Cloud & Infrastructure

How chat comments can supercharge safety net programs

With help from Code for America, New Mexico is analyzing its chat session data to uncover ways to improve customer experience through automation or a more personal touch.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

New HUD playbook guides underserved communities in accessing broadband funding

It seeks to help public housing authorities, multifamily owners and operators, and tribes determine how to spend federal broadband money to close the digital divide.

  • By Molly Bolan

Quantum sensing has ‘critical’ potential for electrical grid, official says

Quantum information technologies could be applied to the electrical grid for security and sustainability improvements.

  • By Alexandra Kelley

DOT awards $94 million for innovative transportation tech

The Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation Grants Program made 59 awards for demonstration projects leveraging automation, connected vehicles, sensors and drones as well as smart grid and intelligent traffic signal technologies.

  • By Susan Miller

Text alerts could streamline benefits redetermination processes

A text-based notification system could help agencies that administer federally funded benefits remind participants of applications, renewals and appointments.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

We’re back! Our grand return to live events

GCN and Route Fifty will hit the road with a new free event series to explore how cities across the country are building their future today.

  • By GCN Staff

UI modernization, identity verification limit state fraud loss

Halfway through a four-year modernization of its unemployment insurance management system, New York state’s Labor Department aims to create a more seamless and secure user experience.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Assistive AI can revolutionize public safety collaboration

Cloud-based collaboration supported by artificial intelligence can generate the insights that help multiple agencies operate efficiently across routine and major incidents.

  • By Kalyn Sims

Estonia’s e-governance revolution is hailed as a voting success – so why are some US states pulling in the opposite direction?

Some U.S. states are withdrawing from the Electronic Registration Information Center, a multistate data-sharing effort to improve voter roll accuracy—a move one expert says undermines election security and integrity.

  • By Erik S. Herron, The Conversation

Why community digital equity discussions should be in person

More than 50 town halls addressing accessibility, affordability, devices and digital skills will help Iowa’s Department of Management ensure that all residents can participate in the digital economy.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

New York City tech chief Matt Fraser commands attention

The chief technology officer on the decision to leave behind the Internet Master Plan, why we still haven’t seen the launch of MyCity, and why he’s still bullish on crypto.

  • By Annie McDonough

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.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Modernization takes agencies from service providers to service brokers

Enterprise IT teams should focus on making services easier for staff and residents to access and engage with, one state CIO said.

  • By Chris Teale

A new federal program looks to connect smart buildings with smart policy

COMMENTARY | Buildings drive a third of the nation’s emissions. Smart buildings can change that with the right policies and programs in place.

  • By Bentham Paulos and Elizabeth Stuart
Featured eBooks

Long-term digital solutions can offset workforce shortage gaps

COMMENTARY | User-friendly technology platforms can help under-resourced agencies decrease their administrative burden and attract digital-savvy employees.

  • By Bob Ainsbury

Satellite internet can fill broadband gaps

As the price of the technology comes down, low-Earth orbit satellites can complement fiber and wireless in helping close the digital divide, experts said.

  • By Chris Teale

Here’s what’s in Biden’s budget plan for state and local governments

The administration, among other things, wants to dramatically increase funding for housing and restore the child tax credit.

  • By Kery Murakami

Government still wrestles with digital equity, accessibility

Agencies struggle to provide services for individuals with limited English, digital literacy issues and unreliable broadband or online access, a recent survey found.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

2 factors make shifts to remote work successful

Well-coordinated IT and HR systems can ensure remote work has no effect on staff workflow quantity or quality, a recent study shows.

  • By Pate McCuien, Futurity

Broadband equity means access and adoption, not just infrastructure rollouts

Governments should not just install new infrastructure but ensure residents can take advantage of the access, experts say.

  • By Chris Teale

With tablets, hybrid classes inmates prep for cloud jobs

Detainees at the District of Columbia’s Department of Corrections have become certified cloud practitioners, knowledge that upon release will provide a sustainable wage and may help fill the IT skills gap.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz