Government Innovation With the Harvard Stamp of Approval
San Francisco’s city government has its obvious problems. But for all the failures and follies at City Hall, there are some bright spot when it comes to Gov 2.0 innovation. And the prestigious Ash Center at Harvard University’s Kennedy School has taken notice.
Government Programs that Work
Recently, the Ash Center announced its Top 25 Innovations in Government, a competition for programs that “represent the creative problem solving of local, state, and federal municipalities around the country.” From the 560 entrants, this list of 25 will be narrowed to 5 finalists and one ultimate winner in the Fall.
The programs are from a wide variety of places – from Pinellas County, FL to the State of Ohio to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – and cover a range of topics – from tax credit programs to clean power to healthier eating. These are exactly the types of innovative programs we seek at Reset. The programs represent responsive and responsible government action that has a direct benefit to the people they serve.
San Francisco Makes the List Twice
And wouldn’t you know it – San Francisco has two programs among the top 25. The first is San Francisco’s Citywide Post-Disaster Resilience and Recovery Initiative, a program working to “address comprehensive advanced planning to accelerate post-disaster recovery.” This program brings different agencies and departments together to work on ways to prepare for and after a catastrophic event
The next is the more well known (perhaps because you see it on almost every restaurant bill) and is called Healthy San Francisco, the City’s landmark program that provides “comprehensive, affordable health care to uninsured adults.”
While it’s easy to associate San Francisco city government with handing out parking tickets to try and balance their budget or with an inefficient Muni, let’s not overlook the good they do as well.
So for all those uninsured who are able to get the medical help they deserve and for all of us San Franciscans who are vulnerable to a catastrophic event – thanks, SF Gov.
Ask An Expert with San Francisco’s Gov 2.0 Gurus
We’ll be talking to two of the folks behind the San Francisco Gov 2.0 innovation on Thursday June 9th. Jay Nath, the SF Director of Innovation, and Gina Tomlinson, the City’s Chief Technology Officer will be with us and taking your questions. You can RSVP on facebook here.
