Anytime representatives of 82 cities from 35 states gather to discuss optimizing government, innovation is bound to be high on the agenda.
Last week, Governing magazine and the Living Cities organization hosted the fourth annual Summit on Government Performance & Innovation in collaboration with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and his Office of Budget & Innovation.
In a session focused on innovation and performance, "Smarter Solutions for a Connected Government," accomplished IT leaders from California were joined by Oracle executives in a discussion of how communities can become smarter, better and safer using data and technology.
Jeanne Holm, senior technology adviser to the mayor, assistant general manager and deputy CIO at the City of Los Angeles’ Information Technology Agency, shared how the city has a goal to use technology and data to deal with big problem like homelessness, improving air quality and partnering with companies and organizations to use data to make the city better. In a city that serves residents in 220 languages, some of whom don't have access to technology, it is important to offer choices that enable digital access, connectivity and digital literacy, she said.
San Jose CIO Rob Lloyd offered a three-tiered goal that aims to make the city as innovative as the area it serves. Lloyd and his team aim to remain focused on being customer-centric, remembering that data is pervasive and a unifying layer, and most importantly not being afraid to try new things in their effort to be more connected. This includes digital inclusion and expanding Wi-Fi access. Lloyd addressed how “Uberizing” also Uberizes the expectations of citizens.
“If a citizen reports a pothole, they expect it to be gone the next day," he said. "So we are working on how service expectations are changed and connecting that with social sentiment and artificial intelligence and how can we learn what people are feeling about our city so we can proactively address it.” Speaking to the model of “as you like it” government services, Lloyd added: "Our front door isn’t the only door to government anymore. ... Citizens are choosing how they connect with us, and we need a highly adoptable data approach.”
(For more insights into Lloyd's IT priorities for San Jose, here's a recap of his briefing with Techwire last June.)
Also speaking as a GPI panelist was Jerry Power, executive director of the Institute for Communications Technology Management at the University of Southern California, whose research within the IoT Consortium at the USC Marshall School of Business focuses on looking at how technology is changing business processes.
“Our definition of trust has changed, and it has changed the way citizens interact with technology and government," Power said. Answering the question “How do you build trust?” he emphasized, “You need to have citizens involved in the process.”
In addressing how government can support innovation, Lloyd told attendees that about 12 years ago, San Jose created an Innovation Demonstration clause that states that if something is innovative, of public benefit, is free and has a clear end, the city can bypass procurement rules.
“If you want to be experimental," Lloyd said, "build that capacity into your organization.”
