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Needle vending machines in Las Vegas; autonomous tech in Virginia; and, CompStat gets an update in New York City
Government Innovators Network
 
May 25, 2017
In This Issue

What's New

In the News

Data-Smart City Solutions

Better, Faster, Cheaper

 

WHAT'S NEW


Chile's Government Innovation Lab

Innovators Insights Blog

The Chilean government’s innovation lab was formally established in 2015. Since then, it has worked with thousands of civil servants and citizens using an iterative, human-centered design approach to tackle problems in health care, energy, and more. We spoke to its executive director about the lab's mission and how to drive innovation in the public sector. Read>>

New Map of the Month Contest

Submit your map today!

Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation has launched a new initiative to highlight the impactful work being done in the area of data visualization and mapping in the US. We are seeking data visualizations and maps that illustrate, enhance understanding of, or solve a complex problem faced by the public sector. Learn more and submit your map>>

IN THE NEWS


Updated NYPD Anti-Crime System to Ask: ‘How We Doing?’

Soon, the New York Police Department will ask residents how they are doing through apps already installed on their smartphones. An offshoot of the department's CompStat program — a data-driven tool for addressing hot spots for crime — the "sentiment meter" is intended to gauge the areas where police-community relations could be improved. The system will use location technology to send out smartphone ads that contain survey questions along three themes: Do you feel safe in your neighborhood? Do you trust the police? Are you confident in the police department? Responses to the eight-second surveys will be bundled anonymously, and precinct commanders can use real-time measures of public attitudes they receive to change block-by-block deployments or take other steps to address residents' concerns. Policing watchdogs and civil libertarians will be monitoring the rollout.

Las Vegas, Hoping to Stem HIV and Hepatitis, to Get Needle Vending Machines

Las Vegas will soon become the first place in the country to have vending machines that dispense free needles to drug users as part of an effort to reduce the transmission of diseases like HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. The vending machines will dispense kits that contain a box of sterile syringes and needles, along with a compartment for used needles that can be disposed of safely at the machines. In addition, an information sheet about treatment options will be included. The cost of each kit is under $10, but will be free for users. Organizers note that providing free and easy access to clean needles will reduce both the spread of infectious diseases and health-care costs. The effectiveness of traditional needle exchange programs has been widely documented.

Government Is One Step Closer to a One-Stop Shop for FOIA Requesters

The Department of Justice and the General Services Administration’s digital consulting team “18F” are collaborating on a national Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) portal that would save users time by avoiding the need to search each agency's website for its unique request system. The move comes on the heels of last year’s FOIA Improvement Act, which mandates the creation of a centralized portal that is interoperable with current agency request processing software. Around 119 federal agencies are subject to FOIA.

Virginia to Open Autonomous Technology Center

With an eye on a future where automated processes, devices, and eventually vehicles make their way into the marketplace, the commonwealth of Virginia has created a new office geared to managing this transformative change. The Autonomous Systems Center of Excellence will seek to foster business relationships and incentives for unmanned systems, as well as serve as a testing facility for autonomous technology across sectors. Officials believe that Virginia is one of the top states poised to benefit economically from autonomous technology.

In Montréal, Healthcare Meets Big Public Art Collection

In Québec, Canada, the construction of what will be the biggest health center in North America, Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM), will concurrently house the highest concentration of public art in Montréal since the 1967 Expo, with 13 large-scale artworks currently being contemplated. The public art will serve to make the institutional confines of the hospital feel more human-scaled. Québec currently has an ordinance requiring that 1 percent of a public project’s total construction costs be set aside for public art and the CHUM currently has an art budget over $2 million. The first phase of the CHUM will be operational in fall 2017.

DATA-SMART CITY SOLUTIONS


Case Study: Boston’s Citywide Analytics Team

Boston’s Citywide Analytics Team is a group of business analysts, visualization experts, and data scientists based in the city’s Department of Innovation and Technology focused on helping departments solve problems using data. The team united different people and projects working to improve performance and leverage data, and enabled the city to streamline its efforts toward a common vision for a data-driven Boston.

A Better Way to Release Your City’s Data

This post highlights the potential for themed open data releases to catalyze engagement with data and the creation of apps and tools. By facilitating the development of user-friendly platforms and energizing subject-matter experts, themed data releases can deepen the reach of open data.

BETTER, FASTER, CHEAPER


How Government Can Nurture the Nudge

Stephen Goldsmith examines Louisville’s efforts to embed behavioral science into its everyday practices. After teaming up with the UK's Behavioral Insights Team to design letters that encouraged timely payment of parking tickets, the city has incrementally developed its nudging capacity, finding new applications and appointing an in-house nudging expert.

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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