Cities are embracing the concept of beta testing, saying that the best thing to do before going live with a new website is to, in fact, launch a website.
For years there has been the belief that cities have to unveil new websites in the same fashion they present their plazas or parks: in one swift reveal. From the start, every amenity has to be ready, each piece of content added and the design — with the exception of minor garnishments — should be set and final.
Often, for city officials applying such tactics, an unwanted discovery was imminent. They might see to their dismay that the work wasn’t done. Site features didn’t work the way they envisioned. Navigation buttons went awry. The maladies just continued until leaders found themselves crossing fingers and throwing cash at the problems.
That was then, this is now, and luckily things are gradually changing. Cities have learned that websites — like any other piece of 21st-century tech — are always evolving. It’s why they’re embracing the idea of beta testing, whose advocates argue that the best thing to do before launching a website is to, in fact, launch a website. continued…
first published week of: 08/29/2016
CIOs from six cities in New York convene annually to have open conversations in a closed, trusted space to share ideas, discuss common challenges and brainstorm potential solutions. This is a snapshot of selected conversations from the group’s annual meetings.
In 2015, President Obama announced the Smart Cities Initiative, designed to help reinvigorate communities so that they could tackle local challenges and improve city services.
With an investment of more than $160 million in federal research and new technology collaborations, this initiative helped further establish the support needed for cities to think about technology in a strategic and innovative way in areas like transportation, public safety, economic development, energy efficiency, urbanization and environmental stability. This extensive commitment of federal resources to meet local and community-led initiatives is important, particularly at a time when small- to medium-sized cities are rapidly evolving to meet the needs of the people they serve. continued…
first published week of: 11/07/2016
After the 2001 terrorist attacks, the Department of Homeland Security developed a communication network to make it easier for agencies to share intelligence related to terrorism. Operational since 2006, the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) recently added a capability that simplifies the way fusion centers handle requests for information from law enforcement agencies.
Those requests involve providing analytical assistance or information that could identify emerging criminal activity, processing encounter notifications, assessing current crime trends, or supporting counterterrorism or emergency management operations. HSIN Exchange now helps fusion centers address inquiries more efficiently while using metrics to assess and enhance their own operations. Along the way, the centers are saving time and reducing the duplication of systems and effort. continued…
first published week of: 10/10/2016
Dewand Neely has been Indiana’s CIO since 2015, when he was appointed by Gov. Mike Pence. Since then, Neely has spearheaded the state's use of data analytics, something he spoke to GCN about at this year’s National Governors Association's “Meet the Threat” conference. He also spoke about a new cybersecurity training program for state employees that aims to eliminate some of the inadvertent security risks from insiders.
What are some projects that you’re excited about?
Our data analytics practice is getting quite a bit of notoriety from other states that want to know how they can take advantage of what we’ve done, how they can do it and how we can help them. We’ve got a lot of great work going on with analytics, especially using data to help address the opioid crisis that going on across the country. We’re also using data to analyze traffic fatalities. continued…
first published week of: 10/10/2016
Google Fiber's quick access to utility poles threatened by lawsuit.
AT&T has sued Nashville to stop a new ordinance designed to accelerate the deployment of Google Fiber.
The lawsuit (PDF) was filed in US District Court in Nashville yesterday, only two days after the Nashville Metro Council passed a “One Touch Make Ready” rule that gives new ISPs faster access to utility poles. The ordinance lets a single company make all of the necessary wire adjustments on utility poles itself, instead of having to wait for incumbent providers like AT&T and Comcast to send work crews to move their own wires. Google Fiber says it is waiting on AT&T and Comcast to move wires on nearly 8,000 poles.
AT&T’s lawsuit claims that the ordinance is preempted by Federal Communications Commission pole attachment regulations and violates AT&T’s 58-year-old pole attachment contract with Nashville. The company seeks a declaration that the ordinance is unlawful and a permanent injunction preventing the local government from enforcing it.
The Nashville ordinance lets companies “temporarily seize AT&T’s property, and... alter or relocate AT&T’s property, without AT&T’s consent and with little notice,” AT&T argued. “AT&T would be deprived of an adequate opportunity to assess the potential for network disruption caused by the alteration or relocation, and to specify and oversee the work on AT&T’s own facilities to ensure any potential for harm to its network, including harm to the continuity and quality of service to its customers, is minimized.”
Google Fiber or other ISPs would have to provide only 15 days' notice before moving wires, or 30 days if the work would “reasonably be expected to cause a customer outage,” AT&T said. But that conflicts with FCC regulations, which gives companies like AT&T 60 days to modify wires to accommodate a new ISP, AT&T argues. continued…
first published week of: 09/26/2016
According to an official blog post introducing the new official, Krucoff will lead a team of 26 employees who worked together previously in an unofficial capacity as they were spread across the enterprise.
On Aug. 3, the District of Columbia put a name behind the promise of a renewed data focus announced early this year. As of last June, Barney Krucoff became the district's new chief data officer, working under the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), which is responsible for leading D.C.'s commitment to expand data access for entrepreneurs and academia, and ultimately delivering insights that will assist government's missions of public health, transit and service delivery.
According to an official blog post introducing the new official, Krucoff will lead a team of 26 employees who worked together previously in an unofficial capacity as they were spread across the enterprise. The district "plays above its weight, leading to lots of opportunity to build upon what the city has already done," Krucoff said of D.C.'s potential in the realm of data.
Krucoff joined OCTO as the geographic information officer in 2004, joined the state of Maryland also as a geographic information officer in 2011, and then returned to D.C. for his present position. continued…
first published week of: 08/08/2016
A map from Esri showing vulnerability to Zika across the U.S. using data on temperature, precipitation, population and more.
Geographic information systems are becoming a tool for multiple stages in governments' fight against disease.
Governments have used maps for everything from local economic development to snow plow tracking — now they’re also using it to fight the spread of the Zika virus.
Rather, U.S. government entities have been using the concept of geographic information systems (GIS) to help manage disease outbreaks and public health crises for a long time. But the open data movement and improved GIS platforms have helped make those maps a lot more useful.
Today, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) is using GIS to both track the spread of Zika in the U.S. and predict where it might cause the most damage in the future. The virus, carried by a couple species of mosquito, has raised fears as it comes to the U.S. after medical professionals linked it to birth defects in other countries. continued…
first published week of: 08/15/2016
The digital ledger system underpinning Bitcoin is gaining support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) launched the Congressional Blockchain Caucus to advance political discussion and policy development for blockchain-based technologies and digital currencies -- and to educate colleagues on what blockchain is.
"The Blockchain Caucus will focus on raising awareness, advancing ideas that foster growth and safeguarding consumers," Polis said in a statement. "It's vital for Americans, businesses and members of Congress to learn about blockchain so the U.S. can continue to secure its stance as the global leader of ingenuity."
Blockchain is generally thought of in relation to Bitcoin, but its ability to maintain an encrypted record of transactions has piqued some interest in government circles about its other potential uses. continued…
first published week of: 10/03/2016
California has launched a new open source, open data portal with 24 datasets that include information on the economy, transportation, water and other areas of interest for citizens and researchers.
The portal, data.ca.gov, runs on DKAN, an open-source data management platform built by Nücivic, a New York-based software company. The tool is based on Drupal’s CMS and allows the user to decide what visualizations to show and create groups to organize data. DKAN was chosen after a competitive bidding process, according to Lynda Gledhill, a spokesperson for the California Government Operations Agency.
The Department of Technology’s Office of Digital Innovation will be running the data portal operations. continued…
first published week of: 09/12/2016
Critics say the laws will stymie U.S. tech giants working inside the country.
China has announced a new set of cybersecurity rules that could make it harder than ever for foreign technology companies to operate in the country.
The rules, announced Monday, will provide central Chinese authorities with greater powers over the monitoring of data and hardware. Notably, the laws will open companies up to far greater scrutiny from the government, demanding that Internet firms coöperate with the state’s criminal investigations and provide full access to data if officials suspect them of wrongdoing. The law also demands that companies demonstrate that their systems are capable of withstanding hacks. continued…
first published week of: 11/21/2016