A blog about government-to-citizen digital communication and engagement, Government 2.0, GovDelivery, and other e-government issues
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Why Challenge.gov is Driving Innovation + Livestream on Thursday 11/10! Join in!

November 9th, 2011 | Posted by Lauren Modeen for GovDelivery in Compelling Content | Government 2.0 | Government Success Stories | GovLoop | Web/Tech | Widgets - (0 Comments)

INNOVATION AT ITS BEST: CHALLENGE.GOV.

Government has made a ton of progress in innovation over the last few years. And many will find it hard to disagree that some of the most innovative citizen creations have been catalyzed and precipitated with the launch of Challenge.gov.

What is it? Challenge.gov is simply a place where the public and government can solve problems together. It is built on a platform that allows government to post challenges, drive citizens to bust some brain cells, submit solutions and vote, share the challenges with their friends, and win recognition. Just 14 months old, government agencies have posted over 100 challenges and been the spur of cool new apps and awareness to important issues.

LEARN MORE! CONVERSATION with CHALLENGE.GOV THIS THURSDAY, 11/10, 12:30pm EST:

Here’s some news just coming down the pike. This Thursday, November 10 at 12:30 EST, Karen Trebon, Deputy Program Manager, and Tammi Marcoullier, Program Manager, will be sitting down with Joseph Porcelli of GovDelivery to talk about how Challenge.gov got started, top lessons learned from federal agencies that have submitted challenges, and what they wish everyone knew about the platform. This live streamed discussion will be hosted on GovLoop.com. To join in, simply go to GovLoop’s homepage. If you have any questions or challenges, please contact lauren@govloop.com or reach out on Twitter @exilauren.

Follow live tweets at #Hi5Gov.

HOT OFF THE PRESS CHALLENGE.GOV CONTEST RESULTS:

At DCWeek today, members of government such as Aneesh Chopra celebrated the 5 winners of EPA’s Apps for the Environment contest that pulled in 38 total apps, 100+ ideas, and 2000+ votes. The winner of the best overall app is called “Light Bulb Finder” — an “app that makes it easy to switch from incandescent to energy-efficient light bulbs. It empowers users to make informed decisions based on their lighting needs and the financial and environmental impact of their choices. Using the app, the typical American home can cut their annual electricity bill by over $120 and environmental impact by 1,360 lbs. CO2″

GOVERNMENT CHALLENGE FUN FACTS:

While crowd-sourcing might be a term we think of as new to our current age of Twitter, IdeaScale, and Quora, government challenges actually have a VERY long history. As cited in a Washington Post article in January of this year, “in 1714, the British government offered 20,000 pounds to anyone who could devise a reliable way of measuring longitude at sea, a problem neither Newton nor Galileo could solve. (Clockmaker John Harrison won in 1773.) Napoleon offered a prize for innovations in food preservation for his army, leading to the development of modern canning. And the $25,000 Orteig Prize spurred Charles Lindbergh to make his transatlantic flight.” Too cool!

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Informed Citizen Recommendations for H1N1 (Swine) Flu

May 2nd, 2009 | Posted by GovDelivery in CDC | Cloud Computing | Compelling Content | E-Government | H1N1 | Swine Flu | Widgets - (2 Comments)

GovDelivery has had a lot of inquiries from citizens and media this week asking for our recommendations on how the public can stay informed during this critical time.  We are not public health experts, but our work with key health agencies gives us some perspective on resources available to the public.

We are all being bombarded with information on the H1N1 flu virus this week.  Official government information is invaluable when there is so much misinformation coming at us from all sides.

GovDelivery works with 300+ public sector entities in the U.S. and U.K.  The majority of federal health agencies (CDC, HHS.gov, Pandemicflu.gov, NIH, Medicare, & others) use our Email & Digital Subscription platform to manage outbound digital communication, and we work with state and local health agencies and departments in 30 states including the MN, TX, NE, and OR Health Departments, among others.

I'm not trying to provide a full commercial here, but rather establish how we are in a good position to see what citizens are interested in and what tools are available (particularly online) for citizens that want and need to stay informed of official information.

Some quick statistics on the activity we've seen in terms of citizen interest and government communication in the past week is truly unprecedented.

  • Over 150,000 citizens have signed up to receive H1N1 flu updates from federal and state public health agencies, cities, and counties  (these same organizations already have millions of citizens signed up through our platform, but this 1 week jump is the highest ever).
  • Government agencies have sent over 250 distinct messages through GovDelivery to more than 6 million recipients since the outbreak.

Messages have come out from a whole range of agencies: 

  • The CDC has sent over 1 million email and wireless/text messages
  • PandemicFlu.gov (run by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) has also been an active sender
  • San Diego County, the City of St. Paul, TX Governor's Office, FEMA, and many others have been sending messages as well

You can follow GovDelivery on Twitter for updates on the activity we are seeing.

Recommended Actions for Citizens

Recommendation 1: Visit and monitor the official CDC web page on H1N1 flu outbreak where you can also register to receive email and wireless updates on the right hand side of the page.