Report by Drive Impact: “From Kentucky to Arkansas to New York, government leaders across the United States are leveraging data, technology, and a heightened focus on outcomes to deliver social impact with modern solutions. In Louisville, Kentucky, “smart” asthma inhalers track where attacks happen citywide and feed this data into a government dashboard, helping policymakers identify hot spots to improve air quality and better treat patients. Policy leaders in New York and Texas are reforming Medicaid with “value-based payments” that reward doctors for performing preventive procedures that protect against costly tests and treatments down the road. In Arkansas, a digital government platform called Gov2Go connects citizens with a personalized console that sends reminders to file paperwork, renew registrations, and seek out other relevant government services.
What all of these initiatives share is a smarter approach to policymaking: an operating belief that government can and should reward the best policies and programs by paying for the best outcomes and using the best data and technology to identify solutions that can transform service delivery and strengthen citizens’ connection to government. These transformational policies are smarter government, and America needs more of it. Smarter government uses an outcomes mindset to embrace cutting-edge data and technology, make better funding choices, learn from policy failures and successes, act on new knowledge about what works, and align clear goals with the right incentives to achieve them. Americans need a smarter, outcomes-focused government for the twenty-first century—one that can identify and address systemic barriers to effective service delivery and seek out and promote innovative solutions to our greatest social challenges….(More)”