The state and local government IT services market has finally reached its “app store moment,” thanks in part to the demands of the coronavirus pandemic and the need to improve service delivery and experience for citizens – and the government workforces that provide them.
To help modernize how state and local governments (SLGs) deliver citizen services, SLGs must leverage community-based tech talent to help improve digital services initiatives, Jessica Cole, chief operating officer at U.S. Digital Response (USDR), explained during the State of GovTech 2021 digital conference.
The city of San Diego, Calif., announced that it has added more than 300 new locations to its public Wi-Fi program, dubbed “SD Access 4 All.” In addition to providing free Wi-Fi across the city, San Diego has also purchased hundreds of new laptops and 900 new mobile hotspots that residents can check out from city libraries.
The state of California has launched the first-ever statewide data warehouse focused on homelessness. In a press release, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office said the data warehouse will “allow the state to make data-driven policy decisions in its efforts to prevent and end homelessness.”
Utah is the latest state to take a shot at creating a mobile Driver’s License for citizens and purports to be the first mobile license to incorporate privacy and security standards, the pilot program announcement states.
“What would you do if you lost everything?” a poster for World Backup Day 2021 asks. State and local governments (SLGs) are developing backup practices to hope they never find out.
The New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) partnered with the Institute for Families at the Rutgers University School of Social Work to launch a new dashboard on the New Jersey Child Welfare Data Hub.
A new survey from the Center for Digital Government finds that while more than half of the people surveyed (56 percent) are satisfied with their ability to access local government services, there is still significant room for improvement.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of El Cajon in California’s San Diego County did a couple of things that have made transitioning to virtual services somewhat easier. The city government tracked residents’ interactions with City Hall and thought about how citizens wanted to work with their local government, the city’s IT director said.
Orange County, Fla., announced Jan. 28 that Alexa users now have access to the “Ask Orange County Government” skill. Alexa, Amazon’s voice commanded virtual assistant, can help residents connect with government services through Orange County’s 311 service. In a statement, the county government noted it is the first in Florida to develop an Alexa skill.
