Human-Centered Design’ training, and I had reveled in the couches, whiteRead… Read more »
Lauded as the “last honest newsman” by some and decried as a tool of the Obama administration by others, whether you like him or not, Jon Stewart has long been one of the country’s most influential political comedians. Over the last 16 years, Jon Stewart has welcomed many government agency big shots into the interview hot seat on The Daily Show. ThoughRead… Read more »
When I walked into a breakout session titled “SharePoint: Best Practices,” at the 2015 Next Generation of Government Summit, I’m pretty sure I was the only person in the room who had no idea what SharePoint even was. But the Department of Defense’s Gary Cage and Christine Frost, alongside the FDIC’s Russell Maltempo gave meRead… Read more »
Welcome to the second installment of this series on Congressional action that could impact federal customer experience (CX). As I said in my first post, the purpose of this series is to help federal CX advocates track bills that could impact federal CX. That way, we can suggest improvements, help good ideas become law, andRead… Read more »