Tech

All Politics Are Local, Does That Apply To Email Too? – Plus Your Weekend Reads!

The phrase, “All politics is local” is a common phrase in politics, coined by former Speaker of the U.S. House Tip O’Neill. The message is simple, a politician’s success is directly tied to his ability to understand and influence the issues of his constituents. The same is true for email. You have to target yourRead… Read more »

Design Dilemma, Why Mapping the Future Matters

Every summer, my family would load into our minivan and journey more than 21 hours to my grandparents house in Denver, Colorado. As you can imagine, 21 hours in car with four younger brothers is a nightmare. The only way I was able to distract myself, was to track our progress on the massive nation-wideRead… Read more »

NEC Corporation of America Joins IJIS Institute as Sustaining Member

Leading technology provider of strategic IT and communications solutions latest to join prestigious member class Ashburn, VA (February 5, 2014). The IJIS Institute—a nonprofit organization that focuses on mission-critical information sharing and safeguarding for justice, public safety, and homeland security—announces that NEC Corporation of America has joined the Institute as a Sustaining Member. An IJISRead… Read more »

How Cancer Research UK is using mobile gaming to conduct medical research

Recently the World Health Organisation announced that cancer had overtaken heart disease as the number one killer of Australians, as well as being the number one killer of people globally. The WHO had another message as well. That cancer was a largely preventable disease. Humans have lots of medical data about cancer. With millions ofRead… Read more »

Open Gov Defined – More Than A Noun, A Verb Of Gov Transformation

If you ask 20 people to define open government, you will get 20 different responses. The lack of uniformed definitions makes implementing open government services very difficult. It would be like asking a pastry chef to bake a cherry pie and then providing 20 different recipes. The chef would have no idea which pie youRead… Read more »

The SAPLING Approach to Leveraging Social Media

Everybody’s doing it. Should you? Are you trying to decide whether to create a stronger digital presence? Have you dabbled with social media but aren’t sure what to do next? Have you experimented with different tools and technologies and find you’re disappointed by the results? If you (or someone you know) can answer “yes” toRead… Read more »

Surviving the Next Skill Wave as Public Employees

NPR recently posed the following question: Do we all need to learn how to code software? According to the article, both Democrat and Republican leaders have expressed a desire to make programming a core skillset, placing it on equal footing with reading, math, and foreign language training. “Becoming literate in code is as essential toRead… Read more »

Tailor-Made: How GIS is Powering Innovation for Global Aid

As organizations continue to collect, manage and create more data than ever before, administrators are looking for innovative ways to unlock insights and value from data. In the global aid sector, there is a dire need for improved transparency and program evaluation through data. In many cases, GIS and data is the key to meetingRead… Read more »

Say Goodbye to Long DMV Lines, Forever

In 2003, I had a single-minded focus, get my drivers license. Like most 16 year olds, getting my license meant freedom, and I was ready to take any measure necessary to achieve the open road. But one thing stood in my way, the dreaded DMV. I can remember vividly waiting in line for over fourRead… Read more »

Patients Like Me

For over five years now, I’ve mentioned Patients Like Me in nearly all of my “digital engagement” related speeches. It is one of my favourite examples of big data used to improve actual lives. What is it? An online social network dedicated primarily to chronically ill patients. How does it work? Patients fill out theirRead… Read more »