How Technology will Impact the Future of Local Government

It seems that there is no escaping all the news articles and commercials on data and technology these days. Advancements in technology have made it possible to accumulate massive volumes of data and then analyze that data to help make key decisions based on those data analytics.

Local governments have an especially important role to play in collecting, maintaining and managing data on their communities. At the 2013 ICMA Annual Conference, Tuesday’s keynote address and several education sessions will help managers get a handle on what they need to know and what questions they should be asking to stay informed.

Navigating the complex world of Technology

Leading up to the conference, Esri and ICMA are running an education campaign this summer to help our members familiarize themselves with these issues and concerns. This campaign is part of a larger effort, #LocalGov Technology Alliance, being sponsored with financial and in-kind support from ICMA’s long-time Strategic Partner, Esri, the leading developer of geographic information system (GIS) mapping software. We’ve set up a project page on our website to collect all these resources in one location. Stay informed by bookmarking the #LocalGov Technology Alliance resource page and subscribing to the blog.

Hackstock for #LocalGov at this year's Annual Conference

Finally, at the conference, we will be holding our first joint hackathon, Hackstock for #LocalGov, which will bring in computer programmers and software developers to help develop new apps for local governments and the citizens they serve. If your organization is interested in making its data available for the hackathon, please contact Cory Fleming, the project manager for the Initiative at cfleming@icma.org or 207-854-1083.