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Welcome to the redesigned Innovators Insights newsletter from the Government Innovators Network.
Government Innovators Network 
 
January 15, 2015
In This Issue

What's New

In the News

Better, Faster, Cheaper

 

WHAT'S NEW


Data-Smart City Solutions

An Ash Center Project

Boston's Problem Properties Task Force is notable for its effectiveness. Not only does the program deliver clear social value to the communities it serves, it also saves the city money in the long term by targeting properties before situations worsen—and become more expensive.

Free Webinar: The Challenge of Performance Leadership

Harvard Kennedy School

Join Bob Behn, author of The PerformanceStat Potential, for an online discussion of how to approach the challenge of performance leadership on January 22 at 1 pm EST. For more information and to register, click here.

IN THE NEWS


New York teens will have new say in city’s government

To foster greater civic engagement among their youth, some communities are giving teenagers a voice in the decisions of community boards. Recently, New York City began allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to join 59 boards that oversee public policy issues such as zoning changes, liquor license applications, and city budgeting. Aside from grooming future community leaders, the move will help leaders factor in the perspectives of a younger generation. Critics are concerned the programs undermine the authority of the boards.

S.F. starts up Internet portal for startups

To help small businesses navigate the complex municipal regulatory process, San Francisco has launched the San Francisco Business Portal, a one-stop web shop that brings together business registration, permitting, and license information together into a single user-friendly city website. The resource also provides new business owners with introductory information and lessons learned on starting a business, as well as “starter kits” on topics such as hiring, managing and growing a business, disaster preparedness, going green, and winding up a business. The portal is a product of the city’s Department of Technology, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and the Office of Small Business, among other agencies, and took two years to develop.

Border patrol experiments with GPS to track immigrants caught at border

The US Department of Homeland Security is using GPS-enabled ankle bracelets to keep track of some immigrants caught crossing the border illegally. Under the new pilot program, known as RGV 250, the Department will eventually track 250 “heads of household” caught traveling with their families in the Rio Grande Valley who are released into the country with orders to report to immigration officials. Once those immigrants arrive and report as ordered, officials may remove the tracking device. Officials note that further adoption of this alternative to detention is cheaper than placing immigrants in custody.

Pilot Program Shows Hope For Preventing Wrong Way Wrecks

Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise is engaged in a high-tech effort to prevent wrong-way crashes on the state’s highways. The state is installing radar-enabled wrong way signs and cameras on 15 highway interchanges in South Florida. The signs detect when a driver is proceeding the wrong way and flashes lights to warn them. If the driver continues to proceed, the cameras take a picture of the vehicle and alert the Florida Highway patrol. Warning messages will also appear on the highway to caution proximate motorists. Officials have recorded several incidents where the signs have lit up and wrong way drivers corrected their heading.

Maryland launches app to help users avoid drunken driving

To combat drunken-driving incidents, the Maryland Highway Safety Office has developed a new smartphone app that enables users who have been drinking to determine how inebriated they are, and that encourages them to hail a ride home rather than drive their vehicles. The ENDUI or “End DUI” app lets users enter their gender, weight, number and types of alcoholic drinks they have had and the timeframe for them, and then estimates blood alcohol content. Users can also play interactive games to test their reaction time and cognitive sharpness, and use the app to call designated friends or cab companies for rides home. The app is available for Android and iPhones.

Manhattan Beach Library will have a state-of-the-art book sorter, first in Los Angeles County Library System

The Manhattan Beach Library will soon have one of Los Angeles County’s first automatic book-sorting machines. Patrons will drop books into an ATM-like box that will scan the books, check them back in to the system, and take them along conveyor belts to be sorted into bins for books bound for other branches, for the hold shelf, or for return to the stacks. The system will free up time for staff to help patrons utilize the library’s resources, as well as allow patrons to have their books checked in instantly.

BETTER, FASTER, CHEAPER


Is this Camden's Chance for a Comeback?

The latest effort to resuscitate the New Jersey city isn't relying on tax giveaways alone; state and local officials are pairing state enticements with a focus on fixing some of the city's underlying problems.

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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