April, 2024

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New Houston mayor reverses course on bike, pedestrian improvements

GCN

Mayor John Whitmire ordered pedestrian islands removed, froze projects with bike lanes and suggested cyclists stick to “recreational” trails. It’s a big change in direction from his predecessor’s approach.

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Lack of Sleep Has Left Our Military Less Combat Ready and More Prone to Accidents with Dire Consequences

GAO (US Government Accountability Office)

Lack of sleep among active duty service members has led to fatal accidents and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to ships, vehicles, and aircraft. Many service members reported slower reflexes and responses, lower cognitive function, and.

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Trending Sources

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From margins to mainstream: Asians and Pacific Islanders in Hollywood

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Asian and Pacific Islander consumers could generate billions of dollars in additional revenue—if the film and television industry can improve the representation and authenticity of API content.

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It’s FAFSA Week of Action: Time to Take a #FAFSAFastBreak!

Homeroom

It’s FAFSA Week of Action (April 15-19) and to kick off the effort the U.S. Department of Education is thrilled to announce the launch our #FAFSAFastBreak campaign, a national effort to drive FAFSA submissions among high school seniors and returning college students. Everyone has an important role to play! We have already received nearly 200 Continue Reading The post It’s FAFSA Week of Action: Time to Take a #FAFSAFastBreak!

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The Ultimate Playground Inspection Handbook

Dive into the world of playground safety with this complimentary guide. It offers a detailed exploration of essential practices to ensure the utmost safety for children. Delve into inspection techniques, from assessing equipment conditions to evaluating surfacing materials. Gain insights into maintenance strategies to keep playgrounds in top-notch condition year-round.

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Big Day for NLC and Municipal Governments: Final Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Grants Guidance Released

NLC (National League of Cities)

Last week, the White House announced the final Office of Management and Budget (OMB) UniformGrants Guidance. This guidance is designed to create a streamlined set of rules and regulations forfederal grants that ensure that Congress, agencies, and applicants have standard language andprocesses for grant awards and administration.

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There Goes the Sun: NASA Upgrades Technology to Prepare for a Total Solar Eclipse

FedTech Magazine

To prepare for the total solar eclipse in 2017, NASA focused on technology that would keep its livestreams running for those who couldn’t see it in person. This time, the agency has looked at how to spend less money for even better service. About 12 million people watched the eclipse on NASA sites on Aug. 21, 2017, the first to cover much of the U.S. in more than a century.

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OUR RESPONSE TO RESPONSE TIMES

Barrett & Greene

When it comes to many vital public services, including police, fire and EMS, one of the primary – and sometimes the only – performance measurement that people use is response time. On the surface this makes a lot of sense. For emergency services, particularly, every moment can spell the difference between a minor incident and a tragedy. To the general public, fast response times are real tangible evidence that they are getting good service.

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Why strategists should embrace imperfection

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

In a world of rapid change, looking for certainty can obscure opportunity. Taking smaller yet bold steps provides a more sure-footed path through uncertainty.

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GCCH Monthly M365 Webinar: New Teams Updates and Cross-Cloud Collaboration Envisioning

Microsoft Public Sector

We’re looking forward to our next GCCH M365 Webinar on Tuesday, April 30, at 1200 EDT. It’s the Dave show as we’ll be joined by both Dave Jennings (new Teams) and Dave Nobles (empowering secure and effective collaboration between GCCH and DoD). To receive a calendar invite, please register here. In addition, please find attached a roll up of April M365 roadmap highlights.

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Securing Legacies: Strategies for Resolving Heirs’ Property Issues in Cities

NLC (National League of Cities)

By Houston City Councilmember Tiffany D. Thomas In January 2024, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas invested $2 million with nonprofits and banks to educate and assist clients with heirs’ property issues, and in Atlanta, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta made $1 million heirs’ property grant funding available in 2022.

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7 Signs Your Local Government ERP Is Holding You Back: A Guide for Small Municipalities

Local governments and municipalities serving populations under 200,000 face distinctive challenges in delivering efficient and effective services to their communities. To overcome these challenges, many rely on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems tailored to their specific needs. Not all ERP systems are created equal, and some may hinder progress rather than support it.

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New AWS survey reveals the link between AI fluency and the next education revolution

AWS Public Sector Blog

Education leaders are eager for solutions to the difficulties facing schools across the country. With strained local resources impacting educators, it is more critical than ever for the education community to adapt and evolve to meet student needs and address challenges. Educators know that more resources can help provide personalized approaches that better address students’ individual learning needs.

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Senate rebukes Biden administration on effort to reduce vehicle pollution

GCN

Three Democrats and one independent joined the chamber’s Republicans, arguing the Federal Highway Administration overstepped its authority in requiring states to track greenhouse gas emissions. But the president threatened to veto the measure.

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How DOD Can Maintain Zero-Trust Momentum

FedTech Magazine

The Department of Defense reports strong momentum toward meeting its goal of implementing a zero-trust security architecture departmentwide by 2027. DOD’s Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office recently approved implementation plans from all military components. One key takeaway from this milestone moment: Agencies that leveraged commercial solutions got a big head start on their zero-trust efforts.

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Consumers rule: Driving healthcare growth with a consumer-led strategy

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Consumers are increasingly discerning about where, how, and from whom they receive healthcare. Healthcare can learn from other industries how to provide an optimal end-to-end consumer experience.

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ASPA TIMES Magazine: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

PA TIMES Magazine is a publication of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA), a not-for-profit corporation. This edition focused on diversity, equity and inclusion in public administration, including guest columns, insights for the field and interviews with city government DEI officers about their work at the local level.

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Cities Can Use AI to Enhance Public Services and Streamline Internal Operations

State Tech Magazine

For many local government leaders, artificial intelligence was not a concern before the mainstream rise of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Google Bard (now Gemini), in 2023. Now, a recent Bloomberg Philanthropies poll of 100 global mayors found that 96 precent are interested in using generative AI. Cities, towns and villages are at the forefront of this AI evolution.

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How AI Can Support Cities’ Sustainability Goals

NLC (National League of Cities)

Chatter about AI has become like the weather — talked about seemingly everywhere yet increasingly difficult to predict with absolute confidence. While the meteoric rise of generative, language-wielding platforms, like ChatGPT, are catching big media waves, many cities are already established AI enthusiasts.

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How EdTech and workforce development companies drive business success through AWS Marketplace

AWS Public Sector Blog

Educational institutions around the world seek reliable options that allow administrators, professors, teachers, and students to maintain connectivity and productivity on- or off-campus. Amazon Web Services (AWS) Marketplace provides a curated digital catalog to help institutions navigate evolving situations and quickly deploy solutions. In 2023, more than 2,000 education customers around the world subscribed to software in AWS Marketplace.

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2022 was the ‘worst year ever for bicyclist deaths,’ new data shows

GCN

Safety advocates blame the upswing in cyclist deaths on larger, more powerful vehicles that have become more common on American roads in the last decade.

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Sustainable Facility Maintenance Management for Small Local Governments

Unlock the potential of sustainable facility management! This guide empowers small local governments to lead with climate-resilient infrastructure, energy efficiency, waste reduction, and more. Elevate your community's resilience, reduce costs, and embrace eco-friendly practices. Discover the role of facility maintenance teams in green cleaning, sustainability analyses, and infrastructure upgrades.

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When It Comes to Integrating AI Into Agencies’ Work, the NAIRR Is a Start

FedTech Magazine

The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource pilot is an important but limited step in getting agencies to start planning to integrate AI technology into their work, according to an NVIDIA spokesperson. Led by the U.S. National Science Foundation in partnership with 10 other agencies and 25 companies, the two-year pilot devotes a shared research infrastructure for responsible AI discovery and innovation.

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Global Economics Intelligence executive summary, March 2024

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Consumption continues to be resilient, except in Europe; central banks hold interest rates steady due to ongoing inflation risk; business survey respondents show increased confidence in economy.

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Local Governments Break Down Data Silos to House Vulnerable Citizens

State Tech Magazine

As 2024 dawned the Sonoma County, Calif.-based nonprofit Social Advocates for Youth made an urgent announcement: It would need to close Northern California’s only homeless shelter for youth if it couldn’t raise funds. A flurry of support temporarily postponed the move, but with homelessness an ongoing challenge — including among teens — county officials have been piloting technology solutions to help manage the issue, serve those in need and even prevent individuals from becoming homeless.

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Wastewater Monitoring Success Stories: Riverside, CA

NLC (National League of Cities)

“Wastewater monitoring is like the movie Minority Report, we know something is going to happen before it does.” –Edward Filadelfia, Deputy Public Works Director, Riverside CA Movie comparisons aside, wastewater monitoring is an important public health tool for municipalities. You can read our previous blog for more insights about wastewater monitoring.

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Proactive vs Reactive Maintenance: Making the Case for Preparedness

Discover comprehensive strategies for optimizing operations and achieving cost efficiency! This document offers insights into efficient inspections, data-driven decision-making, goal alignment, and resource optimization. It empowers local governments and maintenance departments to streamline operations and ensure significant cost savings. From aligning maintenance goals with community needs to leveraging data for strategic planning, this guide provides a roadmap for smoother, more reliable opera

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Disaster response and risk management using PNNL’s Aether framework on AWS

AWS Public Sector Blog

Characterizing disaster risk and developing strategies for resilience and response to natural event hazards is core to the mission of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The science of event simulation and emergency response is based broadly on physics and earth science for climate simulations. These processes rely heavily on domain-specific data ingestion and processing for batch and continuous data sources.

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Justices debate whether cities can make sleeping outside a crime

GCN

Cities worry they could have to “surrender” public places if an Oregon city’s anti-camping law is struck down by the Supreme Court, while advocates say the city rules criminalize being homeless.

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Holodeck: Changing robotics training with infinite virtual environments

Open Access Government - Technology News

Researchers have revealed Holodeck, a system inspired by Star Trek’s Holodeck, designed to generate limitless interactive 3D environments for training robots Developed by a team of experts from the University of Pennsylvania and collaborators from leading institutions, including Stanford University and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence, Holodeck promises to accelerate the development of robots capable of navigating and interacting safely in complex real-world scenarios.

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What is top of mind for dairy executives in 2024?

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

How will the US dairy industry evolve in response to growing concerns about sustainability and other issues? We conducted our sixth annual survey of dairy executives to find out.

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Facility Maintenance Trends for 2024: What's Changing in the Industry?

This comprehensive article delves into the transformative trends reshaping local government facility maintenance in anticipation of 2024. From embracing smart technology for efficient management, sustainability's pivotal role to data-driven decision-making, workforce upskilling, and predictive maintenance strategies, each aspect is explored. Insights into outsourcing collaborations, digital twins, safety enhancements, and the broader industry evolution highlight the critical adaptation needed.

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State and Local Agencies Improve Child Services Intake and Outreach Communications

State Tech Magazine

When the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) sought to modernize its contact center, IT leaders took the opportunity to shift from an on-premises infrastructure to a cloud-based one. “We literally are the entry point for teachers, for medical providers, for the public, for parents when they want to report child abuse or neglect.

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5 Strategies for Developing a Local Green Jobs Plan

NLC (National League of Cities)

Historic federal funding in a cleaner, more resilient economy coupled with global pressure to act necessitates a climate-ready workforce. If bold climate action is taken by 2030, U.S. cities could create nearly 20 million sustainable jobs, of which most would be developed within cities themselves.

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Educause launches generative AI readiness assessment tool for higher education with AWS

AWS Public Sector Blog

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most disruptive technologies in history, offering higher education institutions the opportunity to re-imagine a world where learning is highly personalized, seamless, and available to everyone. With this in mind, there’s one question that is a point of conversation across campuses: how can we leverage this technology and realize its potential while preparing our institutions, faculty, staff, and students for responsible use?

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Why a lawsuit may be state and local governments’ best chance to cut insulin prices

GCN

The skyrocketing cost of insulin hits employee health plans and limits governments’ ability to finance other projects, such as infrastructure improvements. The multidistrict litigation aims to fix that.

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Efficiency and Sustainability: Leveraging Digital Solutions in Facility Operations

Speaker: Alan Kavanaugh, BA, CRM, CCPI ​​​​​​​Director of Loss Control & Risk Management

This session is designed to unveil the transformative potential of digital solutions in reshaping conventional practices, offering a roadmap towards greener and more efficient facilities regardless of municipality size. Attendees will learn: Insights into cutting-edge trends and strategies in sustainable facility management. Practical knowledge to effectively incorporate digital solutions for operational efficiency.