govloop guide 20 innovations that mattered in 2013

8/13/2019 GovLoop Guide 20 Innovations That Mattered in 2013

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A G E N C Y O F I N N O V A T I O N : F e d e r a l C o m m u n i c a t i o n s C o m m i s -

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Big Data Dynamos - - - - - - - - - - 14

Government on the Move - - - - - - - - - 17

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E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y

The end of the year means two things: setting unre-alistic New Year’s resolut ions and endless retrospec-tives. While we can’t force you to put down the cake

and pick up a carrot, we can help you to do your jobbetter by highlighting some of the biggest and bestinnovations to come out of government in the last

365 days.

The past year brought us the Interior Department’sInstagram feed and Colorado’s redesigned website.

It also brought us St. Louis’ optimized data analytics

that make their city safer and North Carolina’s iCen-ter that adopted a “try before you buy” policy.

All of these new technologies and tactics saved timeand resources, critical outcomes in the current gov-ernment landscape where budget cuts are making

each new purchase risky.

But these were not the only buzzworthy projects forgovernment technology in 2013. In this end-of-year

report, GovLoop analyzed the 20 best innovations ingovernment in four different categories :

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We also asked two of the most innovative Chief

Information Officers in the country to don some

“ G o v e r n m e n t s w i l l a l w a y s p l a y a h u g e p a r t i n s o l v i n g b i g p r o b l e m s .

T h e y s e t p u b l i c p o l i c y a n d a r e u n i q u e l y a b l e t o p r o v i d e t h e r e s o u r c -

e s t o m a k e s u r e s o l u t i o n s r e a c h e v e r y o n e w h o n e e d s t h e m . T h e y a l s o

f u n d b a s i c r e s e a r c h , w h i c h i s a c r u c i a l c o m p o n e n t o f t h e i n n o v a t i o n

t h a t i m p r o v e s l i f e f o r e v e r y o n e . ”

- Bill Gates -

Google Glass’ and give us their perspective on pres-ent and future trends. In a year where the govern-

ment shutdown and sequestration brought progressto a screeching halt, many agencies were able to riseabove the inauspicious environment and produce

groundbreaking and innovative programs.

Of course, when you think of government innova-tion, the first thing that probably comes to your mind

is NASA. A voyage in space. A rocket ship to themoon. A Rover on Mars. However, oftentimes themost innovative ideas are the ones that seem mostobvious: you know, the hand on your forehead mo-

ment when you realize that by changing one thing, bydoing something differently, you are more productive,effective and useful. And isn’t that the goal of every

government employee?

For instance, when the horrible bombings broughtterror to the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the

local police department sprang into action. They im-mediately mobilized their forces on the ground. But

then they did something else, too. The Boston PoliceDepartment (BPD) took to Twitter. The social media

team was informative, timely and accurate. The BPDflipped the script on emergency media management.They innovated in a time of crisis and got people the

information they needed in a timely and appropriatemanner.

That is what innovation looked like in 2013. Now

read the 20 stor ies that mattered.


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NUMBER ONE TREND OF 2013:

C y b e r s e c u r i t y E x e c u t i v e O r d e rORGANIZATION: WHITE HOUSE

Achievement :

President Obama’s long awaited executive order on cybersecurity was released in February

during his State of the Union address. Along with the executive order, “Improving CriticalInfrastructure: Cybersecurity,” the administration also released a companion policy direc-tive for federal agencies that provides a framework for agencies to implement the newcybersecurity requirements.

Why it matters:

After months of stalled cybersecurity legislationin Congress, the President decided to create his

own cybersecurity mandate. In reviewing PresidentObama’s executive order Jeffrey Greene, Senior

Policy Counsel, Symantec, stated, “The importanceof the executive order should not be overlooked, Ithink it is worth pausing and reflecting on the sig-nificance of the executive order and the time the

President spent speaking about cybersecurity dur-ing the State of the Union.”

The executive order was a reminder that too oftencybersecurity is described solely as identity theftor stolen credit card numbers. The executive orderspecifically focused on critical infrastructure, which

the executive order defines as , “systems and assets ,whether physical or virtual, so vital to the UnitedStates that the incapacity or destruction of such sys-tems and assets would have a debilitating impact on

security, national economic security, national publichealth or safety, or any combination of those mat-ters.” In a fact sheet provided by the White House,

the administration outlined seven focus areas:

1. Defense Industrial Base Information Sharing

Program now open to other sectors2. NIST to lead development of CybersecurityFramework 3. New information sharing programs to pro-

vide both classified and unclassified threat andattack information to U.S. companies.4. Development of a Cybersecurity Frame-work.

5. Strong privacy and civil liberties protectionsbased on the Fair Information Practice Prin-

ciples.6. Voluntary program to promote the adoptionof the Cybersecurity Framework.7. Review of existing cybersecurity regulation.

In response to the President’s mandate, the NationalInstitute of Standards and Technology (NIST) re-leased its Preliminary Cybersecurity Framework as

a set of best practices to help owners and operatorsof critical infrastructure reduce cybersecurity risks.The Preliminary Framework is composed of threeparts: the Framework Core, the Framework Profile,

and the Framework Implementation Tiers. “Thanksto a tremendous amount of industry input, the vol-untary framework provides a flexible, dynamic ap-

proach to matching business needs with improvingcybersecurity,” said Under Secretary of Commercefor Standards and Technology and NIST DirectorPatrick Gallagher. “We encourage organizations to

begin reviewing and testing the Preliminary Frame-work to better inform the version we plan to releasein February [2014].”

The hope is that through this executive order, andincreasing pressure on Congress to pass legislation,cyber will ultimately make its way into mainstream

America. Cyber threats are only increasing, and nowis the time for our legislators to act and work col-laboratively to secure and set standards for criticalinfrastructure.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/02/12/fact-sheet-presidential-policy-directive-critical-infrastructure-securit

http://www.nist.gov/itl/upload/preliminary-cybersecurity-framework.pdf

http://www.nist.gov/itl/upload/preliminary-cybersecurity-framework.pdf

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/02/12/fact-sheet-presidential-policy-directive-critical-infrastructure-securit



ment data has changed a lot in the last ten years, ithas changed in a way that made the old policies ofsharing information obsolete,” said John Wonderlich,

President of the Sunlight Foundation.

The memo also includes a mandate that agencieshave to internally list all their data sets. It mandates

that externally agencies have to list all the data setsthey’ve released publicly and the data sets they couldrelease in the future. By listing everything that could

be made public means that we get a new tool to as-sess how agencies are making decisions about theinformation they are releasing.

T

Why it matters:

By trying to reset the default to open data, the Di-rective will operationalize the decision. Opennesswill be built into agency process and planning. The

new policy has explicit language about what open-ness means for data licensing, standards, timelinessand accuracy. When the Digital Government Strat-egy was released last year, it was criticized because

it asked agencies to reset the default to open, butit didn’t enforce it. The Open Data Directive is asstrong as you could expect an open data policy to

be from the White House. It is an explicit politicaland operational commitment. It is not guaranteedto work, but it does tackle open data’s meaty issues.

“The directive is an important development becausethe way the public gets access to essential govern-

NUMBER TWO TREND OF 2013:

O p e n D a t a D i r e c t i v eORGANIZATION: OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

Achievement:

For the first t ime the government has an official definition of open data. In May, the Presi-dent mandated that the data should be fully described, fully accessible, standardized andfully downloadable and should be made public whenever possible. Agencies were also di-

rected to move towards this definition of open data for all their new systems. Finally, agen-cies were required to review data that is in their existing systems to move it from inaccessible to accessible.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2013/m-13-13.pdf

http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2013/m-13-13.pdf



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NUMBER THREE TREND OF 2013:

P r e s i d e n t i a l I n n o v a t i o n F e l l o w s | Organization: The White House

Achievement: In June, the White House published the list of the second roundof Presidential Innovation Fellows. The 43 fellows included engineers, entrepre-neurs, computer scientists and designers, all tasked with developing solutions

to improve lives, save tax dollars and create jobs. ;1&*& <#-/-** $.."+-6",*=>

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government services, and scaling international development initiat ives.

NUMBER FOUR TREND OF 2013:

L i b r a r i e s R e - I m a g i n e d | Organization: Anne Arundel County, Mary land Librar y

Achievement: ;1&*& /-7*= %$#,-,$&* -,&.J6 KG*6 ,&)"*$6",$&* ?", 61"G*-./* "?

#""2*L 61&7 1-+& -/-)6&/ M$61 61& 6$8&* 6" #& - 1G# "? 6&91."%"47H Peo-ple with very low incomes don’t have access to digital technology in their

homes. However, it is very challenging to apply and search for jobs withoutaccess to the internet. “Libraries have adapted to help people get online andunderstand how to fill out a job application, “ said Ron Carlee in an inter-view on the DorobekINSIDER. “For example in Anne Arundel County, Mary-

land, the city was about to open up a new Target store. All the applicationshad to be completed online. Fortunately there was a branch library nearby,which was converted into an employment center for that Target. Peoplecould come in and learn about the application process.”

NUMBER FIVE TREND OF 2013:

i C e n t e r | Organization : State of North Carolina

Achievement: The North Carolina’s new iCenter houses technology demos fromacross the state so that agencies can try new technologies before buying them.

Think of it like a Best Buy. You can come and test out new products and ser-vices before making a purchase. For example, say North Carolina’s DMV wantsto buy new tablets. The IT team for the DMV can head over to the iCenterto try out different models before buying them. A state audit released in Aprilof 2013 found that the actual costs of 84 previous projects were $356 million

more than originally anticipated and took 389 days longer than expected tocomplete. <;1& N.."+-6$". @&.6&, $* -#"G6 9"..&96$.4 )&")%& -./ 6&91."%F

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A G E N C Y O F

I N N O V A T I O N :F C C

In 2011 the Federal Communications Commission(FCC) rebooted their website with a focus on opendata and an intuit ive design. But the spirit of innova-tion didn’t end when the website launched. Under

Chief Information Officer David Bray, the FCC hasgrown into an organization that continues to breedinnovative ideas.

In fact, even though it has been around since 1934,the FCC’s mission statement emphasizes innovation:“The FCC’s vision is to promote innovation, invest-

ment, competition and consumer empowermentfor the communications platforms of today and thefuture -- maximizing the power of communications

technology to expand our economy, create jobs, en-hance U.S. competitiveness and unleash broad op-portunity for all Americans.”

Bray said innovation isn’t all about new apps or buzz-words, “I think we are doing a huge disservice to ourcitizens if we are only pursuing the shiny. We can’t

sacrifice the plumbing.”

It is that focus on plumbing and making sure thegears click into place that brought about Bray’s In-

trapreneurs at the FCC and four other innovationshe wants to implement in 2014:



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D a v i d B r a y ’ s 4 F o c u s A r e a sf o r 2 0 1 4

1. N.6,-),&.&G,* -6 61& P@@Q FCC currently op-erates 18 different bureaus and offices around thecountry. “The goal of the intrapreneurs program is

to have “intrapreneurs on the inside” – someone atthose offices be an end-to-end IT liaison to ensuredelivery of solutions that meet their needs. Intra-

preneurs are empowered to understand the differ-ent workflows and cultures of each office . By under-

standing their workflows we can create storyboardsto show how the IT should be helping them become

more efficient,” said Bray. These storyboards canthen inform a modular approach to meeting IT needs.

2. @7#&, R&*)".*& ;&-8*Q If you connect to theInternet you should assume you have vulnerabilities.“Cybersecurity is more than just building up big-ger walls. That’s why we need to be talking about

resiliency and continuous monitoring,” Bray noted.“We need cyber response teams that can respond toalerts immediately, as well as baking-in protections

for both security and privacy by design at the startof an endeavor.”

3. 0&9G,& !"#$%$67Q “Technology is everywhere

these days. You can even wear it, for example GoogleGlass or Samsung’s Galaxy Gear. The key for nextyear at the FCC will beadvancing secure mobility inthe workplace . This includes advancing Virtual Desk-

top technologies and exploring Bring Your Own De-vice (BYOD) to work if employees want to do so.With secure mobility, workers in the field can take

photos, measurements, sounds and record them ontheir devices,” said Bray. “That way you are inputtingdata while remaining connected.”

4. @"8)%&6& ;,-.*)-,&.97 ". 3G/4&6*Q “Withinthe FCC, we aiming for complete and open transpar-ency on budgets and share this with our Bureaus

and Offices. We will document how much money

we are spending on IT for the 18 different bureausand offices,” noted Bray. “You can see how much itis costing per IT project. The FCC will have 100%

of IT costs documented. It will be ideally be on adashboard that then enables Bureaus and Offices tomake choices about where they want to shift focusand make trade-offs about where their own IT pri-

orities are being placed even with our limited budgetenvironment.”

5. A??%"-/ :",2 6" 61& !-91$.&Q “Right now if

you want to collect information you can type a queryinto a search engine. But that is you (the employee)typing the query into a search engine. What we re-

ally need is to offload that work to the machine. Weneed to advance are solutions where a computersays, ‘I am thinking of using my next 12 hours whileyou are at home eating supper and sleeping to do the

following. Are you okay with this? I am going to try

to find you more information about what you werelooking for.’ Then, you come back the next morning

and the computer has begun to help prepare thingsthat normally you would have to do for yourself. Isee this type of computing happening in the next twoto ten years.”

For Bray, technology and people are co-evolving to-gether. “Nowadays technology is embedded in whatwe do. Technology can be worn by you, carried by

you and a part of you. Also, technology can collect

data that can be of benefit to the public – so we areexploring open data initiatives that can benefit our

nation’s communications activities,” said Bray. Healso notes “Successful CIOs recognize the work thatwe do involves 80% people, 20% technology – inno-vation comes from finding transformative solutions

involving both.”



I N N O V A T I O N ST H A T M A T T E R



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M O B I L E A P P S M O V E R S

NUMBER ONE MOBILE APPS MOVER AND SHAKER:

S o l v e t h e O u t b r e a kORGANIZATION: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION (CDC)

Achievement:

The CDC has developed an app for the iPad that teaches users about disease outbreakswith an interactive game called, “Solve the Outbreak .” In the game, players are diseasedetectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service charged with the responsibility to track,

solve, and prevent future outbreaks. Each of the six outbreaks in the simulation is basedon a real-life epidemic that the CDC has helped to stop.

To play the game, users are first given clues in the form of data char ts. They are also provided statistics on the

number of people that are infected and have died. Players are then asked to decide what should be done nextand can choose from options such as interviews, further lab analysis, or the quarantining of a whole town.Once the outbreak is stopped, users have to figure out how to prevent another occurrence of the disease.

If successful in solving and preventing the outbreak, players have the opportunity to view CDC reports onthe actual epidemic and how the organization handled the situation. Throughout the game, participants earnbadges and work their way up through different levels of expertise.

Since its release earlier this year, more than 22,000 users have downloaded the app and solved over 44,000

outbreaks.

Why It Matters:

“Solve the Outbreak” is innovative for its use of aninteractive game format, which successfully enter-

tains and educates users on issues relevant to pub-lic health. Users can take what they learn from theapp and use it to contribute to real-world diseaseprevention, surveillance, and response efforts. Alex

Cassanova, the Innovation Team Leader at the CDC,shared the agency’s reasons for inventing the app on

GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER podcast, stating, “Appcreation is a new task for the CDC. We recognizeapps for their portability and what they can contrib-ute to real-world disease surveillance and response.We are using this purely education application to

build out the framework for future health apps.”

Just as the CDC is planning to use “Solve the Out-

break” to construct additional health apps, othergovernment agencies are looking to it as an example.

Agencies can learn how to educate and involve thepublic in ways that are engaging, informative, and eas-

ily accessible on their tablets.

& S H A K E R S ( 1 - 5 )

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/cdc-turns-to-apps-to-create-disease-detectives-social-media-and-h






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NUMBER TWO MOBILE APPS MOVER AND SHAKER:

B r i d g i n g t h e D i g i t a l D i v i d e ORGANIZATION: UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

Achievement:

The University of Wisconsin’s Extension Center for Community Tech Solutions has been

endeavoring to bridge the digital divide by exposing communities unfamiliar with the In-ternet and social media to online tools. They have done so using a range of mobile tech-nological resources and a dedicated staff of community educators. These educators havetraveled to five distinct areas in Wisconsin where the majority of the population does not

have access to computers or other forms of technology. These regions include Chippewa Valley Region, Col-lege of Menominee Nation, Platteville, Superior, and Wausau.

In each community, instructors are using a combination of iPads, laptops and smartphones to provide classes

to local residents on how to use a computer, how to communicate through Skype , and the purposes of socialnetworks such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

To engage residents in the classes, the educators focus on the types of technology that interest the local com-

munity most and cater their lessons to the demographics of each population. For example, in a predominantlysenior community, educators often spent time teaching residents how to use an iPad because of the tablet’sability to easily enlarge the font on the screen. In another town, where the majority of the residents had fam-

ily members in the military stationed overseas, educators instructed residents on how to use Skype and gavethem the opportunity to speak to their loved ones abroad.

Why It Matters:

The University of Wisconsin’s initiative to “bridgethe digital divide” stands out for its mission and cre-ativity. The project’s ambition to provide online tools

and training to those without access to technologi-cal resources is noteworthy. Furthermore, the proj-ect’s use of mobile technology both to teach resi-

dents and connect community educators to outsideresources has demonstrated resourceful thinking. Asan example, in towns where news is primarily dis-seminated through the radio or TV, instructors have

often advertised their classes and services throughtweets to local news stations, which then inform res-idents of these learning opportunities.

Such efforts have paid off. The university has an-nounced that, since the project’s launch, it has

reached 3,803,686 participants, engaged in 796 ac-

tivities, and provided 22,708 training hours. Pro-gram managers still hope to increase the number

of broadband subscribers in these communities by23,500 this year and to raise online activity amongcurrent users through classes and engagement ef-forts with local residents. Overall, the university’s

program demonstrates the benefits associated withmobile devices and how these tools can be used toclose the gap in unequal access to technology bothin Wisconsin and other parts of the country.

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http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/is-the-key-to-bridging-the-digital-divide-social-media

http://broadband.uwex.edu/bccb-demonstration-communities/




http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/is-the-key-to-bridging-the-digital-divide-social-media



NUMBER THREE MOBILE APPS MOVER AND SHAKER:

D i s a s t e r R e p o r t e r | Organization: Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Depart-

ment of Homeland Security

Achievement: FEMA has added a feature to its app called Disaster Reporter thatallows users to submit disaster-related photos for public viewing on its web-site. These photos are geo-tagged, verified, and often used by first responders

to better meet the needs of citizens following a major disaster. Craig Fugate,the head of FEMA, introduced the app in a video posted to the agency’s officialblog in August. “A?6&.6$8&*= 7"GJ,& 61& ?$,*6 ".& 61&,&H S"GJ,& 4"$.4 6" 1-+&

61& #&*6 $.?",8-6$".H :& M-.6&/ 6" 4$+& 7"G - M-7 6" *1-,& 61-6,” he said. In

the wake of the Colorado floods in early October, Fugate released Colorado’sSituation Map Viewer which featured photos from the Disaster reporter app.

NUMBER FIVE MOBILE APPS MOVER AND SHAKER:

D O S C a r e e r s | Agency: Department of State

Achievement: The Department of State has built an app called DOSCareers that educates citizens about life as a Foreign Service Officer. ;1& -)) -%*" 1-*

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NUMBER FOUR MOBILE APPS MOVER AND SHAKER:

A N C E x p l o r e r | Agency: Arl ington Nat ional Cemetery

Achievement : Arlington National Cemetery now has an app,ANC Explorer, thatenables visitors to easily locate their loved one’s headstone and learn aboutthe notable sites on the grounds. ;1& -)) G6$%$X&* YN0 6&91."%"47 6" ),"+$/&

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CEZ -9,&* "? (,%$.46". [-6$".-% @&8&6&,7 8G91 &-*$&, 6" .-+$4-6& . The appdigitized more than 150 years worth of data. Teams of three walked through thecemetery and collected data on each headstone. The app pinpoints the head-

stones to within three inches of accuracy.

http://mashable.com/2013/07/29/fema-app-disaster-relief/

http://www.fema.gov/blog/2013-08-02/crowdsourcing-disasters-and-social-engagement-multiplied

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/want-to-work-for-the-state-department-there-s-an-app-for-that

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/arlington-national-cemetery-goes-digital-take-a-look-at-the-new-a

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/arlington-national-cemetery-goes-digital-take-a-look-at-the-new-a

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/want-to-work-for-the-state-department-there-s-an-app-for-that

http://www.fema.gov/blog/2013-08-02/crowdsourcing-disasters-and-social-engagement-multiplied

http://mashable.com/2013/07/29/fema-app-disaster-relief/



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B I G D A T A D Y N A M O S ( 6 - 1 0 )

NUMBER ONE BIG DATA DYNAMO:

D i g i t i z a t i o n I n i t i a t i v eORGANIZATION: SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Achievement:

The Smithsonian has adopted a plan to digitize their entire collection, which includes over130 million objects. Gunter Waibel, the director of the digitization office in the office of

the CIO, is leading the initiative. His strategy allows each museum to create and implementtheir own digitization plan. “The Smithsonian is a huge entity; it has 19 museums, 9 researchcenters, which includes a library with 20 dif ferent branches and archives,” said Waibel in an

interview on the DorobekINSIDER. “The digitization decisions are being made at a museum by museum basis.

They know their collection better than anyone else.”

The digitization office is overseeing these efforts by setting general goals for each museum as they work to-

ward digitization. Each museum’s timetable and set of priorities is based on three areas of focus: broadeningaccess, conservation and scientific research. The initiative has already brought concrete results. For example,the Natural History Museum has already digitized 200 botany sheets. “These things used to get loaned asphysical items,” Waibel explained. “Now scientists can do their work based on the digitized version of those

sheets.”

Why It Matters:

Only about 1% of the Smithsonian’s massive collec-

tion of archives is on display at any given time at themuseums. That means that 99% of the archives are

off limits to the public and scientists alike. “If peoplecan’t access the archives they might as well not ex-ist,” said Waibel. The digitization process means thatscientists, historians, and students all over the world

can access the resources of the museum. Digitizationfurthers the Smithsonian’s mission: spreading knowl-edge. In addition, this strategy contributes to the

federal government’s open data and open govern-ment policy. Digitization is only one of many efforts

that remove barriers so citizens can make the mostout of government resources. Not everyone has thetime or resources to make a visit to the Smithsonianin Washington D.C., yet all citizens deserve the right

to reap the benefits of these government-sponsoredcollections. The Digitization Initiative is ensuring thatanyone with an Internet connection can learn from

these museums.



Why It Matters:

The Citizen Dashboard provides an insight into gov-ernment operations that citizens can use to moni-tor government performance. Users can view thegovernment-set performance targets for each de-

partment, whether agencies meet those targets, and

which municipal services still need improvement.The city does not filter the data, ensuring complete

transparency. The dashboard serves as a critical toolto build an honest and ethical government.

For example, citizens can view the discrepancy be-

tween a successful emergency response time andan unsuccessful fire department mobilization onthe dashboard. The dashboard helps citizens and

government visualize the problem and how various

resources are spent. Citizens can effectively engage

with their government with the knowledge of thedashboard. When a user selects a specific measure,they can understand why the government is succeed-

ing or failing in meeting that goal by reading the “goal

rationale” and exploring the raw data.

The dashboard also provides additional links to help

citizens understand more about the problem andhow their municipal government operates. The com-bination of these features gives citizens the knowl-edge they need to work with their government to

improve operations. With the information on thecitizen dashboard, every resident of Edmonton canbecome an effective policy maker.

NUMBER TWO BIG DATA DYNAMO:

C i t i z e n D a s h b o a r dORGANIZATION: CITY OF EDMONTON, CANADA

Achievement:

The City of Edmonton has leveraged open data to create a “citizen dashboard” that givescitizens easy access to up-to-date and relevant information on the effectiveness and ef-

ficiency of important government services. A visitor to the City of Edmonton website willimmediately see the status of government service delivery and response rates displayedon a dashboard in sectors as diverse as traffic injuries, tree pruning and greenhouse gasemissions.

The program updates these rates in real-time and divides the data into easy-to-understand categories: “theway we l ive,” “the way we move,” “the way we green,” “the way we grow,” “the way we prosper,” and “the waywe finance.” The current data is displayed next to the goal rates set for each category by the city. For example,

the dashboard today shows that the fire department is not meeting the goal of having a full team on the scenein under 8 minutes. In contrast, the dashboard also displays that the city is meeting their goal of respondingto all emergency phone calls in under 20 seconds.



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NUMBER THREE BIG DATA DYNAMOS:

G i t H u b f o r G o v e r n m e n t | Organization : Agency Partner

Achievement: GitHub is the world’s largest social coding service and provides a

forum for coders to share challenges and best practices. (* 8-.7 4"+&,.8&.6

-4&.9$&* 6,-.*$6$". 6" ")&. *"G,9& *"?6M-,&= Y$6\G# -%%"M* ?", 9"%%-#",-6$".

#&6M&&. -4&.9$&* 6" "+&,9"8& 61& "#*6-9%&* G.$WG& 6" 6&91."%"47 $. 4"+&,.F

8&.6. Government agencies have long been using GitHub for this purpose, but

GitHub decided to make the collaboration official with the launch of government.github.com, a website dedicated to “showcasing the efforts of public servants and

civic hackers around the globe.” One of the most notable results of this collabo-ration has been the White House Open Data Project, an initiative that has gener-ated more than $3 billion by making federal data available to public and privatepartners.

NUMBER FOUR BIG DATA DYNAMO:

T r a c k i n g G u n s w i t h D a t a A n a l y t i c s | Organization: St. Louis Police Depart-

ment

Achievement: Monitoring and controlling criminal possession of firearmsis one of the biggest issues for St. Louis, Missouri. To mitigate this prob-lem, St. Louis city and criminal justice officials added an Armed OffendersDocket to the circuit court. In implementing the docket, 06H ]"G$* ?-9&/

- 8-K", $**G& #&9-G*& 61&,& M-* -. $.?",8-6$". 4-) $. 8".$6",$.4 61&

),"4,&** "? "??&./&,* 61,"G41 61& 9,$8$.-% KG*6$9& ),"9&** . It was veryeasy to find an individual of fender’s information. However, there was no

way to see everything on a system wide level. This system-wide informa-tion was necessary to know if the new docket made a difference. To fixthis problem, they designed an integrated criminal justice database. This

database (1) extracted key data elements from existing agency-specific

data silos, (2) merged the elements with common identifiers to permitassessment of system performance, and (3) minimized the burden on agency IT staff by installing web-baseddata extraction facilities in each of the separate systems.

NUMBER FIVE BIG DATA DYNAMO:

E n t e r p r i s e M a n a g e m e n t D e c i s i o n S u p p o r t S y s t e m ( E M D S )

| Organization : U.S. Army

Achievement: EMDS is an enterprise system on the Army’s classified networkthat pulls data from sources across the Army. ;1& /-6- *"G,9&* %""2 -6 6,-$.$.4=

)&,*"..&%= ,&-/$.&** -./ &WG$)8&.6H N6 #,$.4* 61"*& *"G,9&* $.6" - 9"88".

)%-6?",8 *" (,87 *&.$", %&-/&,* 9-. 8-2& $.?",8&/ /&9$*$".*. “ If you ask fivepeople right now at the Pentagon a question you will get five different answersbecause they are going to be pulling information from various data sources. Inour system we are constantly going out to those authoritative data sources and

updating them in real time . So when a quest ion is asked it is not an action officergoing to 1, 2 or 5 data sources, we’ve done this all in an automated fashion,” saidLt. Col. Bobby Saxon in an interview on the DorobekINSIDER.

http://government.github.com/


http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/10/29/open-data-building-stronger-economy


http://go.symantec.com/govthreatreport







mailto:[email protected]

http://www.avepointpublicsector.com/




S O C I A L M E D I A M A V E R I C K S ( 1 1 - 1 5 )

NUMBER ONE SOCIAL MEDIA MAVERICK:

@ B o s t o n P o l i c e T w i t t e r F e e dORGANIZATION: BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT

Achievement:

It was the tweet heard around the country: “CAPTURED!!! The hunt is over. The searchis done. The terror is over. And justice has won. Suspect in custody.” The f irst official an-nouncement that law enforcement agencies had concluded their manhunt for Boston

Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev didn’t come at a press conference. It didn’tcome from a press release or a dispatch over a police scanner. Instead, the announcement

came from two tweets from the Boston Police Department. Just seconds after Boston Police tweeted out themessage, more than 130,000 people had re-tweeted the message.

Why It Matters:

The tweets mark a monumental change in the waylaw enforcement and the government at large con-nects to the public during a crisis. The Twitter ac-count is run by Deputy Superintendent John Daley,

who said of Boston Police’s decision to use the so-cial media platform:

“Our Chief Dan Linskey was out in the street and

he got on the radio and said, ‘we’ve got to start us-ing social media now to get the word out.’ That’s atestament because he is the number two guy in the

department and social media was on his mind. Hewas thinking that this is an important component toresponding in a crisis. We immediately started send-ing out real-time tweets of what was going on at

the scene and gave people instructions on what todo and where to go. It wasn’t just our public affairs

office that was tweeting, our operational staff wasinvolved as well.”

Now, virtually every police department runs a Twit-

ter feed for official communications.



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NUMBER TWO SOCIAL MEDIA MAVERICK:

I n s t a g r a mORGANIZATION: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Achievement :

The Department of the Interior (DOI) launched their Instagram account in June of 2012.

A little over a year later, the account has more than 170,000 followers and has releasedmore than 850 breathtaking images of our national parks. Even more impressive the imageshave caught the attention of the world. Instagram presents the perfect opportunity for the

Interior Department to engage directly with a young demographic .

Why It Matters:

Instagram is the fastest application in history toreach one million users. From the Grand Canyon toDenali National Park, the Department of the Inte-rior’s feed features photos from professional pho-

tographers and DOI staf fers, typically alongside a de-scription of when, where, and (sometimes) how the

photo was taken. The Interior Department also takespublic submissions for photo contests. Interior rana contest this summer — the “Summer in America’sGreat Outdoors” project, which asked parkgoersto submit their park photography to a Flickr collec-

tion. The contest generated more than 1,300 photo-graphs in just three months. You can view some ofthe winning images in the Department of Interior’svideo montage.

Because of its emphasis on imagery, Instagram hasbecome a key part of the Interior Department’s so-cial strategy. The Interior Department Director of

Digital Strategy Tim Fullerton makes getting 10,000“likes” on an image seem easy, but the truth is thatthe agency has been working extremely hard to ex-

pand its digital presence. With more than 170,000followers the Interior Department is pioneering newstrategies for government–citizen communicationand giving followers a visual reminder of the beauty

of our national parks.



NUMBER THREE SOCIAL MEDIA MAVERICK:

U n i t e d S t a t e s P o s t a l S e r v i c e ’ s P i n t e r e s t A c c o u n t |Organization: United States Postal Service

Achievement: N. _-.G-,7= 61& Y&.&,-% 0&,+$9&* (/8$.$*6,-F

6$". -)),"+&/ 61& 6&,8* "? *&,+$9& ?", B$.6&,&*6= 8&-.$.4

61-6 ?&/&,-% -4&.9$&* 9"G%/ *6-,6 6" G*& 61& *$6& 6" &.4-4&

M$61 9$6$X&.*. The Postal Service took notice and created aPinterest page dedicated to its stamp collection. For example,

it has pages of the 50 years of Christmas stamps, the LoveSeries and Stamps for Children, featuring Bugs Bunny and theIncredibles. The main USPS stamp page already has more than

1,400 pins.

NUMBER FOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MAVERICK:

M i n i n g H e a l t h D a t a f r o m S o c i a l M e d i a | Organization: The National

Library of Medicine, Department of Health and Human Services

Achievement: The National Library of Medicine is using social media to help mine health data. By examiningrelevant tweets and other comments , the NLM gained ins ights on how different health-related announcementsare understood by the public. Over the course of a year, the NLM tracked federal sites including the NIHInstitutes and the CDC. P", &-91 6,-92&/ *"9$-% 8&/$- "G6%&6 61& []! %""2&/ -6 61& %"9-6$".= .G8#&, "?

?"%%"M&,*= -9-/&8$9 /&4,&& "? &-91 )"*6&, . Specifically, NLM outlined on their website that they will look at

the “value of tweets and other messages as teaching tools and change-agents for health-relevant behavior.”

NUMBER FIVE SOCIAL MEDIA MAVERICK:

D i g i t a l E n g a g e m e n t T e a m | Organization: U.S. Department of Education

Achievement: Every year, roughly 20 million prospective col-lege students fill out the Free Application for Federal StudentAid (FAFSA) form. The Education Department created a digital

engagement team to respond to questions and concerns thatarose digitally. “ :1&. *6G/&.6* 4&6 ?,G*6,-6&/= 61&7 6M&&6

-#"G6 $6H :& M-.6 6" )G%% ?&&/#-92 *6,-$416 ?,"8 61& 9".F

*G8&,*J 8"G61,” said Nicole Callahan, the leader of the Edu-

cation Department’s Digital Engagement Team. The team alsostarted online office hours, where once a month, subject mat-ter experts log on to Twitter to answer questions.



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NUMBER ONE WEBSITE WONDER:

G o v . U KORGANIZATION: GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Achievement:

The government of the United Kingdom recently integrated all of its government websitesunder one single domain. The new conglomerate website, gov.uk , replaced 2,000 govern-

ment websites, including those of the 24 ministerial departments and an additional 300agency bodies. More important , however, is the site’s design, which was built with citizensin mind, presenting information in a clear, simple, yet attractive and modern format. A

notable aspect of the site’s design is the use of a single font type on all of the pages, which the creators didon purpose to give the si te an undertone of clarity and consistency. Structurally, the site is divided into threemain sections:

Services and Information

Departments and Policy

More Information on Gov.uk

The first section directs users to particular tasks and government services. These include links to subjectssuch as “driving and transportation” and “housing and local services.” The second component lists the numberof ministerial departments, official agencies and bodies, and policy areas of the UK government. Users can

then click on departments, agencies, or policy areas for a detailed breakdown of each with their relevant links.

This section of the website also includes policy statistics and department news stories. Users can see theimpact of a particular policy by looking up the statistics associated with its outcomes. They can also read thelatest activities of a specific ministry by searching the news section by department. The third portion of the

website is a final catchall that offers a categorized, brief list of additional services and information.

Why It Matters:

Gov.uk has been recognized for its innovative anduser-friendly format, winning the Design of the Year

Award for 2013. The website’s layout is e fficient, en-abling users to find information and services morequickly. The new site is also convenient, in that citi-zens can obtain answers and submit government re-

quests all in one place. The website’s slogan reflectsthese objectives, which ultimately are to make theuser experience “Simpler, Clearer, Faster.”

When asked about the website, the Right Honor-able David Cameron, Member of Parliament, said in

a press release published on gov.uk, “I am delightedthat the website has won the Design of the YearAward in 2013. This government is committed to be-ing the most transparent in the world. For the first

time, people can find out what’s happening insidegovernment, all in one place, and in a clear and con-sistent format.” Gov.uk, ultimately, has been rankedas one of the leading government websites in the

world and serves as a model for other governmentsin pursuit of transparency and the improvement ofpublic services.

W E B S I T E W O N D E R S ( 1 6 - 2 0 )

https://www.gov.uk/

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/govuk-wins-design-of-the-year-2013

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/govuk-wins-design-of-the-year-2013

https://www.gov.uk/



Why It Matters:

OurWarwick.com is notable for its interactive as-

pects that encourage both visitors and locals to sharetheir memories of the city. User comments serve asa marketing tool, attracting tourists and providingrecommendations for their visit. These commentsalso promote a sense of pride and unity among resi-

dents. As one local said when reflecting on City Hall,“[It’s] such a beautiful building and a definite nationaltreasure. Very proud to call Warwick home!”

Warwick Mayor, Scott Avedisian, expressed his ap-

proval of the site in an article by the Providence Journal , saying, “This really provides an opportunityfor our city to celebrate all that makes Warwick

special, and invites our citizens to be ambassadorsin a sense for their neighborhoods and the city asa whole.” Modeled after a Library of Congress ini-tiative for the city of New York, OurWarwick.com,

now stands as its own example of an effective andinnovative way to include the local community in thepromotion of a city’s activities, sites, and events.

NUMBER TWO WEBSITE WONDER:

O u r W a r w i c k . c o m

ORGANIZATION: CITY OF WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND

Achievement :

The city of Warwick, Rhode Island, has developed a very interactive website to attract tour-ists and engage residents. The site allows users to nominate places, events, and experiencesthat they found memorable . In addition, users have the opportunity to map their nominatedlocations and events, providing easy directions for any other visitors to the site wishing to

engage in the same activities. The maps feature also enables visitors to see Warwick’s at-tractions in relation to each other, giving them the ability to plan their trip to the city more effectively.

To nominate a place, event, or particular experience, users simply click the desired category and fill out their

name, email, and a brief description. Users also provide a short explanation for why they made their selection.Nominations are monitored by the city to ensure that the material is appropriate. Once they are published

online, other visitors to the site can then comment on any and all posts and share them using social mediasuch as Facebook and Twitter.

If a particular event or location gains traction online such as Gorton Pond, Rocky Point Park, or the GaspeeDays Parade, it is featured on the site. Bob Martin, Warwick’s e-government specialist, hopes to expand this

idea as posts accumulate, creating individualized pages for each of the city’s 16 villages and specialized pageswithin the site for Warwick’s best restaurants, shops, and events.

http://www.ourwarwick.com/

http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20131023-warwick-launches-new-website-for-locals-to-tout-their-city.ece




http://www.ourwarwick.com/



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NUMBER THREE WEBSITE WONDER:

N Y C . g o v | Organization: City of New York

Achievement: Receiving more than 35 million visitors per year and more than

250 million page views annually, NYC.gov has been redesigned to make iteasier for tourists and residents to find information about city services andattractions. The new website offers expanded city alerts and mayoral an-

nouncements and opportunities for citizen engagement such as links to thenon-emergency 311 service request program. ;1& *$6& *6-./* "G6 ?", $6*

*%&&2= G*&,F?,$&./%7 ?",8-6 -./ 61& ?-96 61-6 $6 ."M ),"+$/&* ",4-.$X&/ %$.2*

6" -%% 9$67 *&,+$9& M&#)-4&*. In addition, the search capabilities of the sitehave been improved with the most popular service request items being dis-played prominently on the homepage.

NUMBER FIVE WEBSITE WONDER:

C o l o r a d o U n i t e d | Organization: State of Colorado

Achievement: The site, ColoradoUnited.com, is significant in that it was cre-

ated by the Colorado state government for the explicit purpose of provid-ing recovery news about the flooding that occurred in the state earlier

this year. ;1& *$6& "??&,* G*&,* 9%&-,= G)F6"F/-6& $.?",8-6$". ". 9G,,&.6

,&9"+&,7 &??",6*= 6,-??$9 -./ M&-61&, 9"./$6$".*= -./ M-7* 6" 4&6 )G#%$9

-**$*6-.9&H A. -+&,-4&= 61& *$6& ,&9&$+&* -)),"I$8-6&%7 DE=VVV +$*$6",*

)&, M&&2 M$61 -#"G6 EZ )&,9&.6 "? 61&*& G*&,* -99&**$.4 61& *$6& +$-

61&$, )1".&*. Most visitors use the site to obtain assistance informationand updates on travel conditions.

NUMBER FOUR WEBSITE WONDER:

C o n g r e s s . g o v | Organization : U.S. Congress

Achievement: ;1& .&M&*6 9".4,&**$".-% $.?",8-6$". *7*6&8= Congress.gov, "?F

?&,* G*&,* $.?",8-6$". ". 8&8#&,* "? @".4,&** -./ /-6- ". +"6$.4 ,&9",/*

?", )-,6$9G%-, )$&9&* "? %&4$*%-6$".H N6 -%*" 9"8&* M$61 - +$*G-% 6,-92&, 61-6

-%%"M* G*&,* 6" 8".$6", 61& ),"4,&** "? - *)&9$?$9 #$%% . In addition, the site acts

as an educational tool, providing videos and charts that explain how the legisla-tive process works. Ultimately, the website will replace its precursor, Thomas.gov, once data from the former site is integrated into the new congressionalinformation system. As this transition moves forward, new features are con-

stantly being added to the site . Some of the newest ones include changes to the

interface, the addition of an analysis and interpretation of the Constitution, andthe ability to conduct searches within search results.

http://www1.nyc.gov/

https://sites.google.com/a/state.co.us/coloradounited/

http://beta.congress.gov/



https://sites.google.com/a/state.co.us/coloradounited/

http://www1.nyc.gov/



+ / - + * - + + ' ( ' 0 , ) ! " 1 2

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NUMBER ONE FUTURE TREND:

E v o l u t i o n o f t h e

I n n o v a t i o n O f f i c e rORGANIZATION: A GOVERNMENT AGENCY NEAR YOU

Achievement:

In the past two years, more than 20 cities, states and school districts have added inno-

vation officers to their municipal leadership teams. From Boston to Kansas City to SanFrancisco, the twin pressures of tight budgets and citizen expectations have propelledpublic officials to embrace innovation as a strategic priority. Fortunately, this vanguard of

innovators is seeing signs of initial success. Consider these two early efforts:

;1& P,&&/"8 R$.4* B-,6.&,*1$) $. B1$%-/&%)1$- responds to the reality that 4 out of 10 residentslack access to a computer or the Internet. The project has launched 79 “KeySpots” across the city that

provide more than 800 free workstations and 200,000 hours of training for 20,000 participants. FreedomRings has also distributed nearly 5,000 netbooks to Philadelphians and created more than 100 jobs in the

region. The public -pr ivate partnership, which includes city, university, non-profit and company stakehold-ers, is led by Philadelphia’s Off ice of Innovation and Technology.

;1& @$67 "? @"%",-/" 0),$.4*= @A, formed their community’s first innovation and sustainability officetwo years ago. One of the team’s first projects was to convince the city’s streets division to sell its out-

dated equipment. By allowing them to reinvest that money into new equipment versus absorbing the pro-ceeds into the general fund, the streets team sold 69 pieces of outdated equipment and netted $585,000to purchase new equipment. In the end, they saved $150,000 in maintenance on old equipment. Freshthinking from the Colorado Spring innovation office altered the incentive structure and encouraged new

approaches to a perennial challenge.

Why It Matters:

In his Strategy for American Innovation, PresidentBarack Obama said:

“The first step in winning the future is encouragingAmerican innovation. None of us can predict withcertainty what the next big industry will be or wherethe new jobs will come from. Thirty years ago, we

couldn’t know that something called the Internetwould lead to an economic revolution. What we cando -- what America does better than anyone else -- isspark the creativity and imagination of our people.”

We don’t know exactly what the future holds. Butwhat we do know is that cities and agencies that fo-cus on innovation invariably discover novel solutions

for their most perplexing problems.



NUMBER TWO FUTURE TREND:

E L E V A T I O N O F V I R T U A L E V E N T S A N D

T R A I N I N GORGANIZATION: AGENCIES SEEKING TO SAVE SIGNIFICANT MONEY AND EN

GAGE MORE EMPLOYEES

Achievement :

In a GovLoop survey of 335 government employees, 9 out of 10 said that they are morelikely to attend virtual training versus in-person events in the coming year. Another 90 per-cent of employees said they valued online training because it “reduces out of office traveltime and saves money” for their agencies. We published these and other survey results in

a guide titled, “Building Better Conferences and Training: The Value of Virtual Events in Government.” Beloware two noteworthy case studies that show the shift in employee development activities:

TH0H A??$9& "? B&,*"..&% !-.-4&8&.6 `AB!a 0"9$-% ]&-,.$.4 B$%"6Q OPM and the Department ofDefense (DoD) wanted to convert a 2-day, in-person training session for online delivery. GovLoop workedwith them to build an innovative, 6-week course that leveraged our social network to host a series ofhour-long webinars, handpicked blogs as required reading, moderated discussion forums and peer-to-peer

learning. Eighty-six percent of participants said “the course learning objectives were met” and 79 percentindicated that “the content was useful for my job.”

TH0H 5&)-,68&.6 "? ;,-.*)",6-6$". `5A;a b$,6G-% 0),$.4 0G88$6Q The Federal Highway Administra-

tion (FHA) needed to transform a series of in-person, annual events that had become quite costly. FHApicked a platform that could accommodate attendees from all 50 states. The results were extraordinary:FHA cut the cost of the event by 90%, doubled attendance from 1,200 to 2,500 virtual participants, facili-

tated better decision-making by the states , and involved more dispersed state employees than ever before.

In our guide, we also cite stories from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the De-partment of Defense, which achieved equally impressive results through their innovative virtual conferencing

activities.

Why It Matters:

Not only are virtual conferences and training effec-

tive. They’re pretty much mandatory for the foresee-able future. Consider this guidance from the Federal

Chief Financial Officers Council:

“The Administration has taken aggressive steps tocurtail conference spending and has installed strictpolicies and controls to ensure that conference ex-

penditures are cost-effective and advance the mis-sion and programmatic goals of each agency. As a

first step in conference planning, an agency shouldconfirm that physical collocation of Federal employ-ees in a conference setting is a necessary and cost-

effective means to carry out the agency’s mission(and that other, lower-cost options, such as video-conferencing, have been explored).”

When combined with sequestration and continuingresolutions, now is the opportune time for govern-ment to innovate around its events and training toeffectively equip a world-class workforce.

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/better-conferences-training-value-of-virtual-events-government

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/better-conferences-training-value-of-virtual-events-government



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NUMBER THREE FUTURE TREND:

S e q u e s t r a t i o n a n d S h u t d o w n s | Organization: Every Agency Feeling the Impact

of Budget Cuts

Achievement: In a recent GovLoop interview, Tech America’s Trey Hodgkins and Robert Haas reviewed the

results of their annual forecast and *G44&*6&/ 61-6 *&WG&*6,-6$". M$%% ."6 *6$?%& $.."+-6$".= #G6 *6$8G%-6& $6H

<\$*6",$9-%%7= M1-6 M& 1-+& *&&. $* *$4.$?$9-.6 )&,$"/* "? $.."+-6$". "99G, M1&. 61& #G/4&6* -,& -6 61&$,

%"M&*6H> In a separate interview, 30-year government veteran Alan Balutis shared a similar sentiment. “Whenthe real fiscal crunch happens, budget pressures, sequestration, fiscal cliff - whatever you want to call it. Wewill need to re-think the way we do business,” said Balutis. “This will drive innovation.” Let’s all hope they’reright, because Continuing Resolutions and shutdowns seem to be the new normal.

NUMBER FOUR FUTURE TREND:

O p e n D a t a a s I n n o v a t i o n D r i v e r | Organization: Every Agency Looking to Lever-

age Public Datasets

Achievement: Open data is nothing new. Data.gov was launched in May 2009 and there are dozens of exampleswhere citizens and hackers have leveraged public datasets to create apps that improve our communities. As we

mentioned as one of the 5 Trends from 2013, the White House put some additional heft behind the conceptby making open and machine readable the new default. As a result, we’re thinking 2014 will mark a new highwater point for innovation around open data.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took open data to a whole new level in 2013with its International Space Apps Challenge. GovLoop interviewed the creators of Sol, the first interplanetaryweather app, which was built with data from the Curiosity Rover on Mars. In addition to creating valuabletools, it turns out that opening up data may be a good recruitment tool for emerging talent. One participant

in NASA’s apps challenge said, <N6J* "// 7"G /".J6 .",8-%%7 61$.2 -#"G6 1-92-61".* ?,"8 4"+&,.8&.6 ",4-F

.$X-6$".*H 3G6 -* - 4&&2 -./ - .&,/ 61&,& $* -. -))&-% 6" M",2 ". -. -)) ?", *)-9&> that’s built on a publicly

available dataset.

NUMBER FIVE FUTURE TREND:

A g i l e A c q u i s i t i o n | Organization: U.S. Coast Guard

Achievement: Agile acquisition can likely save the government billions of dol-

lars (yes, with a “b”). For those unfamiliar with the term, agile basically meansiterative, incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolvethrough collaboration between se lf-organizing, cross-functional teams. How-

ever, when it comes to gathering requirements for an acquisition, government“often spends far more time than we should defining up front requirements,”said Retired Coast Guard Captain Daniel Taylor in an August 2013 interviewwith GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER. <37 61& 6$8& 7"G 4&6 61,"G41 -%% 61& -)F

),"+-%*= 7"G, ,&WG$,&8&.6* 1-+& 91-.4&/H B&,1-)* $? M& /&?$.&/ 61& 1$41

%&+&% ,&WG$,&8&.6* -./ *6"))&/ 61&,& 6" 4&6 -)),"+-% ?", -. $.+&*68&.6

-./ 61&. 1&%/ "?? /"$.4 61& /&6-$%&/ ,&WG$,&8&.6* G.6$% 61& %-*6 )"**$#%& 8"8&.6= M& M"G%/ #& -#%& 6"

8",& WG$92%7 -./ 91&-)%7 ),"9G,&=> said Taylor. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of agencies making themove in this direction, but it’s a trend we hope government explores in 2014 and beyond.

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/gentlemen-we-are-out-of-money-now-we-have-to-think-winston-church


http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/are-budget-cuts-the-real-catalyst-for-innovation

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/when-will-the-federal-government-get-back-to-normal-5-reasons-the


http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/to-infinity-and-beyond-using-open-data-to-create-space-apps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iterative_and_incremental_development

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-functional_team

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-functional_team

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iterative_and_incremental_development

http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/to-infinity-and-beyond-using-open-data-to-create-space-apps


http://www.govloop.com/profiles/blogs/are-budget-cuts-the-real-catalyst-for-innovation





C I T Y O F

I N N O V A T I O N :R O U N D R O C K ,

T E X A SCan you imagine offloading your work onto a machine?The offloading would save enormous amounts of time, acommodity that is in short supply with staffing cuts due to

fiscal constraints.

Constraints are nothing new for local governments. Longbefore the federal government was struggling with major

budget cuts and smaller staffs, local governments were feel-ing the fiscal pinch. The only way to survive was to innovateand innovate quickly.

That is exactly what the city of Round Rock, Texas, did. Thecity of 100,000 used low-cost technologies and agile devel-opment processes to engage with citizens and offer better

web products.

Round Rock was one of the first city governments to dab-

ble in Pinterest, establishing an account in 2011. They alsocreated a public alert system on their website that pro-vides crucial information for citizens in a disaster. Over theHalloween weekend 2013, the city was hit with a major

storm resulting in serious flooding. The alert helped resi-dents stay safe and get disaster relief out to their housesquickly with just a click of the mouse. In short, the city of

just over 100,000 residents is a hot bed of innovation.



+ / - + * - + + ' ( ' 0 , ) ! " 1 2

B r o o k s B e n n e t t ’ s 5

P r e d i c t i o n s f o r 2 0 1 4

Brooks Bennett leads that innovative mindset asRound Rock’s Chief Information Officer. We askedBennett to peer into his crystal ball and give us hispredictions for technology in 2014.

1. c5 ),$.6$.4 is becoming much more accessibleand advanced. Being able to download a creation and

have it be manifested in physical form in a matter ofminutes is incredible.

2. Y""4%& Y%-** has changed the way we think about

consuming technology and reality. Siri and like tech-nologies are making talking to devices normal andpowerful.

3. @".6&I6 -M-,& 6&91."%"4$&* like Google Noware presenting data to users. Artificial intelligence

enhancements are rapidly proliferating and are goingto play larger and larger roles in our lives.

4. PG,61&, ),"%$?&,-6$". "? \;!]U -./ )G,)"*&

#G$%6 8"#$%& -))*. Removing the need to update cli-

ent software is a huge plus to deploying and updatingsystems. The web as a platform is becoming muchmore powerful and will continue to advance, espe-

cially on mobile devices.

5. !"#$%& /&+$9&* in the field are only going to getmore important. We are moving away from workers

in the field coming to a home base to pick up anddrop off paperwork. Getting things done on the go isgoing to make organizations more efficient.

However, Bennett notes that in order for many ofthe innovations discussed above to happen, one thingneeds to change, “Not allowing APIs for access to

data, needs to become passe. Too many systems arewalled gardens. We get value out of exposing infor-mation in new and exciting ways. IT desiring strong

controls over all devices will be more passé. Peoplewant to use all kinds of client devices and IT needsto find ways to make that happen.”

http://www.solarwinds.com/federal_government/solution/continuous-monitoring.aspx?CMP=SYN-WEB-GovLoop-130924GovLoopCyberGuide-X-FED-8x11





http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/05/09/executive-order-making-open-and-machine-readable-new-default-government-



http://www.visioninternet.com/

http://www.twitter.com/visioninternet

http://www.facebook.com/visioninternet

https://www.visioninternet.com/our-vision/resources/information-request

http://www.visioninternet.com/home



A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T SGovLoop appreciates the many individuals who shared their experience and expertise with us for this guidethrough a series of surveys and interviews. We especially want to thank the following individuals for providingcritical insight into Innovation in 2013:

David Bray, CIO, Federal Communications CommissionBrooks Bennett, CIO, Round Rock, Texas

In addition, GovLoop appreciates its sponsors, AvePoint, Pega and Vision Internet for their insights and contri-

butions to make this guide possible.

GovLoop would also like to acknowledge the members of its internal team that conducted the interviews,

coalesced the information, and contributed to the creation of this guide:

Lead Writers: Emily Jarvis, Online Editor & Producer of the DorobekINSIDER, Andrew Krzmarzick , GovLoopDirector of Community Engagement, and Sharon McCoy and Kathryn David, GovLoop Graduate Fellows

Lead Editor : Steve Ressler, GovLoop Founder and President

Lead Designer : Jeff Ribeira, GovLoop Senior Interactive Designer

Designer: Russell Yerkes, GovLoop Design Fellow

If you have any questions or feedback pertaining to this guide, please contact [email protected].

Image Credits: White House Flickr, US Coast Guard Flickr, US Army Flickr, FEMA.gov, University of Wisconsin-Madison

C O N C L U S I O N2013 may go down as the year of the government shutdown, or the flawed launch of healthcare.gov, but thoseof us who follow government closely know those minor setbacks only represent a drop in the bucket when

compared to government innovation. Government is the home to the creation of GPS, weather predictions,the polio vaccine and so much more. Government is innovation.

The 20 government innovations we highlighted in this guide all have one thing in common: risk. The public ser-

vants behind these projects had to go outside of the bureaucratic norms. They had to buck the mantra, “Thisis how we’ve always done things around here.”

The Federal Chief Technology Officer, Todd Park, a master of innovative ideas, has said, “There are a lot ofpockets of innovation going on right now. But if we want the government to truly grow, we have to unleashinnovation in all sectors of the government.”

We agree. And we look forward to the innovations of government in 2014.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/whitehouse


http://www.flickr.com/photos/coast_guard/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter

http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/images/66443

http://photos.uc.wisc.edu/




http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/images/66443

http://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter






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The GovLoop community has been widely recognized across multiple sectors. GovLoop members come fromacross the public sector. Our membership includes federal, state, and local public servants, industry expertsand professionals grounded in academic research. Today, GovLoop is the leading site for addressing public sec-tor issues.

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