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This week: our new blog; contesting parking tickets via Skype; and finding money in Copenhagen's trashcans
Government Innovators Network 
 
November 19, 2015
In This Issue

Feature: New Government Innovators Network Blog

What's New

In the News

Data-Smart City Solutions

Better, Faster, Cheaper

globe

New blog from the Government Innovators Network

Join the conversation!

Our new Government Innovators Network blog explores the challenges of innovating in the public sector today. Recognizing that dedicated public servants are under pressure to do more with increasingly limited resources, and to be more effective and efficient, we've launched this blog to explore the innovative thinking, strong leadership, and culture change that allows for experimenting with new ideas and programs. Read more>>

 

WHAT'S NEW


School Design Competition

Application deadline: December 6, 2015

The Mind Trust is hosting its inaugural School Design Competition to bring together passionate educators, entrepreneurs, innovators, and designers to identify truly break-the-mold school models. The winner will receive a $50,000 grant to further develop their plan for submission to The Mind Trust's full Charter School Design Challenge. Learn more>>

 

J-PAL State and Local Innovation Initiative

(Photo: Tupungato/Shutterstock.com)

Join the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab on December 9 for a webinar to present its new State and Local Innovation Initiative, which supports state and local leaders in using randomized evaluations to generate new and widely applicable lessons about which programs work, which work best, and why. Register>>

IN THE NEWS


Can Cities Crowdsource the Chief Data Officer Position?

Long Beach, California, is “crowdsourcing” the position of Chief Data Officer prior to deciding whether it should appropriate scarce monies to hire a single individual. Under the experiment, the city will open up much of its municipal data to allow its engaged, data-driven citizens to act as a Chief Data Officer without the financial risk that actively hiring one entails. The goals of the experiment include identifying high-value data that benefits citizens, supporting the cleaning and formatting of open data, and presenting open data insights to citizens via mobile and web apps. While potential drawbacks may include the need to cultivate ongoing crowdsourcing, and speed and efficiency might suffer, officials note that the idea presents a low-stakes scalable option for small cities that allows them to test-drive the potential position.

City lets out-of-state drivers contest parking tickets via Skype

Boston has unveiled a new program that allows those who live outside of Massachusetts to contest their parking citations remotely. Using the video chat tool Skype, parking supervisors can speak online to out-of-state persons who have provided all relevant documentation beforehand. To qualify, the person and the vehicle must reside outside of Massachusetts. At least five ticket appeals using Skype have occurred so far. The city believes it is the first in the nation to provide this service.

Finding Money in Copenhagen's Trash Cans

To assist residents who sift through trash bins looking for cans and bottles to return for a deposit, Copenhagen, Denmark, is now testing out a trashcan model that works much like the receptacles many use to separate their own recyclables. Under the program, the city has installed trashcans with external shelves to make items eligible for a deposit refund easily accessible to those who want to retrieve them. Officials note that the program has the twin benefits of both making life easier for those who sort through receptacles and making the city cleaner.

In San Francisco, Poor Families Will Get Help Paying For Diapers

On November 1, San Francisco became the first in the nation to subsidize diapers for residents who receive benefits through the state's assistance program. Diapers are a valuable commodity for poor mothers, who sometimes have to keep babies in the same diaper until they get rashes, reuse dirty diapers, or decide not to leave the house because they do not have diapers. Families in the program bring in less than $13,000 a year, including food stamps, and officials estimate that about 1,300 of those families will qualify for the diaper subsidy.

Buffalo Entices Start-Ups to Relocate With $5 Million Contest

Buffalo has joined a growing number of regions that are using business competitions as economic development tools. The city has recently completed the largest business-idea contest in the nation, 43North, which is a public-private initiative that is awarding over $5 million in prize money to start-ups, helping to both retain and attract new ventures. In return, the company gives 43North a 5 percent equity stake and commits to keeping its doors open in Buffalo for at least one year. Organizations in Pittsburgh, Detroit, Nevada, Alaska, and Wisconsin are also using these competitions to increase local entrepreneurship.

Pilot program offers free air quality sensors to New York City nail salons

In January 2016, New York City will begin installing air quality sensors in some nail salons to monitor the environment where people work. Chemicals in nail salons can sometimes lead to eye and lung irritation, kidney damage, or birth defects. Officials state that volunteers can install small sensor chips in their lamps that test air quality and feed the information to health officials, and salon owners and workers, for monitoring. About 30 salons are expected to take part in the pilot.

DATA-SMART CITY SOLUTIONS


Lessons in Summer Jobs Plus

Cities across the United States are turning traditional summer jobs program into targeted interventions for disconnected youth. A new generation of summer jobs programs offers us lessons about how to use them strategically.

BETTER, FASTER, CHEAPER


A Simple (But Hard) Way for Governments to Stay Out of Pension Trouble

Unrealistic assumptions about investment returns make it all too easy to fall into a hole. Chicago's fiscal 2016 budget is like a cautionary tale about what happens when state and local governments fail to deal with long-festering pension 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.

 
 
Copyright 2015 THE PRESIDENT & FELLOWS OF HARVARD COLLEGE