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| Participation |
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Cities continue to expand the ways in which citizens can provide feedback to their elected officials, recognizing that speaking at public hearings, phoning in complaints, or composing letters can seem time-consuming in proportion to the impact. New York, for example, is inviting its citizens to make suggestions online and by text message about how to make the city greener and more sustainable. City agencies have been ordered to use social media to seek public comment on proposed rules, and the comptroller is soliciting citizen input to assist in choosing which departments and practices to investigate.
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| Corrections, Probation, and Parole |
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As state governments face tight budgets and reduced services, officials are leveraging the labor supply of prisoners in new and unexpected ways. Beyond stamping license plates or picking up litter, inmates are growing food, cleaning courthouses, clearing roadkill, tending to municipal graveyards, sweeping campsites, performing underwater welding work, and painting vehicles. Nonprofit organizations and government agencies can check prisoners’ work schedules online to reserve them for assistance.
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| Higher Education |
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Colleges and universities are eliminating cafeteria trays, reducing food waste, cleaning costs, and possibly the weight of some of their students. Although some students have protested the change, a study has show that the elimination of the cafeteria tray results in as much as 25 to 30 percent less wasted food. The administrations at some schools have made the decision unilaterally, while other schools have involved students in the decision-making process.
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| Education |
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In an effort to limit the truancy rates of their students, schools in Anaheim, California, have started a pilot program in which local students with three or more unexcused absences will voluntarily carry GPS tracking devices. Pupils will be required to “check-in” with the devices, entering codes during certain times of the day to verify their whereabouts. Cities such as San Antonio, Texas, and Baltimore, Maryland, have also used GPS to chart the movements of truants. Initial findings suggest that the devices are more effective at encouraging attendance than curfews and other traditional measures.
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| Administrative and Regulatory Reform |
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In New York City, building permits will now contain Quick Response (“QR”) codes—smartphone-readable barcodes that provide users with easy access to information related to buildings and construction sites throughout the city. The move will allow anyone with a smartphone to scan a QR code posted at a construction site to gather details such as the approved scope of work, the identity of the site’s owner, and whether there have been any complaints and violations related to the project.
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| Courts and Legal Services |
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In Buffalo, New York, the city’s Veterans Court has served as a model for at least 46 similar courts in 20 states. Veterans’ courts work with veterans whose crimes may have been sparked by post-traumatic stress disorder, head injuries, or addiction. Judges sitting on these courts, which are modeled after drug courts, will divert promising candidates to treatment and therapy instead of probation or jail. The Buffalo Veterans Court, the first of its kind when it launched three years ago, has been so successful that that it has a zero recidivism rate.
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Management Insights
A Governing.com Series |
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Bill Eggers and others argue that when states and cities respond to record budget shortfalls with across-the-board cuts, some vital public services unnecessarily end up on the chopping block.
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| Spurring Innovation via Contests and Prizes |
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The new twist to innovation competitions these days is to spark innovation by offering a reward for solutions to previously unsolved problems.
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| The Wisdom of the Crowd in New York City |
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Interactive community discussions—whether online or in person—can produce insights that one-way communication does not. Citizens and public officials educate each other during these exchanges, and actively engaging the public can actually enhance government's problem-solving ability.
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| Social Impact Bonds, Policy Debutante |
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The latest social innovation tool has hit the big time. The idea behind Social Impact Bonds is fairly simple: Instead of paying for effort, governments pay only for measureable results.
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| Self-Service Savings |
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Self-service represents an unexploited opportunity for governments at all levels. With some creative thinking, public leaders willing to make it a priority can squeeze out labor costs without putting the squeeze on public employees.
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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