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This week: car-sharing for the poor; the intersection of data analytics, regulation, and public health and safety; and bringing the arts to bear on social challenges
Government Innovators Network 
 
August 27, 2015
In This Issue

What's New

In the News

Data-Smart City Solutions

Better, Faster, Cheaper

 

WHAT'S NEW


Stephen Goldsmith

Better, Faster, Cheaper

In partnership with Governing.com

Increasingly, cities are moving toward a regulatory regime informed by data analytics that, rather than striving to protect incumbents from competition, attempts to do a better job of protecting health and safety, and to do it at lower costs to taxpayers. Read the article by Stephen Goldsmith>>

raised hands and binary code

#Tech4Democracy

Hosted by the Ash Center

The #Tech4Democracy Showcase and Challenge will give presenters the opportunity to showcase an idea for a new app, web platform, policy, or program that leverages technology to improve the quality of democratic governance. Winners will receive a $5,000 award to help bring their work to the next level. Learn more>>

IN THE NEWS


Pilot program will publicize all FOIA responses at select federal agencies

The Obama administration has unveiled a series of pilot programs that will explore a "release to one, release to all" policy for responding to Freedom of Information Act requests. Currently, federal agencies are only required to publicly share released records that are requested three or more times, while the new policy will remove this threshold. The Justice Department's Office of Information Policy is leading the initiative, which will also be tested out over the next six months within the offices of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the National Archives and Records Administration. If successful in terms of minimal agency cost and burden, the pilot could expand elsewhere within the executive branch.

L.A.'s Bold Plan to Bring Car-Share to the Poor

Los Angeles is unveiling a pilot car-sharing program aimed at steering thousands of residents in poor neighborhoods away from purchasing cars of their own by providing publicly available hybrid or electric cars instead. The program will put 100 such vehicles and more than 100 charging stations in lower-income communities in central Los Angeles. The goal is to recruit thousands of potential car-sharing users to the program, eventually leading to 1,000 privately owned cars being taken off the road, decreasing traffic congestion and vehicle emissions. Residents of more modest means would also spend a smaller share of their paychecks on transportation. The program is a partnership between the city, the California Air Resources Board, and the Shared-Use Mobility Center, a nonprofit based in Chicago.

Innovative pilot program challenges the arts to solve social problems

Beginning this fall, Winston-Salem, NC, will be a pilot site for a Community Innovation Lab that targets social challenges by bringing together diverse stakeholders and integrating artists and artistic practice into the problem-solving process. Representatives from city agencies, churches, cultural organizations, community organizers, business leaders, artists, and nonprofits first hope to develop nontraditional responses to inequities in employment, income, and wealth in the city. The pilot is being spearheaded by EmcArts, with funding from the Kresge Foundation.

State Parks Urge Kids To Unplug And Enjoy The Outdoors

As summer draws to a close, states continue to encourage the digital generation to pursue outdoor activities in their state parks. Maryland, Minnesota, New Mexico, and North Carolina have sponsored trips, conservation programs, and outdoor instruction to educate students about wildlife, ecology, and outdoor sports. Other states have sought to attract teens to their parks by creating conservation job corps programs. States hope that these programs foster active lifestyles as well as encourage appreciation of nature in the young that will hopefully translate into support for parks when they are older.

Reading, writing — and cybersecurity? Digital safety programs sprout up in schools

Cybersecurity is a hot topic, and schools are incorporating it into after-school programs and classroom lessons. For a generation that has grown up with computers and ever-present data breaches, schools are devising methods to teach kids how to navigate the online world in ways that keep them from being a victim of online threats as well as instilling best practices to secure the integrity of their online reputations.

DATA-SMART CITY SOLUTIONS


Customer-Driven Government: How to Listen, Learn, and Leverage Data for Service Delivery Improvement

Engaging the public — and following through on the suggestions they give — can increase not only the quality of government service but the faith of the public that government can listen and respond. Local government can lead the way in listening to citizens and letting them provide solutions.

BETTER, FASTER, CHEAPER


Why Trust in Local Government Should Be Even Higher Than It Is

Far more than the public realizes, innovators are making extraordinary efforts in communities across the US. Local-government leaders are not only striving to innovate in their own municipalities but also are putting a tremendous amount of energy into ensuring that their successful programs are replicable by other cities.

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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