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Baltimore partners to provide eyeglasses to disadvantaged students; "Night Mayors" take hold; tackling teacher compensation reform; and learning from data-driven responses to recent hurricanes
Government Innovators Network
 
October 5, 2017
mathematical formula

 

The Formula for Operational Excellence in Government

 

If there were a playbook for more efficient government, would you read it? How about a how-to guide for cutting your city's operating costs by $15 million or $25 million a year? Or a guide to achieving $33 million in process efficiency savings for your state? Three case studies, highlighted in this Better, Faster, Cheaper article and now available in greater detail from Harvard Kennedy School's Operational Excellence in Government project, explain the implementation steps, the key challenges and the driving factors for success. Read more>>

 

 

WHAT'S NEW


apple on textbooks

Rethinking the Role of Seniority in Teacher Compensation

Innovators Insights Blog

Lately, policymakers and education advocates have been experimenting with new tools for improving American public education. However, one area stands out as so fundamental yet so resistant to change that, until recently, many activists had given up on it: teacher compensation reform. That's beginning to change. Read more>>

classroom of adults

Recovering the Public in Public Value: Strategic Management in Government

Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education

During this intensive two-day program in Washington, DC, public managers will examine the role of individual citizens in authorizing, financing, and sparking government action. They will also explore how government can better engage citizens in democratic governance. Session in November. Learn more>>

IN THE NEWS


Boston's Newest Website Uncovers Troubled Rental Properties

With the introduction of a new data clearinghouse website, the city of Boston wants to help prospective tenants make more informed renting decisions. RentSmart Boston, developed through a collaboration between the city’s Department of Neighborhood Development and the Department of Innovation and Technology, has compiled data from 311 service requests and the city's Inspectional Services Division to give users a report on previous issues with the property they are considering. The reports include housing, building, or enforcement violations, and sanitation and civic maintenance requests from up to the past five years. Though available to everyone, the site particularly hopes to reach the more than 150,000 college students that arrive in Boston each fall.

How Free Eyeglasses Are Boosting Test Scores in Baltimore

Recognizing that the persistent gap in reading performance between disadvantaged students and wealthier ones may be due to the deceptively simple problem of poor eyesight, Baltimore has been spearheading an effort to ensure that a greater number of its students receive eye exams and glasses if necessary. Since May 2016, thousands of Baltimore students have been assisted, free of charge, through Vision for Baltimore, a three-year collaboration between nonprofit organization Vision To Learn, the city of Baltimore, and Johns Hopkins University, in which 150 public schools will be visited and over 60,000 students will be screened through a mobile clinic. Data that officials expect to receive from an accompanying study could further categorize some reading deficiencies as a public health issue.

Los Angeles Launches Cyber Lab to Share More Threat Information with Region's Businesses

To help strengthen cybersecurity for Los Angeles businesses and residents alike, the city has launched the LA Cyber Lab, a public-private partnership that will disseminate information and share intelligence on cyber threats between the government and local companies. The first phase of the lab will share data on the one billion security-related events the city’s Integrated Security Operations Center detects each day. During the second phase, the lab will launch a "Mutual Information Exchange" where cybersecurity data can be shared confidentially and without identifiable or proprietary information, so that all member interests will remain secure. In the third phase, the lab will develop an incubator of cybersecurity startups and vendors to test their products. The lab is one of the first cybersecurity initiatives of its kind.

How More Cities Are Trying to Better Manage Their Nighttime Economies

An increasing number of cities in the US and abroad are proactively managing their nighttime economies, balancing the need to regulate them with the desire to promote and encourage their growth. Some cities, like Iowa City, Iowa, have created the position of “night mayor” tasked with coordinating and managing the city after dark, setting policy, and serving as a liaison between night businesses and their customers, residents, and the daytime government. In Florida, Orlando recently created a Nighttime Economy Project Manager and Fort Lauderdale is launching an 11-person Nighttime Economy Team. New York City has also established a “nightlife ambassador” position. Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Amsterdam, and London have addressed their nighttime economies in similar ways over the past several years.

Human Library Makes Inroads into Indian City

Library patrons at one city library in India can now check out people, not just books. Under the initiative at Tagore Memorial Library in the city of Vijayawada, patrons can pick participants of the human library from a catalogue to engage with in conversations and share stories on a one-on-one basis. A goal of the human library is to challenge stereotypes and prejudices through dialogue. In addition, persons who have difficulty reading can still learn from these conversational “check-outs.” Four other human libraries are currently in the country, and the concept, which originated in Denmark in 2000, has also spread to other countries.

DATA-SMART CITY SOLUTIONS


Data-Driven Emergency Response: Learning from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma

This analysis reveals successes and missed opportunities in the data-driven responses to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, drawing insights from the heads of the innovation programs in Houston and Miami. While both cities succeeded in quickly pushing information out to residents and crowdsourcing useful data, in the future, municipalities could do more predictive work before emergencies strike to prioritize vulnerable areas.

Map of the Month: Baltimore’s GEOLOOM co>map

Harvard’s latest Map of the Month winner is GEOLOOM co>map, a searchable and interactive map of Baltimore’s arts and cultural resources overlaid with key community indicators such as census demographics, child and family health, and crime and safety data. Using the tool, communities can work to gain access to funding and resources, and display arts and culture in their community through crowdsourcing, while city agencies can visualize and fill gaps in arts and cultural institutions.

 

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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