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| Electoral Politics |
With
election season in full swing, many states are introducing new voting
technologies
to broaden access to the ballot. Disabled residents in Oregon recently used iPads
for the first time to cast their ballots. In Long Beach, California, RFID chips
will track the city's polls and their contents to instantly monitor whether
ballot boxes are in transit or at some other secure point. Several states are
also offering online voter registration, social media updates to communicate
important dates and deadlines to voters, and technology to increase access to
the ballot for military and overseas voters.
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| Civic Engagement |
Rep.
Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have unveiled Madison, a live legislative
markup tool that accepts online feedback on bills as they move through the
legislative process. Released in conjunction with an upcoming bill, the tool
allows users with perhaps more expertise in a given area to propose revisions a
particular bill, and leave comments to justify the changes.
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| Education |
Increasingly,
schools are teaching proper Internet usage to students, incorporating
not only Internet safety, but instruction on privacy, electronic plagiarism,
and Internet etiquette into their lessons on becoming good digital citizens.
One school, for example, has created fake websites to train students on how to
detect them. Other schools have created safety courses on the subjects of
cyberbullying and online ethical behavior.
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| School Administration |
School
districts across Idaho are making parental involvement a factor in teacher pay. As part of new
education changes in the state, teacher bonuses in over two dozen school
districts will depend in part on how well teachers involve parents throughout
the year, measured by attendance at parent-teacher conferences, personal or
written contact, and other metrics. While access to parents may sometimes be
outside the control of teachers, officials hope that these measures will help
to strengthen parents’ understanding of their child’s educational progress.
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| Natural Resources |
The
National Park Service has partnered with the University of Georgia to unveil
the free "IveGot1"
iPhone app which allows the public to report invasive plants and animals
spotted in Florida. Users can submit images and their observations from the
field, which are then reviewed by government officials and mapped. Images of the
most prolific non-native species are also provided for reference. The app is
part of a multifaceted campaign to encourage the public to report invasive
species to authorities through the Web or by phone.
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| Conservation |
The
Wyoming Game and Fish Department has unveiled "Wyoming’s
Call of the Wild," a reality show aimed at getting youth outdoors. Airing
on the Sportsman Channel, each episode involves young people engaging in
hunting, fishing, or wilderness survival tactics in Wyoming. Officials expect a
return on their investment, as people who hunt or fish are more likely to contribute
to conservation and wildlife management efforts.
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| Beyond Performance Measurement |
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Governments are beginning to depend on data analytics not just to identify problems but to solve them. The smartest cities are moving far beyond simple performance measurement by weaving together data from sources across jurisdictions and applying the latest technology and predictive analyses to get ahead of the thorniest issues facing their communities.
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| The Spending-Performance Equation |
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Doing performance-based budgeting well isn't easy. But it can pay big dividends, especially in a time of scarce resources, and it offers the promise of providing taxpayers with a realistic answer to the question, "What am I getting for my money?" That alone makes overcoming the obstacles to its implementation well worth the work.
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| Money Down the Sewer |
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Doubling water rates to fix crumbling underground infrastructure isn't popular with Chicagoans. However, regardless of the politics, investing now can yield benefits for literally centuries to come. Government efficiency is always served by decision making that is in taxpayers' long-term interest.
Newsletter produced by: Jessica Engelman, editor; Brendan St. Amant, researcher and writer.
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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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