Jurisdictional Differentiator

The City of Boston is incredibly proud of the progress we have made in moving government closer to the people it serves. From an information and technology perspective, we are very excited that our leadership in this space has evolved into the collective action of the City’s resources. Our early successes and the support of former Mayor Menino has developed a new culture across the city that celebrates the creative solutions we deliver to our residents.

Strong Leadership

At its core, this success did start with some strong internal leadership willing to address the obstacles to change in an intelligent collaborative way. That would not have happened without the Mayor’s involvement and support. He established the environment that allowed us the time to deliver successful change to a fairly large government organization.

Strong Partnerships

But as we look at 2012 and beyond, we would like to note the importance of the partnerships that have allowed us to extend the value of this Digital City in so many ways. It is this community of partners that makes the broader success of our efforts possible in the City. We truly innovate through these partnerships. We believe that partnerships bring complementary skills and alternate views. Partnerships bring new resources and a higher tolerance for risk. Partnerships often bring urgency and a focus we would not have on our own.

Technology Goes Home (TGH) program success is based on partnerships. The essence of our Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics and all of its products are creations of partnerships. These partnerships are local entrepreneurs, civic groups and university researchers. We were first on board with Code for America, a partnership that offered so much potential to the City and CFA. We also actively work with private sector partners. We engage in a Smarter Cities partnership with our Transportation Department, our Environment team and IBM.

Technology Goes Home
Mayor's Office of New Urban Mechanics
Code for America
IBM's Smarter Cities
IBM Smarter Cities Challenge: Boston Report

It is this model that bodes so well for the future of government collaboration and significant change. We are excited by the cooperation of like-minded cities as we explore open data and predictive analytics. We are, and will be active participants in cities.data.gov and the datasift project with Twitter and our friends in NYC. The G7 will grow, and many cities and towns around us will benefit from Citizens Connect. We are very proud to be involved in this change.

Remove Barriers

The jurisdictional differentiator in Boston started with the right leaders in the right places. It extended to some great partners to advance our impact and influence. It’s time to work on eliminating jurisdictional barriers and deliver real and positive impact on the people who rely on government.