2023
A collection of civic technology-related blog posts I wrote in 2023. Some of these posts originally appeared on other sites but are collected here to bring together all of the public writing I was doing in 2023.
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How AI and LLMs will change government websites
With the rise of AI and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, government websites will need to change again in response to these new technologies. Continue reading
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JavaScript for Policy Makers
This is a highly technical talk focused on the tradeoffs facing front-end developers as they make decisions around how to use JavaScript in their applications. I think it is a perfect talk for government policy makers to watch – even those that don’t have a clue about building web apps. Continue reading
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Real Results for Government with Generative AI
It can be hard to cut through all the hype and hysteria around ChatGPT and Generative AI. For government agencies, states, and cities, focusing on what matters most is the best way to ensure these sophisticated new tools bring real value to those that need it most. Continue reading
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Requiem for Procurement Reform
Much of the work that is done to build, deliver, and support government digital services comes from private vendors. It’s naive to think that we’ll ever improve these services as much as we hope without changing the outcomes that are possible through existing procurement rules and practices. Continue reading
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Finding a Home for Your Digital Services Team
The question of where to locate a digital services team within the state or city bureaucracy and deciding who they report up to can be a tricky one. There are pros and cons to each choice. Continue reading
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The Civic App That Changed My Life
In 2008, I was looking for a way to make an impact again after leaving government several years before. Civic Hacking gave me a way to do that. Continue reading
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Come for the mission, stay for the impact
Agencies are smart to use the critical nature of their missions and the people they serve to attract new tech talent into government. They should also identify pathways for these people to remain in government and make a career out of improving digital services if they want to. Continue reading
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Bend them, don’t break them
Digital service teams are in an odd spot. They need to bend the rules regularly to change the way governments work. And they also need to be the guardians of the rules, to make sure that crossing the line is never rationalized for what seems like a good reason. Continue reading
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Which Less is More?
There’s no shortage of hype these days surrounding ChatGPT, LLMs and other generative AI tools. A good way for governments to cut through the hype and determine if these tools provide real value in helping to develop digital solutions is to ask whether they are interested in WRITING less code, or writing LESS code. Continue reading
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Black Holes & Government Tech Debt
Lines are the physical manifestation of technical debt. And like black holes, technical debt can have an immense gravitational pull, trapping those that need government services in a long cycle of confusion and frustration. Continue reading
About Me
I am the former Chief Data Officer for the City of Philadelphia. I also served as Director of Government Relations at Code for America, and as Director of the State of Delaware’s Government Information Center. For about six years, I served in the General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS), and helped pioneer their work with state and local governments. I also led platform evangelism efforts for TTS’ cloud platform, which supports over 30 critical federal agency systems.
Civic Innovations 