Read the Declaration of Independence

An Act of Treason; Not a Law The Declaration of Independence was more a process than a moment in history. This act of treason against an empire sparked the Revolutionary War and, eventually, the United States of America. It is not, and has never been, a law, but it is worth reading. This week, AmericansRead… Read more »

How to Organize a Hack Night

Last Thursday, the Code for America Brigade hosted a Hangout to discuss best practices for starting up and running a hack night. Panelists included: Mark Headd, chief data officer for the City of Philadelphia; Juan-Pablo Velez, organizer of weekly open government hack night in Chicago; and Brigade Captains Michelle Koeth (Code for NoVA), Chris AlfanoRead… Read more »

Half Empty or Half Full?

A recent GAO report on the executive branch’s approach to new requirements in the Government Performance and Results Act recommends that “OMB improve the implementation of the act.” But a sub-theme in the report describes how agencies are actually building a long-term, solid foundation for a performance-driven government. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is requiredRead… Read more »

Constraints are Killers for IT Projects

After working on information technology projects for many years, I’m here to declare what may be obvious — it’s not the technology that’s the problem, it’s the constraints. Software and hardware technology keeps improving, and offers many innovations that can dramatically change how government and business work. But the constraints remain intractable. Project management literatureRead… Read more »

What is the Future of the Channel?

by Skip Liesegang, Vice President, Partners, Programs, and Alliances. What is going to have real impact on your future channel success? Here are a few things I’m seeing that could impact the Channel particularly in the public sector markets: Will the continued movement to Software as a Service (SaaS) or subscription based services affect yourRead… Read more »

How The U.S. Government Can Accelerate The Impact Economy

Originally appeared in Forbes in partnership with the Skoll World Forum. Click here for the original article. Written by: Shrupti Shah, Ross Rocketto, and Rob Terrin Momentum is building for government to play a larger role in the impact economy, the ecosystem where social entrepreneurs who have sustainable business models to generate both profit andRead… Read more »

Libraries For Democracy Seeks Funding

The following message was submitted by NCDD member Michael Baldwin of Libraries for Democracy via the Add-to-Blog form… Dear Friends and Colleagues, In 2011, I created Libraries For Democracy (LFD) for the purpose of providing factual, non-partisan, information and political tools citizens need to reclaim American democracy. LFD is a unique, free, information service thatRead… Read more »

Solar Roadways, Bike Paths, and Parking Lots

For the past few years, Solar Roadways has been working on developing solar panels as surface materials for roadways. Today the company posted the video below on their Facebook page. In it Scott Brusaw summarizes their work to date and looks ahead to the future. In the past, the company seemed to primarily focus onRead… Read more »

What I Learned Before My Summer Vacation

If anyone ever tells you you’re too old to skateboard, maybe you should listen to them. Then again… that’s not exactly what I would do.. or what I did. So, on April 26, 2013, I hit a milestone on an epic journey that began almost five years before, with all the thinking that went intoRead… Read more »