State and Local Connection

SAS Curriculum Pathways and the path to Common Core success

Nadja Young — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:05:39 +0000

Teachers have more than enough to juggle each day, lacking the time to search for, and find, high-quality curricular resources online. When I would search for lesson plan supplements, I would often get lost in Google's abyss of results, spending far too much precious time sifting through mediocre materials. Until [...]

Analytics helping transportation officials get the job done in tight financial times

Melissa Savage — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:41:55 +0000

The American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials recently released a top 10 list of transportation issues that will be “talked, written or tweeted and legislated about” in 2012. As expected, funding constraints and Congressional action on reauthorization appear on the list but the group also notes that natural disaster [...]

Predictive policing is passé

Vincent Talucci — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:34:21 +0000

My colleague, Steve Serrao, just published a blog post on the proliferation of varied law enforcement approaches and their related phraseologies. After reading, I concur – hence, this blog’s title. I am not a huge fan of the term “predictive policing”. While others may love it and live it, and [...]

Local government impact of rising group medical and insurance costs, and what can be done

Bill Coleman — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:04:00 +0000

The single most costly employee benefit for any organization is health insurance, and the price is going up. From 2003-2009, the costs per hour worked for employee health insurance increased from $1.03 to $2.00. These costs continue to increase from 5%-7% per year. The reality is that employee health insurance costs will continue [...]

Analysis of 311 call data can lead to better service, lower costs

Bill Coleman — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:03:05 +0000

Many cities and counties are taking the lead of private industry and developing 311 call centers to consolidate incoming calls for service and information requests from citizens. The business advantages are clear: Citizens have one number to call for service and information rather than having to waste time searching for [...]

A sad reality: Crises drive positive change within criminal justice

Vincent Talucci — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:07:37 +0000

All too often an unspeakable tragedy leads to a needed policy or operational change through a newly-realized criminal justice system gap. While we continually work to minimize existing gaps, the reality is that as law enforcement evolves, so does the crime and so do the criminals. In recognition of those [...]

Using analytics to manage capital projects funding & costs

Bill Coleman — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:58:04 +0000

Cities and counties are responsible for building and maintaining the infrastructure to support a broad range of services. Local governments must develop and implement multiyear capital projects plans that provide infrastructure for things such as jails, courts, public office buildings, streets, bridges, parks, athletic complexes and community centers, water treatment [...]

The art and science of seating charts

Nadja Young — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:47:09 +0000

A’s in the front, Z’s in the back. How many of us grew up sitting in alphabetical order next to the same few classmates throughout school? While this is a quick and efficient way to learn student names, which is no easy task, it is not the most effective way [...]

Phone distraction just one part of traffic crash picture

Melissa Savage — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 18:56:10 +0000

During one week in December, two separate transportation agencies within the federal government made two major announcements. First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) – the government agency responsible for guiding traffic safety initiatives on the nation’s highways announced that crash fatalities had declined to record low rates. Just [...]

Moving local government to analytics-based enterprise performance management

Bill Coleman — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 18:38:25 +0000

Local governments are not immune to the rising demand for more accountability in government run services and programs, and the expenditure of public funds. Elected officials and citizens alike want to know what these programs accomplish for the public investment made. To date, the response to these questions and demands has been [...]