Description: As the speed and complexity of the world increases, governments and nonprofit organizations need new ways to effectively tackle the critical challenges of our time--from pandemics and global warming to social media warfare. In Power to the Public, Tara Dawson McGuinness and Hana Schank describe a revolutionary new approach--public interest technology--that has the potential to transform the way governments and nonprofits around the world solve problems. Through inspiring stories about successful projects ranging from a texting service for teenagers in crisis to a streamlined foster care system, the authors show how public interest technology can make the delivery of services to the public more effective and efficient.
At its heart, public interest technology means putting users at the center of the policymaking process, using data and metrics in a smart way, and running small experiments and pilot programs before scaling up. And while this approach may well involve the innovative use of digital technology, technology alone is no panacea--and some of the best solutions may even be decidedly low-tech. Clear-eyed yet profoundly optimistic, Power to the Public presents a powerful blueprint for how government and nonprofits can help solve society's most serious problems.Brief description:
HANA SCHANK is a Technology in the Public Interest Fellow at New America, a think and action tank led by Anne-Marie Slaughter, and a frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post. Her Kindle Single, The Edge of Normal, was selected for Amazon's list of best Kindle Singles of 2015, and her 2005 memoir A More Perfect Union was a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection.
ELIZABETH WALLACE worked for 15 years in print magazines, including Vogue, Nylon, Seventeen, Us Weekly, and Lucky, and is now a freelance writer. She has been published recently in Lenny, Domino, Architectural Digest, ManRepeller, Healthline, Parenting, and Redbook.