Civic Tech
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Letting Go: A Retrospective on Without81
As Syracuse’s I-81 transformation continues to advance, it’s time to retire the tool that once helped residents envision life without the viaduct. Continue reading
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The Quiet Crisis in Legacy System Modernization
AI offers some new hope for tackling government legacy systems—but we can’t afford to focus only on the biggest, flashiest ones. The real crisis is quieter, deeper, and much more widespread. Continue reading
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Accountability and the Challenge of Government Technology Reform
The concept of an “accountability sink” can help us understand why some government processes move so slowly and what steps we can take to change them. Continue reading
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Conway’s Law and the challenge of building software in government
Good news, you’ve discovered that Conway’s Law is what is causing issues with your government software development team. Bad news is the typical approach to addressing the problem doesn’t work well inside government. Continue reading
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Vendor Lock-In: Shadow Technical Debt
Vendor lock-in is one of the most under-appreciated forms of technical debt, and it isn’t reserved just to custom solutions. Agencies need to understand this in order to better avoid taking on more technical debt. Continue reading
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AI in Government and Why Data Matters
I had a chance recently to be interviewed for the OrangeSlices Podcast about how governments are using AI – and some of the risk, challenges, and opportunities they face. Continue reading
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Patience is a Virtue: The Smart Approach to AI Investments for Government
By improving how they collect, clean, and govern data, agencies can ensure they are ready to leverage the best AI tools when the time is right. Continue reading
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Software Delivery Platforms: The Original Low-Code Platforms
At their core, both low-code platforms and software delivery platforms share a common goal: making it easier to build digital solutions that meet the needs of users. Continue reading
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Searching For Patterns in Digital Modernization
We need to find new patterns to guide the work of digital service teams in government to lay the foundation for the next generation of public services Continue reading
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Using generative AI to transform policy into code
Last week, I took part in BenCon 2024 — an annual two-day conference hosted by the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University focused on charting the course to excellence in digital benefits delivery. 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 