How the next president can use technology to make government better

Have you recently had to literally fax a document to the government? Or worse, physically stand in line for something that could’ve been done online? The government is generally not quick on the tech uptake, but a new report says it could be and it could make the country run so much better.

What will the future of government and technology look like under Clinton or, ugh, Trump? Beth Noveck, the cofounder and director of Brooklyn’s GovLab at NYU Tandon has an idea of what she thinks in her new report, coauthored with GovLab cofounder Stefaan Verhulst, Encouraging and Sustaining Innovation in Government: Technology and Innovation in the Next Administration.
“With rates of trust in government at an all-time low, technology and innovation will be essential to achieve the next administration’s goals and to deliver services more effectively and efficiently,” Noveck and Verhulst write.
But what’s to be done? The government’s last major technology initiative, umm, left room for improvement. But it doesn’t have to be that way, according to the paper!
“By building on progress that has been made and effectively utilizing the tools and levers in the federal government, the next administration can institutionalize the use of technology to enhance government innovation and effectiveness,” they say.
Read the report. It’s good: