Generative Aesthetics: Feminist Methods in Digital SpacesGillian Smith
In this talk for NULab's "Feminist Methods in Digital Spaces" panel, I cover three ways in which my work intersects with feminist practices.
1) Through its inherently interdisciplinary (or perhaps anti-disciplinary) nature breaking down historical barriers in academia.
2) Through critiquing computationally creative systems (algorithms and data) for their embedded politics.
3) Through highlighting the shared history and practices of computation and textile arts via new projects in computational craft.
Generative Aesthetics: Feminist Methods in Digital SpacesGillian Smith
In this talk for NULab's "Feminist Methods in Digital Spaces" panel, I cover three ways in which my work intersects with feminist practices.
1) Through its inherently interdisciplinary (or perhaps anti-disciplinary) nature breaking down historical barriers in academia.
2) Through critiquing computationally creative systems (algorithms and data) for their embedded politics.
3) Through highlighting the shared history and practices of computation and textile arts via new projects in computational craft.
Public libraries have lived with disruption of some sort for hundreds of years. These are some of the technologies that already have and are about to turn things upside down again
CalGIS 2015: People and Practice, The Changing role of GIS and Civic Technolo...Alicia Rouault
Opening keynote address to CalGIS 2015 on behalf of Code for America titled Peoeple and Practice: The changing role of GIS professionals and civic tech in 2015
Presentation on open data to the Association for Local Government IT Managers in New Zealand, 23 Nov 2010. Covers examples of open data applications, and what they in local government IT can be doing.
Government 2.0: architecting for collaborationTara Hunt
Unfortunately, the video won't embed this way. :( And it makes it soooo awesome. So, here is where to find them:
1. The Day of the Longtail By Michael Markman, Peter Hirshberg, Bob Kalsey; Produced for The Computer History Museum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xAA71Ssids
2. What the Heck is BarCamp? by Ryanne Hodson & Jay Dedman
http://ryanedit.blogspot.com/2006/06/barcampsf.html
3. Transit Camp on CityTV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDkEPvIwarI
medieval art, collective intelligence, & language abuse - a story of APIsTyler Hannan
On October 28th, 2010 Apigee held an Open API Economy Meetup at the Mashery offices...
This deck is a brief (15 minute) emphasis on the importance of the developer in innovation through APIs and positioning your API for future success (examples from specific learnings with IP Commerce).
Software for Humans: Anticipating User NeedsSarah Auvil
Presented at IA Summit 2017 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
1. Practice mindfulness in design
2. Think like an anthropologist
3. Create with accessibility in mind
Design for the Network - IA Summit, March 2014Matthew Milan
A talk about the evolving relationship between networks, software and systems and the implications for contemporary and emerging design practice.
Include
Slides from a series of talks for the IET's IoT India Congress and some associated events - SRM Chennai, PES Bengaluru, Srishti Bengaluru. I used different subsets of the slides in each talk - this is the whole deck.
Rethinking and Reshaping Broken Systems - New Profit Gathering of LeadersCode for America
At the 2015 New Profit Gathering of Leaders (#NPGathering15), Code for America Founder and Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka, Black Girls CODE Founder & Executive Director Kimberly Bryant, and Pigeonly CEO Frederick Hutson talked about the importance of rethinking and reshaping broken systems. Through the lens of technology, they discussed how problems that get solved have everything to do with who’s doing the solving: their experience, perspective, and insights into whom they’re solving problems for.
This is Jennifer Pahlka's deck from the talk. For more details about the event, visit: http://www.newprofit.org/npgathering15-reshaping-broken-systems-rethinking-who-is-in-the-lead/
Public libraries have lived with disruption of some sort for hundreds of years. These are some of the technologies that already have and are about to turn things upside down again
CalGIS 2015: People and Practice, The Changing role of GIS and Civic Technolo...Alicia Rouault
Opening keynote address to CalGIS 2015 on behalf of Code for America titled Peoeple and Practice: The changing role of GIS professionals and civic tech in 2015
Presentation on open data to the Association for Local Government IT Managers in New Zealand, 23 Nov 2010. Covers examples of open data applications, and what they in local government IT can be doing.
Government 2.0: architecting for collaborationTara Hunt
Unfortunately, the video won't embed this way. :( And it makes it soooo awesome. So, here is where to find them:
1. The Day of the Longtail By Michael Markman, Peter Hirshberg, Bob Kalsey; Produced for The Computer History Museum
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xAA71Ssids
2. What the Heck is BarCamp? by Ryanne Hodson & Jay Dedman
http://ryanedit.blogspot.com/2006/06/barcampsf.html
3. Transit Camp on CityTV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDkEPvIwarI
medieval art, collective intelligence, & language abuse - a story of APIsTyler Hannan
On October 28th, 2010 Apigee held an Open API Economy Meetup at the Mashery offices...
This deck is a brief (15 minute) emphasis on the importance of the developer in innovation through APIs and positioning your API for future success (examples from specific learnings with IP Commerce).
Software for Humans: Anticipating User NeedsSarah Auvil
Presented at IA Summit 2017 in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
1. Practice mindfulness in design
2. Think like an anthropologist
3. Create with accessibility in mind
Design for the Network - IA Summit, March 2014Matthew Milan
A talk about the evolving relationship between networks, software and systems and the implications for contemporary and emerging design practice.
Include
Slides from a series of talks for the IET's IoT India Congress and some associated events - SRM Chennai, PES Bengaluru, Srishti Bengaluru. I used different subsets of the slides in each talk - this is the whole deck.
Rethinking and Reshaping Broken Systems - New Profit Gathering of LeadersCode for America
At the 2015 New Profit Gathering of Leaders (#NPGathering15), Code for America Founder and Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka, Black Girls CODE Founder & Executive Director Kimberly Bryant, and Pigeonly CEO Frederick Hutson talked about the importance of rethinking and reshaping broken systems. Through the lens of technology, they discussed how problems that get solved have everything to do with who’s doing the solving: their experience, perspective, and insights into whom they’re solving problems for.
This is Jennifer Pahlka's deck from the talk. For more details about the event, visit: http://www.newprofit.org/npgathering15-reshaping-broken-systems-rethinking-who-is-in-the-lead/
Presentation about 2014 Code for Americal Fellowship project, Citygram.
Watch the video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpO32d5IUTI&list=PL65XgbSILalVoej11T95Tc7D7-F1PdwHq&index=20
Get involved with Code for America: www.codeforamerica.org/action
Whether they are websites, town hall meetings, or customer service counters, designing interfaces to government to work for real people requires both deep empathy and acute analytic skills. This session dives into some of the ways that local governments are starting to integrate a user-centered approach to delivering services — and what becomes possible when they do so.
Jess McMullin, Centre for Citizen Experience
Watch the video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFxOfw536Ms&index=56&list=PL65XgbSILalWFStqV0z0N9pvftstJ8AAh
Get involved with Code for America: http://www.codeforamerica.org/action
Alternative Funding Models for Civic Projects- Rodrigo DaviesCode for America
When a community needs to reinvent itself, who funds the transformation? Are the established tools— municipal bonds, CDFIs, and foundations among them— working in the new era of lean urbanism? Learn about innovative financing mechanisms— like social impact bonds and crowdfunding— that can help drive civic innovation at scale.
Rodrigo Davies, Center for Work, Technology and Organizations, Stanford University
Watch the video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6roHOXEjtc&list=PL65XgbSILalVoej11T95Tc7D7-F1PdwHq&index=6
Get involved with Code for America: http://www.codeforamerica.org/action
Alternative Funding Models for Civic Projects- Neighbor.lyCode for America
When a community needs to reinvent itself, who funds the transformation? Are the established tools— municipal bonds, CDFIs, and foundations among them— working in the new era of lean urbanism? Learn about innovative financing mechanisms— like social impact bonds and crowdfunding— that can help drive civic innovation at scale.
Jase Wilson, Neighbor.ly
Watch the video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6roHOXEjtc&list=PL65XgbSILalVoej11T95Tc7D7-F1PdwHq&index=6
Get involved with Code for America: http://www.codeforamerica.org/action
Zac Bookman, OpenGov CEO, and Jonathan Reichental, Palo Alto CIO, discuss the technological challenges governments face, and new solutions that help administrators save time, improve decision-making and build trust. Join the session to learn how leading governments across the country are finding innovative ways to be more digital, data-driven and efficient.
Open Your Government to the Promise of Cloud-Based Innovation and Collaboration
Peak Academy: Building a Culture of Innovation in GovernmentCode for America
The Denver Peak Academy trains employees throughout the City and County of Denver how to identify and eliminate waste and improve their daily municipal operations. In this training, learn techniques based on lean and agile principles that build personal initiative to help government staff reform and innovate their department’s internal processes. Be prepared for a hands-on learning experience to understand how Denver has helped create a culture of innovation with their City colleagues through the Peak Academy.
David Edinger, Chief Performance Officer, City & County of Denver, CO
Scotty Martin, Peak Academy- Peak Analytics, City & County of Denver, CO
Watch the video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUnUXlF4oWc&index=3&list=PL65XgbSILalVoej11T95Tc7D7-F1PdwHq
Get involved with Code for America: http://www.codeforamerica.org/action
Civic Design: User Research Methods for Creating Better Citizen Experiences
Building tech tools informed by input from real users is essential. Without feedback from the intended users, you’re making design and tech decisions in the dark. User testing can help! Learn how to carry out effective user testing to build better civic tools.
Cyd Harrell, UX Evanglist, Code for America
Kavi Harshawat, 2014 Code for America Fellow
Watch the video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipjLBcBD21I&index=21&list=PL65XgbSILalVoej11T95Tc7D7-F1PdwHq
Get involved with Code for America: http://www.codeforamerica.org/action
How you can develop open data under the constraint of limited resources. Presented by Emily Shaw, National Policy Manager, Sunlight Foundation; Alish Green, Policy Associate, Sunlight Foundation, and Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak, Pittsburgh City Council
Watch the video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bPtIfWSkLY&list=PL65XgbSILalVoej11T95Tc7D7-F1PdwHq&index=11
Get involved with Code for America: http://www.codeforamerica.org/action
Cities are leveraging technology to better connect with its constituents. However, cities are at risk of isolating key segments of its populations without closing the digital divide. We will explore the digital divide’s impact on civic technology and the role of cities in increasing access to high-speed Internet.
Sheila Dugan, Marketing and Communications Manager at EveryoneOn
Watch the video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yUi_dKovJ8&list=PL65XgbSILalVoej11T95Tc7D7-F1PdwHq&index=1
Get involved with Code for America: http://www.codeforamerica.org/action
Cities and Startups: Cultivating Deep EngagementCode for America
Cities and Startups: Cultivating Deep Engagement
FastFWD, City of Philadelphia
Story Bellows, co-director of the Philadelphia Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Watch the video online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRKUCCHj-08&list=PL65XgbSILalVoej11T95Tc7D7-F1PdwHq&index=4
Get involved with Code for America: www.codeforamerica.org/action
Sam Hashemi and Ryan Shepard share how the City of Atlanta is working to reduce the number of people receiving infractions for missed court appearances in Atlanta by using technology to get the right information to the right people at the right time.
Watch the video online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwJplmFgVZo&list=PL65XgbSILalWFStqV0z0N9pvftstJ8AAh&index=3
Get involved with Code for America: www.codeforamerica.org/action
City of Charlotte 2014 Fellows Tiffany Chu and Twyla McDermott share their work on Citygram, an app to help local government make open data about neighborhoods useful and relevant to residents.
Watch the video on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFu8BJHmrEM&index=27&list=PL65XgbSILalWFStqV0z0N9pvftstJ8AAh
Get involved with Code for America: http://www.codeforamerica.org/action
140 Characters, Not Flying Cars: Maybe We Got Just What We Needed After All- ...Code for America
140 Characters, Not Flying Cars: Maybe We Got Just What We Needed After All
John Lilly, former CEO of Mozilla, gives a keynote addressing how technology is changing the relationships we have with each other, and what this means for how we think about the division between government and citizens.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVVrc75QHKo&list=PL65XgbSILalWFStqV0z0N9pvftstJ8AAh&index=58
Defaulting to Open: How Open Data Can Build Trust in Government
Ryan Buell, Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School on learnings from Boston about how open data can increase residents' trust in their local government.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CofaLJZB1ag&index=45&list=PL65XgbSILalWFStqV0z0N9pvftstJ8AAh
Sascha Haselmayer, CEO, Citymart on efforts to pilot outcomes-based procurement in Barcelona.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1mQW80YCzE&index=22&list=PL65XgbSILalWFStqV0z0N9pvftstJ8AAh
2014 Code for America Fellow Jeremia Kimelman and Senior Advisor & Chief Policy Officer of City of Chattanooga Stacy Richardson present their work on open data standards in Chattanooga and how the impact it's had on the community and coalition building.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBAf2kwLx4k&index=38&list=PL65XgbSILalWFStqV0z0N9pvftstJ8AAh
2014 Code for America Fellows Sam Hashemi and Tiffany Chu demo TransitMix, an intuitive tool to help transit planners quickly design routes, identify tradeoffs, and communicate with the public.
Watch the video online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enMF-bbQOp8&index=51&list=PL65XgbSILalWFStqV0z0N9pvftstJ8AAh
Get involved with Code for America: www.codeforamerica.org/action
City of Lexington 2014 Fellows Lyzi Diamond and Jonathan Hollinger discuss what became possible when they joined datasets already held by the City to create a richer, fuller picture of a specific place.
Watch the video online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh-cpTGCuTQ&list=PL65XgbSILalWFStqV0z0N9pvftstJ8AAh&index=25
Get involved with Code for America: www.codeforamerica.org/action
Gabriel Kalembo A Rising Star in the World of Football Coachinggabrielkalembous
Gabriel Kalembo is a player's coach who connects with his teams on a deep level. With a strong background in sports science and a passion for the game, Kalembo has developed a unique coaching philosophy that emphasizes player development and tactical flexibility. His ability to connect with players and create a positive team culture has led to success at every level he has coached.
Serbia vs England Tickets: Serbia's Return to Euro Cup 2024, A Look at Key Pl...Eticketing.co
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Indian cricketer Hardik Pandya and Serbian actress Natasha Stankovic have decided to part ways, ending a relationship that captivated fans and followers worldwide. The news of their split has been making headlines, stirring a mixture of shock, sadness, and speculation among their supporters.
Boletin de la I Copa Panamericana de Voleibol Femenino U17 Guatemala 2024Judith Chuquipul
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Netherlands vs Austria Netherlands Face Familiar Foes in Euro Cup Germany Gro...Eticketing.co
The Netherlands are in Group D in Euro Cup Germany - and, unpaid to this, they will be coming up against familiar foes. Remarkably, they have played France, who have fashioned some of the greatest players of all time, 30 times throughout history. Despite France being more effective in major competitions, including captivating the World Cup in 2018, Holland have the greater head-to-head record.
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However, in 2023, they played one another twice, with France endearing both matches 4-0 and 2-1 individually. Against Poland and Austria, the Netherlands also have a stout record, winning just under half the matches. They faced Austria at Euro 2020, engaging 2-0, and they haven't lost to Poland since 1979.
The lettering is on the wall for Holland to qualify for the knockouts, but nothing is failsafe. The Netherlands kickstart their Euros campaign against Poland on Sunday, June 16th. In Hamburg, they will have to go up against one of the best strikers in the world, Robert Lewandowski.
Netherlands vs Austria: Tough Challenges Await the Netherlands in Euro Cup Germany
Five days later, they travel south to face France in Leipzig, a side led by Kylian Mbappe - one of the finest players in the world currently and one of the most impressive players in his nation's history. To conclude, they face Austria in Berlin, knowing it could be the end of the road if they don't perform.
Ronald Koeman is widely considered one of the more successful Dutch managers in Premier League history, considering the nation has a reputation for struggling to replicate their talents in England. The former Everton manager went against that script and shone — and now he is back managing his nation.
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Netherlands vs Austria: Ronald Koeman's Tactical Approach For UEFA Euro 2024
As well as being the highest-scoring defender in history, Koeman is a man with immense tactical knowledge. He returned to manage Holland at the start of 2023 after it was announced Louis van Gaal would retire. His life back in the dugout with the team wasn't easy, as he lost his first match 4-0 to France after going 3-0 down within 21 minutes.
However, he eventually helped them qualify for Euro Cup Germany. The 61-year-old likes to organize his team with a defensive mindset. Some might call it pragmatic as he defends with minimal space between the lines, but that's often needed for international football.
According to the report, the consumption of video content related to IPL 2024 has seen significant growth, nearly 3 times more than the previous season, reflecting an increasing interest of fans.
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Understanding Golf Simulator Equipment A Beginner's Guide.pdfMy Garage Golf
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The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 is set to be an exciting event, co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA from June 1 to June 29, 2024. This edition of the tournament will feature a record 20 teams divided into four groups, competing across 55 matches for the prestigious title.
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Belgium coach Domenico Tedesco will wait for several key players to recover from injury. Even if it means they miss the opening Euro Cup Germany stages of the European Championship in Germany this month. Veteran defender Jan Vertonghen, midfielder Youri Tielemans and defender Arthur. Theate are being given time to play in the tournament because they are considered vital to Belgium’s cause, Tedesco said on Tuesday.
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"Of course, you prefer to take players who are fully fit, but that's okay. We want to wait and be patient for some players even if they cannot play in those first matches," he told a press conference. The 37-year-old Vertonghen, Belgium’s Euro Cup 2024 most-capped international with 154 appearances, is struggling to shake off a groin injury.
"He will be there normally. This also applies to Youri Tielemans and Arthur Theate. The latter's position is very sensitive. We don't have many choices at left back. "It will only change if it turns out that they will only be available when, say, the final of the Euro 2024 Championship comes around. That's too long to wait. "However, I am confident that the injured boys are on track for the Euros.
Belgium vs Romania: Radu Dragusin Prepares for Crucial Role in Euro Cup Germany
Some of them have taken not one but two steps forward in their rehabilitation," he said. None of the injured players will feature in this week’s warm-up friendlies against Montenegro and Luxembourg. Romania centre-back Radu Dragusin found chances limited at Tottenham Hotspur in the second half of the 2023-24 season.
But is crucial to his country's cause at UEFA Euro 2024 where his aerial ability, physicality and hard graft make him a standout player. The 22-year-old moved to North London from Italian side Genoa in January but was kept on the sidelines by the form of another new arrival for the season, Mickey van de Ven, something Romania coach Edward Iordanescu admitted was a concern.
It will mean limited game-time going into the finals, but Dragusin, who cites Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk as a role model, started every Euro Cup Germany qualifier as Romania went through the campaign unbeaten in their 10 games. He will be among their most important players in their first game in Germany against Ukraine in Munich on June 17, taking the right centre-back role in what is likely to be a back four.
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52. interfaces & language
networked localism
measurement & feedback loops
ability to experiment (& fail!)
citizenship and citizens as co-creators
53. interfaces & language
networked localism
measurement & feedback loops
ability to experiment (& fail!)
citizenship and citizens as co-creators
public servants
55. “…what good governance and good society
look like are now inextricably
linked to the digital”
- Tom Steinberg
Editor's Notes
Honored to be here.I have developed a love of local government and a love of great cities, and it’s very special to be welcomed into your city, to go behind the scenes, to spend a few days with you all here.What I want to do today is convince you of something I hope you already believe Easy job, huh.
That there has never been a better time to work in local gov and never been a better PLACE. You have an amazing culture and a huge opportunity to really lead the nation in best practice and innovation.But There are a lot of reasons this might sound preposterous
Tax revenues down, support from the feds down, Budgets cut
Cities in my state keep going bankrupt because the numbers don’t add upAnd all the while the needs are going up…Citizens need more help just when we have less, but also Expectations are higher too when it comes to technology . Tech is supposed to make our lives easier but…
but now the chanels of communication proliferate, the
Lots of people have one of these in their pockets, and they’re used to a certain level of convenience and ease of use and they want that in their government too.Many city govts are running on decades old technology but they’re expected to be real-time, multi-directional information brokersSo all that should add up to a bleak picture and cities should be in miserable shape. But they’re not
They’re like the bumble bee that shouldn’t be able to fly, but flies pretty just fine, thank you very much.
People believe in local government And there’s a renaissance in l
NAC: People trying interesting things, thinking about how cities might work better, experimenting with new technology and with old fashioned community building… and all that adds up to a time of great innovation and change that is really exciting to me.
The numbers don’t add upWe’re used to this kind of math, you know what goes in on one side, and what comes out the other side.But we’re living in a world where the math can be very surprising. Remember wikipedia?
Who uses Wikipedia here? Remember about 5 or 6 years ago, when there were all these questions about it? Its done by amateurs, there’s no management, no coordination, it must be frivolous, it must be inaccurate. Turns out its incredibly accurate and timely and useful, and among the amazing reasons it works so well is something that Clay Shirky described
Clay described how if you took even one one thousandth of the time spent globally watching TV, and turned that energy into editing Wikipedia articles, you’d have something like 100 wikipedias. Turns out the certain interfaces on the Internet are really good at coordinating small piece of things, tiny microactions, and turning them into something meaningful. The value of people’s spare time and the value of the coordinating function of a wiki were not appreciated, were undervalued, which is why it took us all by surprise. So what is at play here that we don’t understand that’s causing a renaissance in city government?
And more importantly, what are the resources we still don’t understand well that are going to drive even greater change in cities? So what are these undervalued resources? Well the first one should not surprise you but it surprised me when I first started CfA. The most undervalued resource in this equation is the nation’s public servants.
When I started Code for America, I knew our public sector needed help catching up with the dizzying pace of technology of modern life. What I didn’t know is how innovative, dedicated, and caring the people who work in government are. To the extent that there are systems in govt that hold us back, the people in govt are all the more amazing for what they get done, often in spite of those systems. They know how to get stuff done in an environment that sometimes makes it hard. And if anyone knows what needs changing in govt, it’s public servants. No attempt to change government will work without you, because you know how it works, how it doesn’t work, and you care about serving the public. My friend Clay Johnson says there may be a vast LW and RW conspiracy, but none of that matters if you have
And that by the way, is what the network of leaders in city government, at the top, middle and bottom of the org chart, are creating. I’ll talk about that later.So public servants are critical to this equation, and their sometimes hidden value is a big part of driving this surprising math, but what’s also been hidden, but becoming more visible, is the real value of citizens.
When I say citizens, I don’t mean legal citizenship as in documentation. I mean actual real people who identify as citizens. Who have a deeper understanding of what it means to be a citizen, including not only the rights, but the responsibilities of citizenship. And part of our job in the public sector is to draw that out, and nurture it, and leverage it towards making our cities work better.
Theresa tells me that many of you have seen the video of a talk I gave a TED, so I’ll tell this story very briefly. But we had this experiment last year with a team of Code for America fellows in the City of Boston that was driven by a snow emergency, when they realized that the fire hydrants were covered…
And they wrote little mobile app that lets you adopt a hydrant, agree to dig it out, you get to name it, if you don’t someone can steal it from you, got some game dynamics
And now Honoulu is using it to get people to adopt tsunami sirens, bloomington storm drains
Chicago for shoveling sidewalksThese are early signs of something. We need a lot more of them. One of my dreams is for everyone in city government to ask themselves every day, How can I encourage the people who live in this city to act like citizens? How can I make it easy for them?
Those examples were from our first year of the program, so lest you think that we stopped engaging people there, here’s an example, in a more officially coordinated setting, of citizens helping out. Detroit has a problem with blight and accurate records of the state of neighborhoods is important, and community groups want to collect the data.
But the tools are confusing and require help from tech specialists so the process takes about nine months.
The cfa fellows in Detroit created a tool called LocalData It’s a simple tool that lets you use a regular web browser to create a survey, and then you can send that survey either to a smart phone or, because only about half of the folks in the community groups they were working with had smart phones….
You can also just print out a paper version of the same survey that uses scantron technology….yes, the little circles you fill in in pencil….and the data all does in the same place, and instead of 9 months to get the survey results in a format that is actually useful to the city, you have your tabulated data, mapped even, pretty much as soon as its collected. Now this community group had scantron machines, which is why this worked, but you can easily use the smartphones that half the group have to take a picture of the filled out forms and upload the data that way,… Which brings me to the my thrid undervalued resource
Consumer technology. INgovt we’re used to needing expensive, custom built enterprise technology and while we’ll still need some big systems to run a city, there are a lot of great uses for cheap, lightweight, consumer technologies in government.
Another quick example from this year’s cohort…. Fellows were asked to help with the Philadelphia 2035 plan. This is how they ask for citizen input. But the process doesn’t allow for true representation from the community.
This is open source, and anyone can use it. You don’t have to install anything or convince anyone to give you space on a server, it’s all a browser interface just like facebook.
But the real impact of cheap technology isn’t the cost, it’s how it makes it possible to just try things, and see if they work. There aren’t a lot of guides to how to do citizen engagement right with technology yet, so we’re all just going to have to try a bunch of stuff, measure it, and see what works. Here’s a not-so-secret secret. The big companies you associate with the idea of Web 2.0, Google, Facebook, Twitter, they didn’t succeed because their founders were so crazy smart that they knew exactly what would work. They succeeded – and you might argue, changed the world – because they –and those around them-- tried a bunch of different things and followed the numbers until they found what worked, and they still do that today every single day, they are adjusting in real-time to the feedback they get from their customers.
One of my biggest wishes for the cities is that they give themselves the freedom to experiment. But if you are truly experimenting, you have to be willing –pretty often in some cases– to say “well, that didn’t work.” How often do we do that? Often, our constituents are not often supportive when we fail, though they are more supportive when we communicate our intentions to experiment and ask for their tolerance. But mostly it is our culture that tells us that failure is bad, even though we know logically that failure is a necessary precondition for learning. What would it feel like if we got props for trying something, even if it didn’t work?
The truth is we don’t often get props for trying something that doesn’t work, unless we can articulate clearly what we learned from it, and to do that you must measure. Which brings me to my fifth undervalued resources though I think that here in Louisville it is becoming highly valued and highly valuable, which is definitely something to celebrate. But before we said “well that didn’t work” we had to have said
But when we ask that question, we are really asking a whole host of other questions: How well is it working now? Compared to what? Are we meeting our constituents expectations? What are those expectations? Where’s should the bar be set? How does it work elsewhere? And we’re also asking…
Where does the process work well, and where does it break down? People think about technology being DISRUPTIVE and FAST but if we are borrowing some lessons from technology here, the real lesson is tiny increments. Evolution, not revolution. Some of the changes are bigger than others but constant feedback loops that help us optimize processes are the real secret of Siicon Valley.
Lets return to the earlier question of where’s the bar? For some questions, I think the issue of citizen expectation is an important one to keep in mind, but there’s also the question of how well it’s working for others… in this case other cities. We can at least know, as you do here in Louisville (and it’s quite rare btw) how your cities rates on various performance indicators compared to other cities. It delights me to see this kind of language. Specific, measurable. Actionable.
And to know your ranking you are sharing information with other cities, and this is something your mayor really values. But I want to take it a step further. You don’t want those benchmarks just to know where you stand. You also want them because when you start sharing data with other cities you start sharing processes, and you start talking about data standards, and you start hearing about other ways that other cities are approaching the problems you’re trying to solve. And then, if lots of cities are experimenting, and sometimes failing, then you have a common POOL of experiments and everyone saves themselves a lot of failures because we can learn from each other. And you can share more than just ideas. You can share applications, like the Adopta Siren. There are a lot of people who are pretty enamored of the idea of local governments, loosely connected, doing great things.
And then, if lots of cities are experimenting, and sometimes failing, then you have a common POOL of experiments and everyone saves themselves a lot of failures because we can learn from each other. And you can share more than just ideas. You can share applications, like the Adopta Siren. There are a lot of people who are pretty enamored of the idea of local governments, loosely connected, doing great things.
Benjamin Barber has a new book coming out called If Mayors Ruled the World, and Bruce Katz and the Brookings Institution has one coming out with the same message. There’s a lot of interest in this idea because people are seeing a lot of good things coming out of local governments working together in a networked way. Learning from each other and acting to make governmetn work for – and with– citizens.
There’s a final undervalued resources I want to mention, and it’s at the core of the work we do. Its interfaces. Government does so much, but sometimes it’s not visible to citizens because they’re either no interface to it, or an insufficient interface.
A final example from the Cfa Fellows: NOLA has been struggling to deal with the large number of blighted properties since Katrina, Lots of data sources, no way for citizens to know. So the fellows went to NOLA and interviewed everyone and came back and built this.
Enter and address, get back the status of the properties
Because we want to live in a city where our kids aren’t going to be breathing toxic fumes.So I’m making the case that local government is having this amazing renaissance DESPITE (or perhaps in some cases because of) the obstacles it faces, and it’s successes are suprising because we’ve undervalued a lot of resources that have a big impact.
We’ve talked about…..But I want to bring it back again to the power of public servants. ‘I think its so important that as a society that we recognize the amazing, often difficult work you do,.
As citizens, it’s so important that we recognize the impact you have on our daily lives and empower you to try things and innovate, not just to accept the status quo, that we recognize that it may not be perfect along the way. As citizens, we also need to remind you of the bigger picture, of the WHY of government. The power of public servants who care, who deeply care about the problems that face their communities, is unlimited.
And to celebrate your amazing work, I want to offer an idea that’s become very dear to me. That when we put aside all the problems and the complexity and the politics, government is what we do together. And we need to work together because the problems we face are complex, and sometimes scary.
And I’ve talked about technology today not because I have a great love of gadgets or I believe that technology is going to save the world –I don’t -- but because our interfaces to every system increasingly are digital. And that doesn’t mean you have to be a technologist to make this work. I’m not. But I’m not afraid of it and I just try to make it work for me, but more importantly, I to work for society. I want technology in service to the greater goals of us building the communities we want to live in.
Because the communities we’re building now, the local governments we’re building now, the society we’re building now, is the world our kids are going to have to live in. This is my kid and I hope I’m teaching her to live like a citizen. And today, as we celebrate all the amazing work you do, the innovative work, the breakthrough work, and the daily work of making a city function that deserves just as much applause as the other stuff,.
that the notion of citizenship WITHIN government will serve us well too. Because you are all citizens as well, and you are also all citizens of a community of people who care about the daily life of the people of Louisville, a remarkable city I’m honored to visit. If governemnt is what we do together, government is also we you all in this room do TOGETHER, and that’s worth celebrating! Thank you.