Signal
What's on our radar.
DISA kicks off overhaul of federal background checks
The Defense Information Systems Agency has released a series of videos and request for information for the National Background Investigation System, created in the wake of security incidents that lead to data breaches of millions of federal government employees and contractors.
The seeds of a federal government software-as-as-service digital platform?
With the release of a new identity management platform, 18F is slowly culling together all the requisite pieces for an easy-to-deploy, cloud-based federal government web management platform.
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.
Transforming government without ego
Many of us are attracted to practices that move us towards that place of intense joy that comes from being present. In my field, technology, both Free and Open Source development and agile practices have offered me, and many others, a path towards a similar joy.
Driving smart city innovation with open sensor data (part 2)
You can accomplish many smart city goals in a timely and inexpensive manner by exploring options for leveraging an existing infrastructure of low-tech, collaborative information and communication technologies like mobile phones, social media, online platforms and low-cost sensor kits, before making hefty new technology investments.
Why open source matters for government and civic tech (and how to support it)
The Open Knowledge Foundation and University of Cambridge recently published a must-read and circulate widely report on why open source software matters for government and civic tech and how to support it.