Author Archive

Stephanie Kanowitz

Stephanie Kanowitz is a freelance writer based in northern Virginia.
Tech & Data

One State’s Grant Management Breakthrough

With the One Stop portal, organizations in Massachusetts can apply for economic development grants across three agencies, and grant administrators can more easily manage programs and ensure regional equity.

Tech & Data

Demand Heats Up for Grants Management Solutions

With state and local entities having to track extraordinary numbers of grants, thanks to unprecedented amounts of pandemic-related federal funding, the search for software that can simplify grants management is on.

Public Safety

Michigan to Automatically Expunge Some Criminal Records Under ‘Clean Slate’ Program

State officials will automatically allow for certain convictions to be expunged in an effort to remove hurdles to jobs and housing.

Tech & Data

City Bus Reliability Picks Up With Automatic Vehicle Location Tech

Real-time location data increases the efficiency of bus operations and boosts rider trust.

Tech & Data

The Most Future-ready US Cities

Cities that leverage data, partnerships and emerging technologies can best adapt to changing citizen expectations, a new report found.

Tech & Data

City’s Custom-built App Scores Homeless Encampment Safety

With the Homeless Emergency Management Tracking and Prioritization Tool, Austin gets consistent health, safety and impact data on encampments citywide to support cross-departmental intervention.

Tech & Data

Utah Readies Mobile Driver’s License Rollout

While the technology for the mDL is ready, the challenge is creating an ecosystem of partners who accept the digital ID.

Tech & Data

Civic Engagement in One City Takes Off With a Digital Survey and Respect for Feedback

An easily accessible cloud-based questionnaire and analytics tool helped Corona, California, get more than five times more responses from residents than previous efforts.

Tech & Data

State Explores Commercial Drone Deliveries via Shared Airways

Michigan is investigating the data and networking infrastructure required for commercial drones flying in corridors beyond the operator’s visual line of sight.

Public Safety

How One City Is Adressing 911 Calls That Require a Mental Health Response

A study showed that 90% of 911 crisis calls are related to mental health in Durham, North Carolina. The city launched four pilot programs that could change how it responds.

Tech & Data

What One County Learned From Experimenting With Machine Learning

Milwaukee County analyzed statues and policies to identify biased or discriminatory language.

Infrastructure

How One State is Helping its Cities Find Their Toxic Lead Pipes

Ohio is investing in technology for mapping lead water pipes in communities statewide as part of an initiative to locate, remove and replace them.

Tech & Data

Visualizing Vulnerability: County Maps Show Areas of Greatest Need

To study equity differences at systemic and place-based levels, Fairfax County put census data on color-coded maps so that officials can quickly see areas of greatest need.

Tech & Data

State and Local Governments Shifting to ‘New Normal’ Workplace

With lessons from the rapid shift to telework, governments are adopting permanent hybrid environments and keeping nimble, problem-solving mentalities.

Tech & Data

How a Virginia County Wooed Amazon and Boeing

It takes more than tax breaks to get big tech companies to move to a locality, government officials say.

Tech & Data

Code for America Unveils First States in Safety Net Cohort

The nonprofit aims to help states build digital tools and services to connect people with health, food assistance and other benefits programs. 

Tech & Data

Drive-by Property Appraisals Streamline Data Collection

A Kansas county is using vehicles outfitted with rooftop cameras and LiDAR units to quickly and inexpensively capture property images that are integrated into its cloud-based appraisal system.

Tech & Data

A City Turns to an Algorithm to Prioritize Streetlight Repairs

Rather than repairing thousands of streetlights in the order outages are reported, San Diego weighs data on residential density, the presence of schools or parks, traffic collisions and other factors in deciding which ones to fix first.

Tech & Data

How One State Measures Post-pandemic Recovery

Economic leaders in New Jersey can see indicators and contextualize metrics with a solution that combines government, geographic and third-party economic data into an interactive dashboard.

Tech & Data

States Look to Virtual Reality for Workforce Development

Alabama and Arkansas have been using the technology to familiarize potential workers with entry-level skills.