To promote open government, students at the Honors College Think Tank on Transparency and Privacy at the University of Utah recently studied 16 local governments in Utah to determine best practices for keeping local government open. The results of the study will be officially released at a press conference on Wednesday, April 11th. Their workRead… Read more »
By Katherine Parker, Associate Consultant, MPA’12 In early March, we completed a six month engagement with a coalition of seven synagogues along Pennsylvania’s Old York Road and presented our final action plan for the revitalization of the area. Although the project is at an end, it feels much more like a new beginning – withRead… Read more »
Detroit is dealing with a host of financial issues as the city struggles to survive and reinvent itself. As a recent article pointed out: “The city’s badly strapped bus system recently halted late-night service (between 1 and 4 a.m.) and even cut off some routes at 8 p.m. Those buses that do run rarely showRead… Read more »
I’m a big believer in the ancillary benefits of a single big goal. Set a goal that has one clear objective, but as a result a bunch of other things have to change as well. So one of my favourite Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) for an organization is to go paperless. I like theRead… Read more »
Yesterday, Wisconsin, Maryland and the District of Columbia held primary elections. Yes, presidential primaries, but what some people might not realize is that there were many congressional and local positions up for grabs as well. I had a really cool opportunity to play helper bee yesterday at the DC Board of Elections and Ethics, thanksRead… Read more »
I recently discovered The Atlantic Cities website, which provides news on a lot of interesting research and innovative ideas taking place in the world’s cities. Check it out: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/ Please share other local government focused news sites that inspire you.
From Rich Millington, in his post “The Tragic Story Of Hyperlocal Communities“: If we want to build hyperlocal communities, we have to change the way we think about them. This isn’t a technology problem to solve (Facebook-style). Enabling everyone to start a hyperlocal community wont make it happen. This isn’t a content problem to solveRead… Read more »
Kudos to four New York City Councilmembers who are letting residents of their districts have a say in how some discretionary funds are being spent. Joe Moore an Alderman from Chicago has also utilized Participatory Budgeting, which I discussed in a previous blog post. An article in the New York Times highlights how Participatory BudgetingRead… Read more »
On GovLoop I’ve read plenty of anecdotes about cities getting involved in social media, from a local Department of Transportation that responds to inquiries on Twitter to a local power authority dealing with its namesake being used on social. But what cities are best at social media? A study by the University of Chicago recentlyRead… Read more »
The League of Women Voters of Buffalo Niagara sponsored a forum titled Who Needs County Government and Why? The four speakers were: Dr. Joseph Stefko, Director of Public Finance, Center for Government Research, Rochester, NY James Magavern, Esq. Brenda McDuffie, Executive Director, Buffalo Urban League Kenneth Vetter, Executive Director, Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority ARead… Read more »