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Local cryptocurrency in Seoul; support for working caregivers in Hawaii; and, financing school improvement in Mexico

Government Innovators Network

 
February 8, 2018
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Ash Center Rated Among Top
University-Affiliated Think Tanks

 

Three Harvard Kennedy School research centers are among those named in the latest edition of the “Global Go To Think Tank Index Report,” produced annually for the past decade by James McGann, director of the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program at the University of Pennsylvania’s Lauder Institute. Read more>>

 

 

WHAT'S NEW


red apple on pile of school books

Financing School Improvement in Mexico

Innovators Insights Blog

In Mexico, 10% of schools lack electricity; in poor states the numbers increase up to 20 or 30%. To improve school infrastructure, the federal government launched a program in 2014 with a unique financing model to get more funds to the schools in a shorter period of time. Read more>>

Los Angeles highway

The Gold (and Silver) Standard for Data-Driven Governance

Better, Faster, Cheaper

Stephen Goldsmith observes that the cities that achieved the top grades in a new certification program from Bloomberg Philanthropies' What Works Cities initiative have important things in common. Read more>>

IN THE NEWS


The World's First Minister of Loneliness

Great Britain has appointed a “minister for loneliness” to devise a national public-private strategy to tackle the largely modern public health problems associated with social isolation. It is estimated that 200,000 older Britons have not had a conversation with a friend or relative in over a month. Lonely persons are more likely to experience dementia, heart disease, depression, and a reduction in lifespan expectancy. As part of the effort, the Office for National Statistics is also establishing a method to measure loneliness.

Local Cryptocurrency Launching in Nowon District of Seoul

The Nowon District of Seoul, South Korea, is launching what is believed to be the first local cryptocurrency, further bringing blockchain-based currency use into everyday commerce. When residents in the district volunteer or make donations, they will earn units of the currency that can be used for transactions between private citizens and a growing number of participating businesses. Users can access the currency through a mobile app or with a card.

Automation Tools Are Enabling Washington DC to Publish Its Laws Much Faster

The District of Columbia, with the help of the nonprofit Open Law Library, is updating and codifying its laws in near-real time under a new pilot. It can often take months to turn enacted session laws into properly formatted legal code. A single DC government codification attorney can now do the entire process in as little as a week using artificial intelligence and natural-language processing. Open Law Library also hopes to unveil tools to allow explanatory documents to be linked with the code to help everyday residents — not just lawyers — navigate the meaning and purpose of the laws they live under. DC passes about 250 code-changing ordinances each year and around 500 ordinances that require annotations to the code.  

Los Angeles Program Seeks to Reduce ER Visits with 'Sober Center'

To reduce the number of unnecessary emergency room visits, the Los Angeles Fire Department has launched the Sobriety Emergency Response (SOBER) pilot program designed to better identify intoxicated patients who need transportation to the city’s sobering center, not an emergency room visit. During a traditional ER visit, emergency responders can sometimes spend up to six hours waiting for the individual to be admitted, preventing them from responding to other calls. Under the one-year pilot, an EMT, nurse practitioner, and caseworker will respond to incidents involving individuals who meet certain criteria. Around 100 people have been transported by the unit to the sobering center since the pilot launched, with the unit averaging four people a day. 

New Hawaii State Program Offers Financial Support to Working Caregivers

Hawaii is launching a program that will provide eligible working family caregivers with financial assistance to help pay for costs associated with caring for their elders. Under the Kupuna Caregivers Program, administered by the Hawaii Executive Office on Aging, working caregivers may apply to receive up to $70 per day to cover the cost of adult daycare, chore services, home-delivered meals, transportation, and other services. The state will collect and analyze data during a six-month program pilot to evaluate demand, provider capacity, and how effective the program is in helping caregivers retain employment and ease financial burden.

Iceland Has Largely Kicked Teen Drinking. What Can It Teach Other Countries?

Over the past two decades, teen drinking and substance abuse in Iceland has dramatically declined as part of a nationwide, federal-state initiative that focuses on societal supports not just individual responsibility. Under “Youth in Iceland,” the country implemented measures such as tiered curfews based on age, the signing of communal pledges by parents to limit parties and increase parental involvement, parental patrols of local neighborhoods, and the expansion of state-funded afterschool sports and leisure activities to keep kids busy and out of trouble. Iceland is now exporting its model to several dozen cities in Europe and at least two counties in West Virginia.

DATA-SMART CITY SOLUTIONS


Smart City Procurement As Open Data in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh's experience with a smart streetlight request for information (RFI) is chronicled and offers insights for other cities. The city received a variety of responses from vendors, and published all 25 proposals as open data to foster open learning and community dialogue.

 

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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