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| Service Delivery |
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Tallahassee, Florida, is piloting an accelerated residential permitting program that provides a “money-back guarantee” to those applicants who receive tardy permit approvals or denials. Under the program, permit applicants will receive a refund of their permit fee if their applications are not acted upon within seven days. Thus, residents could realize a hypothetical savings of $550 for a 2,000-square-foot home or $1,400 for a 5,000-square-foot duplex. The city will pilot the program for one year.
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| E-government |
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Virginia is rolling out CommonHelp, a program to provide Virginians with flexible online access to various social services. With CommonHelp, residents can instantly determine if they are eligible for energy and medical assistance, child-care services, and nutrition programs. Residents can also use the online tool to apply for, update, or renew their public assistance benefits. Officials believe the self-service delivery system will save time and money, and improve the efficiency of providing important services to affected populations.
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| Public Safety |
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In the wake of dozens of accidents involving wrong-way driving on the freeways of Milwaukee County in Wisconsin, the county has installed radar detectors and flashing driver notifications on nine particularly notorious freeway off-ramps to help deter wrong-way driving before an accident occurs. When the radar devices detect a driver using an off-ramp to enter the freeway, a signal is sent to the state Department of Transportation and the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department. Officers in the vicinity are alerted and can quickly attempt to intercept the vehicle.
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| Education |
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New York City schools are rapidly integrating gardens and miniature farms into their curricula, which are giving students practical lessons in subjects such as science, art, math, and social studies. In addition to teaching children how food is grown, educators are also using cultivation to teach students about storm water runoff, beekeeping, and wind and solar power. The NYC Parks Department is providing technical support to these school-based programs, which are now running at over 230 sites.
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| Policing and Crime Prevention |
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The Philadelphia Police Department has joined Pinterest, a pinboard-style social photo-sharing Website, to achieve law enforcement goals as well as conduct outreach to the community. The PPD currently has nine Pinterest boards — the first six contain photos and information for wanted and recently arrested persons for each of the city’s six police divisions. The other three boards are devoted to subjects such as Inside the PPD, Safety and Prevention, and Cops in the Community. The PPD expects to add other relevant Pinterest boards in the future to further increase its social media presence.
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| How a Smart Grid Can Get the Lights Back on Faster |
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The speed and granularity of the data informing decisions are crucial factors after a natural disaster, and smart-grid technology can play a big role in supplying a steady and actionable stream of information — information that can get the lights back on faster.
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| The Art of Networking Government |
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A comprehensive new study from the IBM Center for the Business of Government focusing on public safety provides a roadmap for spreading collaborative networks across the governmental landscape. The study authors conclude that information-sharing networks "can greatly improve government's ability to operate and better achieve collective goals of serving and supporting the public."
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| Water Infrastructure and the Gush of Creativity |
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Innovative public officials and utility managers are finding cost-effective ways to fix our aging water systems and save billions of dollars in the process.
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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