July, 2024

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Why agents are the next frontier of generative AI

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

By moving from information to action—think virtual coworkers able to complete complex workflows—the technology promises a new wave of productivity and innovation.

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This City Covered Up a Contaminated Park For Decades. Now What?

Next City

In Greensboro, North Carolina, city leaders will soon vote of the future of Bingham Park – a decision which could impact Black and low-income residents for generations to come.

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Urban Farms Are a Lifeline For Food-Insecure Residents. Will New Jersey Finally Take Them Seriously?

Next City

No water. Pricey permits. Urban farms in Essex County, New Jersey are calling on local governments and the state to make long-term investments in combating food insecurity.

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Housing: What is Universal Design and Why Does it Matter?

NLC (National League of Cities)

Co-authored by Mia Chapman, Intern, Housing & Community Development, NLC and Lauren Lowery, Director of Housing & Community Development, NLC The architectural principle of universal design prioritizes usability by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialization.

Housing 114
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Municipal Maintenance: Ready, Set, Inspect!

Speaker: Noratek

Maintaining municipal operations is no small task, especially when budgets are tight and public expectations are high. In this webinar, we’ll explore how local governments can streamline their maintenance operations while ensuring safety, compliance, and efficiency. What You’ll Gain: Proven strategies for effective inspection management Insight into leveraging digital tools Practical tips for addressing common maintenance challenges Examples of municipalities that have achieved success.

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Cyber Hygiene Fixes for the Overconfident Agency

FedTech Magazine

There exists a major disconnect between the trust most agencies put in their current cybersecurity strategies and their actual ability to defend themselves. While 88 percent of global IT and security leaders feel confident in their organizations’ ability to manage cyber risk, 51 percent report that more than half of their cyber incidents were due to poor cyber hygiene, according to an April study from ExtraHop.

Security 127
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Book Bans Are Not Just Bad Policy; They Can Raise Civil Rights Issues

Homeroom

By: Matt Nosanchuk, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategic Operations and Outreach, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education All students deserve access to learning environments that are inclusive and free from discrimination and that nurture their intellect, wellbeing, and creativity, preparing them for success in school and beyond. Books have been the gateway to Continue Reading The post Book Bans Are Not Just Bad Policy; They Can Raise Civil Rights Issues appeared first on ED.g

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Havana Syndrome—Americans Affected by Mysterious Symptoms May Struggle to Get Care

GAO (US Government Accountability Office)

Severe headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, tinnitus, vertigo. About a decade ago, American officials and their families living and working at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, started experiencing mysterious symptoms like these. Symptoms usually.

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The Plan to Bring Social Housing (Back) to New York

Next City

Housing, tenant rights and labor justice advocates helped shape the proposed state housing authority. It will need their support to pass.

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Web filtering for education using AWS Network Firewall

AWS Public Sector Blog

Managing access to websites and safeguarding users from harmful content is a critical component of a layered cybersecurity approach, especially in educational settings. Schools and institutions of higher learning have a responsibility to provide a secure online experience for their students and staff. Traditionally, this has been accomplished through on-site web filtering appliances.

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Ransomware Attacks Require Improved Information Sharing

FedTech Magazine

Government needs broad visibility into the activity of bad actors to fight ransomware. A lack of robust information sharing can lead to “a murky information environment, making it difficult for governments and industry to work together to combat ransomware at scale,” according to a report from the Institute for Security and Technology released in April.

Security 130
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How Breckenridge, CO Ensures Tax & Licensing Compliance

Breckenridge’s short-term rental boom—over 4,200 licenses —put intense pressure on the town’s small staff and manual processes. Facing compliance and efficiency challenges, the town teamed up with GovOS to automate its STR licensing. The new system: Cut admin time Reduced errors Improved the experience for property owners and town staff Discover the full impact of automation on Breckenridge’s STR management—download the case study.

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Massachusetts Helps Municipalities Strengthen Their Cybersecurity Posture

State Tech Magazine

The initial inspiration for creating the Massachusetts Municipal Cybersecurity Summit in 2021 — to encourage cities and towns to work together on cybersecurity prevention — remains a focus for the MassCyberCenter, says Director John Petrozzelli. “This was a way of getting people together to share business cards and ideas — almost crowdsourcing across the state — so the first time an incident happens, you already know people,” he says.

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Toward the long term: CFO perspectives on the future of finance

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

In a new survey, CFOs report a growing focus on longer-term planning and high expectations for technology, including generative AI.

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5G technology could be the saviour of struggling public buildings and boost green goals

Open Access Government - Technology News

Cash-strapped councils and their local facilities across the UK could see a much-needed financial boost thanks to innovative 5G technology According to a poll of 2,000 UK, 92% revealed they are worried about the future of their local facilities and three-quarters (77%) have already seen libraries, leisure centres and even schools close due to a lack of council funding – with figures showing 1,000 swimming pools have closed in England since 2010 alone.

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A Proven Model for Supporting Maternal Health in Philly

Next City

First-time mothers join Philadelphia’s Nurse-Family Partnership program, a home-visiting model, and gain tools to better support their babies’ health.

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Empower Digital Government: Strategic Workbook for Modern Transformation

Digital transformation is reshaping government interactions, bringing agencies closer to the communities they serve. However, while many have adopted new digital tools, few have implemented comprehensive strategies to maximize their benefits. Our Strategic Workbook for Modern Government offers a step-by-step guide to developing a sustainable digital strategy.

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CreatorUp harnesses AWS AI tools to scale digital content development

AWS Public Sector Blog

After responding to the increased need for online learning during the pandemic, the market for educational and professional learning content has continued to expand. The global digital education content market is predicted to jump from today’s $60 billion market value to a $180 billion in the next decade, according to FactMR. A growing list of educational organizations, including Kaplan, McGraw Hill, New York University (NYU), and Coursera, have turned to CreatorUp to meet the rising demand.

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White House Seeks Cybersecurity Help for Rural Hospitals

FedTech Magazine

The White House has tapped Microsoft and Google to provide free cybersecurity services to approximately 2,000 “critical access” hospitals in an effort to protect healthcare in rural parts of the U.S. Critical access facilities are located more than 35 miles from comparable facilities, making their continuous operation essential to residents and their need for security funding, assessments, tools and training great.

Housing 128
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Synthetic Data Supports State and Local Government AI Initiatives

State Tech Magazine

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to transform a range of state and local government operations, improving the employee experience while elevating service delivery. But AI models need to be trained on a lot of data, and that presents a challenge. Across government at all levels, “there is a scarcity of the high-quality, highly diverse and relevant real-world data sets that are needed to train increasingly complex AI systems,” according to UNIDIR, a United Nations research organization.

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The Iberian green industrial opportunity: Electrification and renewables

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Cooperation from all stakeholders can drive Iberian decarbonization through electrification and renewables deployment. Here we discuss the ambition, challenges, and potential unlocks for Spain.

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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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Defending sovereign workloads: Google Distributed Cloud's air-gapped approach to Zero Trust

Google Public Sector

Public sector and government organizations require cloud solutions that can drive innovation and also adhere to strict sovereignty and security requirements. For years, security experts have warned of the risks of government overreliance on singular security controls. To help address public sector and government requirements, we offer Google Distributed Cloud (GDC), a comprehensive suite of solutions.

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How North Carolina’s Vietnamese Refugees Are Helping a New Wave of Afghans Resettle

Next City

North Carolina is home to the world's largest population of Vietnamese Montagnards. And as Afghan refugees find their footing in Greensboro, they have wisdom to share.

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Brain Data Science Platform increases EEG accessibility with open data and research enabled by AWS

AWS Public Sector Blog

Introduction About 4.5 million electroencephalogram (EEG) tests are performed in the US each year. That’s more than if every person in Oregon, Connecticut, or Iowa got an EEG. Compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, which use magnetic fields and radio waves to generate images of the structure of the brain, EEGs use wires placed on the scalp to record the brain function as seen through the electrical activity that the brain generates in the process of neurons in the brain sending sign

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The Many Paths to Rethinking Virtualization

FedTech Magazine

As the current market shifts, some agencies are looking for virtualization alternatives. Multiple paths forward exist for agencies seeking virtual representations of physical machines — including storage, networks and servers — to use resources more efficiently, whether they’re improving existing efforts or just starting out. Different agencies have different hypervisor, cloud migration, desktop virtualization and application modernization needs, so it’s important to understand which alternative

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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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Local Governments Modernize Their Networks to Support Free Public Wi-Fi

State Tech Magazine

When the annual Spokane County Interstate Fair comes around this September, most of those who attend the 10-day event will first have to purchase a ticket at the gate. What won’t they need to buy once they’re cleared to go inside? Access to the fair’s public Wi-Fi network, which is free to anyone who wants to use it. Free public Wi-Fi has been a fixture onsite at the Spokane County Fair and Expo Center since the early 2000s.

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Managing in the era of gen AI

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Will middle managers survive the latest bout of disruption and delayering? Should they?

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2023-2024 Supreme Court Term Roundup: Decisions Important to Local Government

NLC (National League of Cities)

In their 2023-2024 term, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued decisions that directly impact local governments on issues including the constitutionality of collecting impact fees, local authority to make regulations on the matter of homelessness, Title VII employment issues and public officials’ usage of social media.

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For Disability Pride Month—We Highlight Our Work on College Campus Access Issues

GAO (US Government Accountability Office)

The percentage of college students with disabilities has nearly doubled during the last two decades—with as many as 21% reporting a disability in 2020. These students face additional challenges in college, which can reduce their chances of graduating.

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Holiday Safety Tips for Municipal Operations

The holiday season brings joy and celebration, but it also introduces unique challenges for municipal operations. From ensuring safe snow removal and managing icy sidewalks to organizing festive events and addressing increased community needs, municipalities play a critical role in keeping residents safe and operations running smoothly. This eBook provides actionable safety tips to help your team navigate the holiday season effectively, protect staff and citizens, and ensure compliance with safe

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AWS Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance expands to Texas

AWS Public Sector Blog

The tech industry in the state of Texas is booming, with a growing demand for skilled workers in cloud, information technology (IT), software development, and data analytics roles. According to the Dallas Federal Reserve, high tech represents almost 5 percent of Texas’ gross domestic product (GDP) and more than 9 percent of employment. The tech sector in Texas has added jobs at an average annual rate of 4.7 percent over the last decade, more than double the overall state job growth rate.

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Managed Services Make TSA More Agile

FedTech Magazine

Before the advent of cloud computing and self-service tech, IT professionals often drowned customers in tech jargon. But the industry’s evolution has brought a new way to interface with technology. Today, tech is intuitive and a lot more user-friendly. A toddler can master a tablet in minutes without any instruction. If it’s on, most toddlers understand the tablet’s common features in about 30 minutes or less.

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Citizens Benefit from Application Modernization and Identity Management

State Tech Magazine

Code for America advocates easing the citizen experience in clearing criminal records when appropriate. “A criminal record can be a life sentence to poverty, creating barriers to jobs, housing, education and more,” the nonprofit notes on its website. But Code for America has found that the petition processes “to clear criminal records in most states is complicated and burdensome.

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Unpacking the mysteries of productivity

McKinsey Public & Social Sector Insights

Leading economist Chad Syverson speculates about the ingredients in productivity’s secret sauce.

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Boost Revenue With Simple Short-Term Rental Registration and Tax Collections

Government agencies that rely on tax revenue to fund critical services and infrastructure are finding it more urgent than ever to bridge the gap between under-reported tax revenue and taxpayers’ understanding of the processes. This is especially true as things like short-term rentals (STRs) have grown in popularity and become new sources of income for residents.