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| Social Services |
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The Michigan Department of Human Services will stagger the dates when food assistance clients receive their benefits to improve their access to fresh foods. Currently, most clients spend their food benefits in the first 10 days of the month, leading to long lines and shortages of fresh fruit, vegetables, and perishables at establishments that are frequented by the recipients. The new plan will prevent these problems, while ensuring that these retailers can better control their inventory.
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| Public Infrastructure |
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Buffalo, New York, has prepared for winter by equipping its snowplow fleet with GPS technology, allowing the city’s operations center to coordinate and monitor the movement of its trucks. Among its features, the new technology gives supervisors the ability to target the location and speed of each truck, and gauge whether the plow is being used and how much salt is being released.
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| Public Safety |
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Since last winter, the city of Calgary in Canada has partnered with tow truck operators to patrol its main roads for accidents. Once an accident is spotted, the tow truck driver can quickly move vehicles to the side, ensuring that traffic moves smoothly and secondary accidents are prevented. The program, deemed a success by city staff, has also yielded unforeseen benefits. In one case an operator assisted a person having a medical emergency, and in another, the operator calmed an escalating road rage incident.
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| Civic Engagement |
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California cities are engaging more of its citizens in the local budgeting process, giving them perspective on the difficult choices facing leaders, providing decision makers with a better understanding of which services and facilities are valued, and generating new ideas to meet budgetary goals. In Walnut Creek, local officials have organized meetings among representatives of various nonprofits, businesses, and schools, and have held workshops to explore budgetary options. In Brea, the city manager asked over 30 of its city staff members to serve on a budget strategic planning committee, which met twice a week to discuss community priorities and suggested revisions. Other cities have also facilitated public forums and small-group discussions.
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| Accountability |
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San Francisco has become one of the first cities to enact an open data law, which requires city departments to “make reasonable efforts” to ensure that data is made publicly available. Limited only by existing laws, such as those related to privacy, the directive is designed to not only make local government more transparent, but to encourage more entrepreneurs to adapt the data to useful civic ends, such as public transportation or criminal incident web “apps.” The cost to San Francisco to open its data is expected to be minimal.
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| Highways |
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Virginia will open undeveloped state Department of Transportation properties to serve as Truck Safety Rest Areas, providing additional parking for truckers to rest along the interstate. Electronic message boards will advertise if they are available. The 90-day pilot program is designed to ease crowding at full-service rest areas as well as give truckers a safe place to exit during severe weather.
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| School Social Service |
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The city of Boston has unveiled the BostONEcard, a high-tech photo ID for students that lets them ride public transportation, check out books, grab lunch, and mark their attendance at school, after school programs, and community centers. Students at the Josiah Quincy Upper School in Chinatown are piloting the card.
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| Elections |
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Earlier this month, New York City started using the city’s 311 system as well as Twitter to track election day complaints. After a primary day fraught with problems, the city deployed these new ways to track difficulties at polling places. The public was encouraged to submit issues through 311 and Twitter, where the mayor’s office Twitter account would also be tracking any public tweets.
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| Corrections Cost Correction |
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The high cost of incarceration is spurring new thinking around every aspect of prison policy. For new governors facing a rising tide of red ink, corrections may offer an area where innovation can provide better, faster, and cheaper ways of keeping offenders in check.
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| Cornered in the Corner Office |
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A number of governors will start 2011 with fiscal situations that are beyond grim. Hopefully, the current crisis will encourage thoughtful reexamination of even the most politically difficult policy reforms.
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| Breaking Job Routines |
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When work becomes routine, innovative breakthroughs that lead to better, faster, cheaper government are rare. Breaking public officials free from their comfort zones, and managing them as they solve real problems, not just apply checklists, will enhance public health and safety.
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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