There is a widely circulated dream within the halls of local governments everywhere: Let the data do the driving. In this ideal system, cost savings and efficiencies coexists with cohesive programs and better decision-making abilities, and the public is satisfied …

Officials Talk Data, Performance Measures for Better Government Read more »

Remember the 1990s visions of the future? Those first incantations of the sweeping “smart city,” so technologically utopian and Tomorrowland-ish in design? The concept and solutions were pitched by tech titans like IBM and Cisco, cost obscene amounts of money, …

How Startups Are Transforming the Smart City Movement Read more »

The first fruits of Google’s inaugural Government Innovation Lab are nearly ripe. In California’s Central Valley, Kern County has announced two prototypes envisioned as remedies for a number of civic challenges. The first prototype is what officials call a Virtual …

Google Government Innovation Lab Reveals First Prototypes Read more »

PayPal and the U.S. Department of Commerce have partnered to bolster exports with open data. In a joint blog post on Aug. 10, Commerce’s Chief Data Officer Ian Kalin announced  that the e-commerce site PayPal had committed to sharing data …

PayPal, Commerce to Share U.S. Export Data for Economic Growth Read more »

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Efforts to bring open data into, well, the open have touched off widespread discussion as to just where the use of the information is headed, and whether there is a need for expanded oversight and state legislation. …

California Plans Next Moves for Open Data Read more »

America is well acquainted with his culinary expletives. From “f—ing rancid potatoes!” to “f—ing cucumbers!” to “I’ve got [cockroaches] in my f—ing hair!,” his reality TV rage has become a hallmark. But beyond the antics — most erupting from his …

Food Inspection App, API Put Restaurants Under the Microscope Read more »

William Gibson, the science fiction writer who coined the term “cyberspace,” once said: “The future is already here — it’s just not very evenly distributed.” That may be exactly the way to look at the selection of disruptive technologies we …

Disruptive Technology that Could Transform Government-Citizen Relationships Read more »

  No one thought about data standards when the Jack in the Box E. coli epidemic erupted in 1993. Instead, there was panic as the stomach-clenching illness engulfed more than 700 victims across California, Washington, Idaho and Nevada. The strain …

Can Food Inspection Data Standards Stop an Epidemic? Read more »

Nashville is digging deeper into its data – the city’s Metro Human Relations Commission and Code for Nashville have unveiled a new data visualization platform that will allow the public to view and track diversity within the Metro Government of …

Nashville Uses Data to Track, Improve Workforce Diversity Read more »

Researchers use them for estimates, political groups for lobbying, journalists for reporting, companies for strategy and citizens for civic participation. What are they? Public records requests, the official inquiries to governments for nonclassified information. All 50 states guarantee the right …

NextRequest Record App Supercharges Transparency Read more »