About: Press Room

Seoul and Prague Achieve Top Rankings in E-gov Web Portal Excellence

Rutgers Global E-Governance Survey Ranks Seoul #1

View the online awards ceremony at this link.

A global survey of city websites has identified Seoul, South Korea, as the top-ranked city in the performance of municipal e-government. The survey evaluated sites of municipalities worldwide in terms of privacy, usability, content, service and citizen participation and ranked the cities on a global scale.

New PTI Program to Recognize Web 2.0 Programs in Local and State Government

PTI is embarking on a year-long research project to develop best practices in the field of Web 2.0 and civic/social networking and citizen engagement in local and state government.

The project will culminate in a Web 2.0 State & Local Government Awards & Recognition Program that will include a virtual “Gallery of Excellence” in citizen engagement.

Local Governments Designated as Citizen-Engaged Communities

Washington, DC, June 1, 2010 – Public Technology Institute (PTI) has designated nine local governments from across the U.S. as “Citizen-Engaged Communities” for their efforts to provide the public with multi-channel (web, civic media, Interactive Voice Response, 311/call agents) access to government services and information.

PTI’s Citizen-Engaged Communities Designation Program challenges local government to achieve high standards in citizen participation, seamless service delivery and democratic accountability.

PTI Joins Biodetection Information Collection and Sharing Effort

A key element in mounting effective responses to biological attacks is effective and efficient information sharing. While this is especially true in the initial hours after detection, oftentimes uncertainty about the detection and jurisdictional responsibilities complicate the process.

IJIS Institute Partners with PTI

Promotes collaboration on technology, information sharing initiatives

Ashburn, VA, Apr. 6, 2010: The IJIS Institute, a nonprofit organization that focuses on mission-critical information sharing for justice, public safety and homeland security, welcomes Public Technology Institute (PTI) as its newest Alliance Partner.

Promoting Government Transparency is a Leading Topic of Interest for Local Elected Officials

PTI Staff Contact: Dale Bowen, 202-626-2456.

Using technology tools that promote transparency in municipal government is the leading technology topic of interest to local officials, according to a brief survey of National League of Cities (NLC) and Public Technology Institute (PTI) members.

What’s Out/What’s In? Local Government Technology Predictions for 2010

PTI Staff Contact: Dale Bowen, 202-626-2456.

January 5, 2010, Washington, DC—Public Technology Institute (PTI) has identified its list of technology trends and predictions that will impact the local government marketplace in 2010.

“Based on interviews that PTI has conducted with IT executives representing local governments across the U.S., many of these trends have already begun and will grow stronger over the next twelve to eighteen months while some of the predictions have just begun to take hold,” said Alan Shark, Executive Director of PTI.

PTI Announces Appointment of New CIO

Public Technology Institute (PTI) has announced the appointment of Clifford Clarke as Chief Information Officer.

Mr. Clarke is the former CIO with the City of Fort Wayne, Indiana and has a strong background in information technology in both the public and private sectors.

Save Fuel, Reduce CO2 with Driving Change

Driving Change FAQ Denver Case Study PTI Staff Contact: Ronda Mosley, 937-667-4142.

WASHINGTON, D.C., and CARLSBAD, Calif. (October 13, 2009) — Public Technology Institute (PTI), a national, non-profit technology research organization, and Enviance, a proven provider of software solutions to help organizations manage and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) and other regulatory risks, today announced a strategic partnership through which PTI will promote the adoption of the Enviance Driving Change® vehicular greenhouse gas management system in cities and counties across the United States.

Local Government Energy Assurance Guidelines

A soft-cover full-color edition of the PTI publication Local Government Energy Assurance Guidelines is now available for $33.49 on Amazon.com at this link.

The publication helps city and county officials to address energy assurance and security concerns for mission-critical government facilities.

"Protecting and enhancing the resiliency of the energy sector from natural and human-caused disasters requires local governments to be vigilant and aware of the interdependencies of the system," said PTI executive director Alan Shark.

DC, Portland OR, NYC, New Orleans, LA in Top E-Gov Rankings

Rutgers - SFSU Municipal E-Governance Survey Ranks Washington DC #1

A national survey of city websites has identified Washington, DC as the top-ranked city in the performance of municipal E-governance. The research study was conducted jointly by the E-Governance Institute, School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University-Newark, and the Department of Public Administration at San Francisco State University.

Montgomery County, MD Named a PTI Innovation Lab

April 23, 2009—Public Technology Institute (PTI) has named Montgomery County, Maryland an Innovation Lab for the county’s implementation of configuration management practices in a geographic information systems (GIS) environment.

PTI’s Innovation Lab program - a “mark of excellence” - recognizes a local government for the successful deployment of a technology solution or practice.

Rutgers and PTI Announce Strategic Partnership

PTI Staff Contact: Alan Shark, 202-626-2445.

The School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers University in Newark and Public Technology Institute (PTI) have announced the formation of a new strategic partnership in all areas of public performance management, as well as governance and technology leadership in public management.

Both organizations have agreed to work in tandem to address such objectives as developing next generation web-based training and information systems and programs. They also pledged to work toward common strategic goals that adhere to each organization’s unique but complementary missions.

State of City and County IT 2008 National Survey

INPUT-PTI Survey Thirty-eight percent of local government information technology budgets will decrease over the next two years as a result of the economic slowdown, according to the results of a national survey conducted by Public Technology Institute (PTI) and INPUT.

The survey, The State of City and County IT 2008, targeted local government chief information officers (CIO) and information technology (IT) department directors.

New Guidebook Encourages Local Governments to Bring 21st Century Broadband to their Communities

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 9, 2008 - A free publication brings new hope to local government officials and utility decision makers trying to ensure that their cities and counties receive broadband services.

The Municipal & Utility Guidebook to Bringing Broadband Fiber Optics to Your Community is a comprehensive guide to the economic and quality-of-life benefits of robust fiber infrastructure. It examines in detail four communities that have successfully deployed fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) services to their citizens and businesses.

Public Technology Institute, a national non-profit technology research organization, is the publisher. The Guidebook is available now for free download from PTI at www.pti.org.

National Group Forms to Promote 311/CRM in Local Government

WASHINGTON, DC, July 17, 2008 - A pothole in the street? A loose dog running around the neighborhood? Missed trash pick-up? Every day Americans want or need to make a call to their local government for service or information, but don’t always know where to call.

An emerging technology, 311 service, is making it easier for citizens to connect with their local government when they need help—all through a simple phone call to 3-1-1 or the touch of a button on a government website.

A new group created by several leading organizations has formed to promote the use of and serve as a resource on centralized customer service systems such as 311 call centers, citizen relationship management (CRM) systems and online service requests, to improve local government service delivery and performance.

Promoting Citizen-Engaged Communities

Washington, DC, June 23, 2008—Public Technology Institute announces the launch of the Citizen-Engaged Community designation program for city and county governments.

Through this initiative, PTI will encourage more active participation by the public in government performance management and reporting by helping local governments connect, and promote their multi-channel citizen contact and service delivery systems.

Examples include Citizen Relationship Management (CRM) systems, 311 call centers and web portal technologies that local governments use to respond to citizens’ requests for services.