This article was first published in Public Management (PM) Magazine through the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) in Washington, DC. John B. Stephens. 2016. “Local Government That Clicks: Free Apps + Skilled Civic Tech Volunteers,” Public Management 98:4, 16-19.
Free Apps + Skilled Civic Tech Volunteers
Every September, the UNC School of Government hosts North Carolina’s public officials to help them learn about all of the functions of local government beyond their own specialties.
The School of Government was awarded the Public Service Innovation Award by the Consortium of University Public Service Organizations (CUPSO) for a local government budget simulation, Budgetopolis. CUPSO invited participating university programs to submit a pitch for innovative projects or programs that provide new solutions to existing public service problems or needs not currently being adequately addressed.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has provided $500,000 in funding to The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ‘s Environmental Finance Center (EFC) to assist communities addressing water infrastructure challenges. The funding also goes to partner organization, Southwest Environmental Finance Center at the University of New Mexico.
On February 20, 2016, Maureen Berner addresssed an audience of 2,000 at TEDx WakeForestU. She challenged the audience to think of cihldhood hunger as a local economic development opportunity.
Trustees of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation have awarded a grant to the Environmental Finance Center at the UNC School of Government to work in partnership with the North Carolina On-Bill Working Group to provide education, support, and other resources to rural cooperative utilities to expand energy efficiency opportunities across the state.
Once again, the School of Government's Master of Public Administration program has ranked among the top 25 programs in the country according to US News and World Report’s 2017 Best Graduate School Rankings.
Faculty member John Rubin was recently honored by the North Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense Services (IDS), which has created a new training award in his name.
In a February 3 op-ed for The News & Observer, faculty member Jeffrey Welty urged law enforcement to balance privacy, transparency, and other issues when implementing police body camera programs.
The SERVICE mural at the UNC School of Government, created in 2010, honors the Greensboro Four. On February 1, 1960, these North Carolina A&T State University students launched a nonviolent sit-in movement that spread to 54 cities in nine states in protest of racial segregation. The mural also celebrates the contributions of dozens of African Americans to North Carolina.
Following a rigorous selection process, Charles Szypszak has been awarded the prestigious 2016 J.
Allison Hawkins is a first-year Master of Public Administration (MPA) student at the School of Government. She was interviewed by MPA student Audrey Shore for Impact, the program's alumni newsletter. Her father, Translyvania County Commissioner Mike Hawkins, was interviewed separately.
Allison Hawkins: It started at the dinner table
