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Welcome to the redesigned Innovators Insights newsletter from the Government Innovators Network.
Government Innovators Network 
 
April 2, 2015
In This Issue

What's New

In the News

Data-Smart City Solutions

Better, Faster, Cheaper

 

WHAT'S NEW


Photo of John Kamensky

Better, Faster, Cheaper

In partnership with Governing.com

John Kamensky observes that by training 100 mid-level staffers as 'Data Fellows,' New Jersey's child-welfare agency has found a formula for improving outcomes. The “Manage by Data” program demonstrates the importance of engaging managers and frontline staff in establishing a model for data-driven management. Read more>>

The Dynamics of Convergence report cover

Human Services Webinar Recording Available

In partnership with Leadership for a Networked World

Our March 25 webinar on "Insights from the 2014 Human Services Summit: Leadership in an Era of Convergence" was designed to help leaders examine convergence and build capacity for the future, and featured case studies from Ohio and Ireland. View recording>>

IN THE NEWS


Pay for Performance Extends to Health Care in Experiment in New York

New York State is participating in a trial in partnership with the federal government that could fundamentally change how health-care providers are compensated when treating Medicaid patients. Under the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment program, disparate providers will be organized into coordinated networks of doctors, hospitals, and other practitioners, and these teams will receive bonuses if the health of their patients improves. These provider teams may eventually be compensated based on outcomes rather than volume of services. While critics have questioned the use of incentive payments for health-care providers, supporters of the experiment observe that the traditional fee-for-service model must change.

New Oregon law will automatically register people to vote

Oregon is the first state to adopt legislation that will automatically register to vote anyone with a new driver’s license. Under the legislation, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles will transfer information to Oregon's secretary of state to update voter rolls. Voters can always opt-out. Officials believe the move will add around 300,000 voters. Critics of the new law point to the potential voter fraud, implementation costs, and whether the DMV can ensure personal information remains secure.

Cambridge offers poets chance to make their mark on sidewalks

Current and aspiring poets in Cambridge, Massachusetts, can have their work inscribed into freshly poured sidewalk locations under a new program designed to grab the attention of pedestrians. Sidewalk Poetry, a collaboration of the Department of Public Works, the Cambridge Arts Council, and the Cambridge Public Library, will seek contestants to submit poems, with winners’ verses indelibly placed throughout the city. Officials note that as most people now look down at their smartphones as they walk, the poems should be highly visible. The program was inspired by a similar ongoing program in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Inviting Patients To Help Decide Their Own Treatment

The University of California-San Francisco is joining a growing number of hospitals in Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington that are formalizing a collaborative process called “shared decision making,” which allows patients and doctors to make health decisions together, taking into account the best scientific evidence available as well as the patient’s values and preferences. UCSF's approach involves distributing literature and media that explain various options for treatment, and pairing patients with college students or recent graduates. These students help the patients draft a list of questions for their provider and take notes during the visit so patients can recall what they learned. While the approach is not new, its increased use is based in part on the new health-care law, and research suggests that it leads to increased patient satisfaction.

New Program Gets Juvenile Offenders Running With The Law

In Virginia, the Winchester-Frederick County court system is allowing juvenile offenders to “run” off their criminal charges. Youth offenders sometimes are too young to participate in traditional community service alternatives because many nonprofit organizations have a minimum age for volunteers. Under the voluntary “Running Strong” program, these youth can meet three times a week for eight to 10 weeks with active law enforcement personnel to run laps together and improve their endurance. Officials hope the new program will provide structure, confidence, and inspiration for those participating.

Community colleges customize offerings for local workforce

Massachusetts continues to reinvigorate its community colleges by retooling their academic and workforce training programs to meet the needs of employers. Supported in part by federal funding from the Department of Labor, students are graduating to fill the specific needs of the Boston area’s high-tech corridor, with programs designed to assist in the expanding fields of life sciences, health care, advanced manufacturing, information technology, and financial services. While the state’s community colleges have traditionally focused their curricula on students transitioning to four-year colleges, the institutions are remaking their programs to fit the immediate hiring needs of the region as well as to assist local companies in training their existing employees.

DATA-SMART CITY SOLUTIONS


Why Benchmarking Matters for Open Data

How other cities’ progress should factor into your transparency efforts. Only by looking at one another can cities gain exposure to new ideas and technologies, identify relative weaknesses, and assess how well they’re doing — insights that are particularly valuable in an ambitious undertaking like an open data initiative.

BETTER, FASTER, CHEAPER


A Chance to Get Sports Teams Out of Taxpayers’ Wallets

Tax-exempt bonds were designed to help governments build infrastructure by reducing borrowing costs, but political leaders routinely use them to benefit privately-owned sports franchises. There would be a number of beneficiaries of doing away with the practice, but taxpayers would be the biggest winners of all.

ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER


Innovators Insights is the news digest from the Government Innovators Network on the latest in government innovations. This digest is sent out every two weeks and is compiled and written by the editorial staff of the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School. In each issue, the editorial team identifies top policy and programmatic news that is related to government innovations so that you can stay informed about creative government at its best.

Editor: Jessica Engelman
Researcher & Writer: Brendan St. Amant
Note: The stories in this newsletter link to source articles on other websites and may not be available after a certain length of time.



ABOUT THE ASH CENTER


The Roy and Lila Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards, the Center fosters creative and effective problem solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world's citizens. The Ford Foundation is a founding donor of the Center. Additional information about the Ash Center is available at http://ash.harvard.edu.

 
 
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