If government truly wants to transform digital services and effectively serve the public at scale, it must start with how it attracts and retains top technology talent.
For and with the people: An introduction to government digital service
As the general public increasingly expects the civic user experience to be as refined as the ones we have with our consumer electronics, digital service delivery has become a priority for governments locally and globally.
Liquid democracy: Blockchains and governance in the post nation-state era
Intrigued by what Democracy Earth Foundation is doing to leverage the power of blockchain to empower a different approach to democracy, I asked the team to share more about its work.
GovFresh Q&A: New Accela CEO Gary Kovacs
Gary Kovacs is the new chief executive officer of Accela, a provider of cloud-based government productivity solutions. We asked Kovacs to share his perspective on various aspects of the government technology landscape, and where he sees Accela’s role in all this.
Newsom proposes new California Office of Digital Innovation for 2019-20 budget
California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed a new Office of Digital Innovation as part of the state’s 2019-20 budget with initial start-up costs of $36.2 million and 50 positions. The proposal also includes an innovation academy and $20 million innovation fund.
Newsom’s first-day executive order prioritizes government technology procurement reform
California Governor Gavin Newsom wasted no time on his first day in office addressing what many see as the most critical — albeit bureaucratic — issue impacting the state’s government technology challenges: procurement.
The security book everyone in government must read in 2019
If we’re ever going to get security right, technologists must embrace the need for policy and government leaders must do the same with technology, which is why Bruce Schneier’s Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-connected World is the 2019 must-read book for every government leader, elected and administrative.
Canada adopts open source mandate for government software
The Government of Canada has issued an information technology directive on business, information, application, technology and security architectures that includes a mandate to prioritize open source software.
Governmental digital: A framework for scalable, sustainable digital government services
Given its nascency, however, for now we must continue to use the phrase ‘digital government services’ to define both informational and transactional online activities, and provide a framework for public sector success into the future.
U.S. Defense Department escalates commitment to open source software
The U.S. Defense Department is escalating its commitment to open source software with a proactive push for agency participation to publicly share custom-developed code.
‘Government Digital’ with Canada CIO Alex Benay
Alex Benay is the Chief Information Officer Government of Canada and an open and relentless advocate for digital government innovation. He is also the author of the new book, “Government Digital: The Quest to Regain Public Trust,” so we asked him to share his thoughts on the role of the CIO, Canada’s proactive move to technology modernization, and what it means for government to go digital.
How Marquis Cabrera avoided ‘being a knucklehead’ and became a champion of global government innovation
Marquis Cabrera is extremely insightful on many topics, a great thinker, conversationalist and intelect that brings a sense of humor, humility, genuine purpose and passion much needed in government technology.
Kiba Gateaux on how blockchain can facilitate peace
Kiba Gateaux shares his thoughts on the role blockchain can play in making the world a more “hospitable and prosperous place for everyone,” and how others can get involved.
California releases state government website standards
The California Department of Technology has published unified design standards and accompanying resources for official state government websites.
Hudson Hollister and government open data leadership
As he steps down from his role as executive director of the Data Coalition, Hudson Hollister reflects on the organization he founded and shares his insights, appreciation and advice to the open data community at large.
Inclusive government forms
Governments must take a proactive lead on inclusivity, making all members of the communities they serve feel welcome in their interactions with them. Being mindful of these identity-related form fields, opting out of their use when they are irrelevant, is a critical step towards showing government is for everyone.
Building software for better public meetings
Traditional government meetings software, used to publish agendas, minutes, and livestream and archive videos, are in dire need of a modern, affordable upgrade.
‘Regulatory Hacking’: How startups and governments can work together to change the world
To win in the Regulatory Era, founders, funders, executives, and policymakers will need to get smart about regulatory hacking.
Rethinking personas in government
Effective use of personas must be taken seriously when designing truly inclusive public services.
California issues open source, code reuse policy
The California Department of Technology has set a new standard for state government technology offices, releasing an open source and code reuse policy “to better support cost efficiency, effectiveness, and the public’s experience with government programs.”
Podcasting local government dysfunction
Tear It Down is local government’s S-Town.
Should government #DeleteFacebook?
It’s now time for public leaders to familiarize themselves with Facebook’s government terms and conditions and learn more about — and appreciate — data governance issues, starting with General Data Protection Regulation.
Serving California: Angie Quirarte
Angie Quirarte is a behind-the-scenes hero for the state of California, leading on issues such as public sector workforce recruitment and retention, public data, creating a user-friendly government, improving internal government processes and more.
How government can enable peace through entrepreneurship
In “Peace Through Entrepreneurship: Investing in a Startup Culture for Security and Development,” former State Department staffer Steven Koltai makes the case that world peace can best be achieved through nonmilitary means, especially entrepreneurship that leads to global job creation.
Benchmarking U.S. government websites
Earlier this year, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation published an assessment of federal government websites that includes rankings around page load speeds, mobile friendliness, Domain Name System Security Extensions, Secure Sockets Layer and accessibility.
A few ways to fix a government
IBM Research Manager Charity Wayua’s “A few ways to fix a government” talk is an inspirational example of how government (and its partners) can — when tasked with goals and measurable results — leverage user and data analytics research to successfully create better results for those it serves.
‘10% Happier’ government
I’ve listened to several “10% Happier with Dan Harris” podcasts recently, and there are several great ones that feature leaders in politics, law enforcement, corrections, the judiciary and military.
Telling Detroit’s stories
Aaron Foley is Detroit’s first chief storyteller, appointed by Mayor Mike Duggan in April 2017, to help the city go beyond formalized bureaucratic communications and public relations and share the stories that don’t always get heard.
Podcast: Civics 101
The episodes focus on a single topic or institution — such as gerrymandering, lobbying, nuclear codes, National Secretary Council, Department of State — and interviews an expert with each lasting about 15 minutes.
Government comics
For public communications and engagement enthusiasts, Government Issue is a great coffee table book and perhaps point of inspiration for government leaders to re-think how to better communicate with constituents.