Two years ago, I had an idea for a podcast that focused on the whole of government, and how big thinkers are re-imagining and changing how civil society operates along the civic spectrum.
Golden State dot-gov
California is on the cusp of ushering in a new era of government digital services, one that our elected leaders can finally align, prioritize and execute on, and prove to the people of the Golden State that our representatives are ready to innovate just as other industries here have done.
Part 2: Re-imagining the California DMV website
It’s been a week since I published my thoughts on re-imagining the California Department of Motor Vehicles website. During that time, the issues I had with not receiving my REAL ID were resolved and the process inspired me to think and prototype a little more on the first iteration.
Re-imagining the California DMV website
I recently visited my local California Department of Motor Vehicles field office to renew my driver license and, because I scheduled an appointment ahead of time, my experience wasn’t the nightmare it’s traditionally made out to be. However, the designer in me couldn’t help but think about how the entire DMV process could be re-imagined, offline and online.
We want you: Recruiting and hiring for government digital services
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.
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.
‘Delivering on Digital’
I finished Bill Eggers latest book, “Delivering on Digital: The Innovators and Technologies That Are Transforming Government,” and highly recommend to public sector technology practitioners, especially governments who don’t have the resources to contract with a high-end consulting firm to build out a holistic strategy on their own.
Driving smart city innovation with open sensor data (part 3)
An odd thing happened in Dehradun, the capital city of the northern state of Uttarakhand, when the city received news that it would receive funding as one of 100 cities chosen to participate India’s $15 billion Smart Cities Mission. Rather than celebrating making the coveted list, the city instead found itself embroiled in a dispute that saw local activists take to the woods to hug trees in protest against Dehradun’s smart city proposal.