Better Government

We all know San Francisco faces serious challenges. We can identify the problems, but politics are clouding our efforts to find the solutions. Over the past decade, the cost of city government has increased from $4.2 billion to $6.6 billion, while the city continues to experience a growing deficit each year. Our government is spending nearly 58 percent more than a decade ago – but are voters experiencing a city that is 58 percent better? We can – and should – make sure our city government is as efficient, as creative, and as progressive as San Francisco itself. I am convinced that the single most progressive thing we can do right now is to make sure government works. We need the type of bold ideas and leadership that will move San Francisco City Hall away from fighting about the few issues that divide us – and move toward collaborating on the practical solutions that will drive our city forward.

Constitutional Crowdsourcing? Now that’s Gov 2.0!

By sf-admin • Better Government

In Iceland this week, the leaders of one of the world’s most wired nations took crowdsourcing and Gov 2.0 to a new level. They decided to ask their citizens to …
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Politics Can’t Shut the Door on Open Government

By sf-admin • Better Government, News

Folks – we heard this morning that, under the advice of City Attorney Dennis Herrera, our two guests would not take an hour off to come describe how San Francisco …
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13 years ago

Government Innovation With the Harvard Stamp of Approval

By sf-admin • Better Government

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 …
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13 years ago

San Francisco Launches Online Database of Board and Commission Appointments

By sf-admin • Better Government

Last week San Francisco’s Mayor Ed Lee announced the launch of a new publicly available database, the Online Database of Board and Commission Appointments, which aggregates information on San Francisco …
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13 years ago

Deliberative Polling – Will it Make Government More Responsive?

By sf-admin • Better Government

Garbage in, garbage out.

That old programming aphorism from mainframe days frequently comes to mind when we look at so much of the public policy produced by state and local …
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14 years ago

Filing Government Paperwork Electronically

By sf-admin • Better Government, Tech

Government bureaucracy is synonymous with long lines at the DMV and a quagmire of red tape and paperwork. Completing and processing government paperwork by hand takes an insufferable amount of …
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