General Discussion
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
Subsidizing Exclusion

Exclusionary zoning reduces affordable housing and exacerbates racial segregation. Adding insult to injury, taxpayers actually subsidize these outcomes through special tax breaks and incentives for suburbanites. Continue reading
-
A Resolution for Digital Transformation

No one gets fit overnight, or even in a whole month. It is a process that takes time and requires consistent commitment and the right approach to be successful. Digital transformation are the same. If you approach the process correctly, you’ll change the way your organization works forever. Continue reading
-
Moar Reading in 2023

In the last couple of years, I’ve been trying to read more books. Here’s what I have done to pick my reading habit back up. Maybe one of these strategies will work for you if, like I once did, you miss being a reader. Continue reading
-
Finding Balance In How We Budget for Government IT

When we talk about the government budgeting process, we almost always talk about the first three phases. But the often overlooked fourth phase of the budget process is one reason why cross-agency funding for things like a better customer experience is so hard. Continue reading
-
More Writing, Less Words

More posts. Shorter words. It’s time to leave the bird site and all the bad habits I picked up there behind. Continue reading
-
Accelerating the ATO process with a platform approach

Embracing a platform approach can help agencies lower barriers to deployment of software and more efficiently deliver important services to the public. Continue reading
-
Amplifying Administrative Burden
How Poor Technology Choices Can Magnify the Challenges Faced by Those Seeing Government Services For every 10 people who said they successfully filed for unemployment benefits during the previous four weeks three to four additional people tried to apply but could not get through the system to make a claim. Two additional people did not… 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.