One of my favorite quotes is: “ Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead The first edition of Britannica Encyclopedias appeared in Scotland in 1768. In 11 years a group of Internet volunteers has ended the 244Read… Read more »
Chicago parents have a new tool for understanding the public school selection process: Chicago Public School Tiers, an app launched last week by Open City. The application is a perfect example of how independent civic developers can use open data to improve complicated yet important public processes; an approach that Code for America supports byRead… Read more »
When most of us think about technology we think about huge projects and big sweeping changes. Maybe it’s the fact that over the last 20 years we’ve seen technology move at what seems like light speed and revolutionize most of our day to day lives but make no mistake about it technology development is aRead… Read more »
Recently I met another civil engineer who works for a county in the State of Washington. He contacted me through the virtual world of Second Life where he is known as Jered Spitteler. Jered works for a county in the state of Washington and has been building a model in Second Life of one ofRead… Read more »
Cloud computing is taking the business and government world by storm. Just like anything else new, it’s uncharted waters and guidelines and best practices are hard to come by. Of course the federal government has the NIST standards and the FedRAMP programs to guide the way on cloud services and acquisitions, but what about stateRead… Read more »
What’s the best way for cities to signal that they’re the place for technology startups to set up shop? Cities are making bold moves this year: This year New York City began developing a new applied sciences campus. This month, Chattanooga launched a “GeekMove” program which would pay tech startups to relocate to the cityRead… Read more »
In these difficult economic times local governments need to be more innovative in how they operate. Local governments will not be able to cut their way out of their current budget crisis, instead they will have to find ways of delivering services that are smarter, faster and cheaper. Creativity and innovation are needed in localRead… Read more »
A few years ago when I first started learning about social media and sharing examples in Federal, state and local government, one of the examples I used to show the power and potential of wikis was Davis, CA. Several citizens had created a wiki which became the de facto place to find information about theRead… Read more »
Ohio is pushing forward on a ten-fold boost to its broadband network speeds. In an event today that included Governor Kasich and researchers from Ohio State, University of Cincinnati, Summa Western Reserve Hospital and Case Western Reserve University officials outlined the state’s plan to become a world leader in medical research. Ohio is launching theRead… Read more »
Boston Massachusetts Mayor Thomas Menino has led the charge among urban Mayors for a “new era of shared innovation,”. To back up his push for more innovation in government, Menino in 2010 created the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, to focus on exploring and implementing innovations that enhance City services and operations. “The Mayor’sRead… Read more »