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.
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.”
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.
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.
San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon on dresses, roses and personal empowerment
San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon has an inspiring interview with the The California Report on her personal style, what it re-enforces and the sense of empowerment it gives her.
AgileGovCon 2017
Public service leaders wanting to learn more about agile project management and its specific applications to government can register (free) for AgileGovCon 2017.
6 charts to help entrepreneurs and investors understand the business opportunity in government
e.Republic has published a series of graphs that provide an overview of the state and local government market, and it’s a great reference for investors and entrepreneurs trying to better understand the business potential.
It starts at the park: Local governments lead the way in drone advocacy and regulation
Drone use is the next frontier and integration to the concept of a “Smart City,” a notion that describes how local governments are integrating multiple information and communication technology (ICT) and Internet of things (IoT) solutions to manage a city’s assets.
Certifying city innovation
Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Work Cities initiative announced a new certification program that rewards achievements and provides “a clear path to excellence.”
Hope, change and tech
There are moments in one’s life when you know everything has changed.
Voterheads wants to make it easier for you to follow government council meetings
Voterheads lets anyone keep track of any council meeting, down to the specific topic. CEO Karl McCollester shares how they’re making this possible.
Transforming U.S. government services in a digital world
18F has developed a framework for how it helps agencies with digital transformation efforts and has created a deck that offers a blueprint for others looking to do this on their own.
e.Republic announces top 100 government technology companies for 2017
Government Technology and e.Republic Labs announced the 2017 GovTech100, “a listing of the leading 100 companies focused on government as a customer, having developed an innovative or disruptive offering to improve or transform government, or having created new models for delivering services.”
Neighborly inspiration from CEO Jase Wilson
Neighborly CEO Jase Wilson is an inspiring entrepreneur working to change how public projects are funded.
The power of digital governments around the globe
With the advent of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, smart sensors and the Internet of Things, the digital and physical worlds have become more integrated than ever.
Passive intelligence for government
Every government wants to use data to make better decisions.
Transforming digital government
Earlier this year, 18F released a preliminary report on “what makes modern digital practices ‘stick’ within a government entity.”
Nudging residents to better engagement
“Behavioral Insights for Cities” offers anecdotes into how governments can improve constituent engagement by implementing smarter messaging and design into print collateral, email, texts and online interactions.
Obama ‘Wired’
President Obama served as guest editor for the November issue of Wired, and the entire print issue is worth investing in. Here are articles that might be of interest to those of you focused more on the civic and government technology fronts.
Getting out the vote
Make sure you’re registered to vote.
Driving smart city innovation with open sensor data (part 5)
While there is much technology that can be sifted into must-have, nice-to-have and maybe-someday categories without a negative impact on smart city advancement, there are a few basic pieces of technology cities will need in order to extract value from the real-time data that has already begun to flow through smart cities.
The government technology pitch
Crisis has a history of dictating government technology disruption. But innovators don’t wait for crises.
Bay Area cities team with startups to solve civic problems, scale government innovation
Bay Area cities San Francisco, Oakland, West Sacramento and San Leandro teamed with startups this year as part of the Startup in Residence program to “explore ways to use technology to make government more accountable, efficient and responsive.”
Driving smart city innovation with open sensor data (part 4)
While it is commonly acknowledged that cities today produce massive amounts of data, it is less often noted that much of the data referenced is not actually produced directly by city systems, but rather by cities’ ecosystems of partners in domains such as transportation, waste and water management and energy services.