Springwise - Government

Eco-iconic license plates for green vehicles

2009-11-20T13:53:01Z

Electric and hybrid vehicles are typically eco-iconic in their own right, but a new program from Ontario's Ministry of Transportation aims to give them additional recognition via special license plates as well.

The Canadian province hopes to have one out of every 20 vehicles driven in Ontario electrically powered by 2020. As part of that effort, it is encouraging the purchase and use of electric cars via several incentives. First, vehicles purchased after July 1, 2010, can qualify for rebates of between CDN 4,000 and CDN 10,000. Even more eco-iconic, however, is that drivers of such vehicles will be given special, green license plates from the province starting next year. Said license plates will qualify them to use Ontario's High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes until 2015, even if there is just one person in the vehicle; give them access to provincial recharging facilities; and allow them to use designated parking spots at the University of Toronto and private companies such as Wal-Mart Canada. Particularly interesting from a crowdsourcing perspective is that the province's green license plate design was chosen through public voting from among four competing alternatives.

If there's anything more gratifying than simply reaping the benefits of an environmentally friendly vehicle, it's having that ethical purchase decision recognized and rewarded, for all the world to see. How long before every DMV under the sun has its own version of the green license plate...?

Website: news.ontario.ca/mto/en/2009/11/new-green-licence-plate-selected-by-ontarians.html
Contact: nicole.lippa-gasparro@ontario.ca

Spotted by: Monica Watkins

Manchester sells holiday gift wrap designed for the city

2009-11-20T05:18:56Z

It's no secret that cities love to promote Christmas shopping as a festive way to boost the local economy. What we hadn't yet spotted, however, was a city selling its very own holiday gift wrap, which is what Manchester is doing this season.

Created by graphic designer Peter Saville—whose work has graced the city since he designed for and directed Factory Records—the wrapping paper's vivid colours match Visit Manchester's multi-hued logo. Produced in a limited edition of 5,000 rolls, the gift wrap is sold for GBP 2,99 through Visit Manchester's online shop, as well as at the city's Tourist Information Centre, Manchester City Art Gallery’s shop, exhibition centre Urbis, Visit Manchester’s Christmas market stall, and—with a nod to Saville's musical roots—at local record store Vinyl Exchange.

It's an innovative launch by Manchester's city marketers, and one that their colleagues in other cities will no doubt follow next year ;-)

Website: www.visitmanchester.com
Contact: www.visitmanchester.com/contact_us.aspx

Spotted by: The Scout

Airport kiosk alerts customers to counterfeit products

2009-10-16T06:36:19Z

According to the World Customs Organisation, counterfeit goods account for between five and seven percent of world trade. In an effort to counter the counterfeiters, Hong Kong's government is working to facilitate efficient product authentication. In June, the region's dominant duty-free retailer Nuance-Watson pilot-launched an authentication kiosk in its Hong Kong Airport Travelcare Express store. The kiosk allows customers to scan a product's label and follow its supply chain history to verify authenticity. Since fake medicines are of particularly acute concern to regulators, the pilot is focusing on pharmaceutical products.

The kiosk is part of a wider government initiative—BarcodePlus—which is supposed to become Hong Kong's portal for product quality and safety information. Due for official launch next month, BarcodePlus will enable users to not only verify the authenticity of a product, but also to find information about its shelf-life, origin, ingredients and packaging. Consumers will be able to access the service online or via SMS.

The 'product life story labels' we've covered in the past—from spinach to sheep—were mainly about sustainability and unearthing the softer sides of authenticity. With BarcodePlus, on the other hand, traceability is being put to work to protect consumers and profit margins. One to keep an eye on if you operate in markets flooded with knockoffs!

Website: www.barcodeplus.com.hk
Contact: info@barcodeplus.com.hk

Spotted by: Judy McRae

NYC challenges developers to create apps using city data

2009-10-08T15:31:42Z

Last week, we wrote about SFapps, a San Francisco initiative that invites developers to turn municipal data into useful tools for the city's residents. Not one to be bested, Mayor Bloomberg just launched a similar concept in New York: NYC BigApps, "a software application competition to make New York City more transparent, accessible and accountable, and an easier place to live, work and play." On offer for developers? USD 20,000 in cash prizes, plus dinner with Bloomberg. And, no doubt, some valuable media attention.

Developers can use public sets of raw data produced by city agencies, available from the newly-launched NYC Data Mine. Judges for the competition, which is taking submissions until 8 December 2009, include Fred Wilson, Esther Dyson and Jason Calcanis. No word yet on if and how the city will adopt and promote winning apps. Other cities around the world—what are you waiting for? Data isn't just for internal use; time to corral it, keep it up to date, and entice developers to create useful applications for your citizens.

Website: www.nycbigapps.com
Contact: info@nycbigapps.com

San Francisco showcases city data apps

2009-09-28T17:04:41Z

While the web is disrobing many businesses in the name of transparency, the City of San Francisco is happy to expose itself. A month since the launch of DataSF.org, a public archive of government data, Mayor Gavin Newsom has announced that the site will now showcase applications which manipulate that data to make it more useful and accessible to the city's residents. Inspired by the success of Apple's iTunes App Store and Facebook's open developer platform (60,000 and 350,000 apps respectively), writes Mayor Newsom, San Francisco is encouraging democratic participation by “giving residents the tools to build the kind of government that works for them.”

A number of apps are already online, with the new showcase expected to stimulate many more creations. Among those currently available, EcoFinder helps residents find out where their nearest recycling services are located, while Cabspotting—a project by the Exploratorium interactive science museum—displays a real-time map of cab locations in San Francisco.

It's not the first step the tech-centric Bay Area has made towards ‘Gov 2.0’—in June we reported on their Twitter service for civil complaints. But this latest effort could mark the start of a sea-change in the way governments provide public information services. Don't let your local government miss the boat!

Website: www.datasf.org/showcase
Contact: www.datasf.org/showcase/?page_id=115

Spotted by: Duncan Rickelton

Free medical insurance for Mexico City tourists

2009-08-21T13:49:17Z

In an effort to defibrillate its tourist industry after the shock of the swine flu outbreak, Mexico City is reaching out by being generous. Under a scheme launched late July, the city's tourism office is offering free medical insurance and tourist assistance worth an estimated USD 30 per person to every tourist that visits the city.

“Of all the world’s largest cities, Mexico City is the first to try this,” said Mayor Marcelo Ebrard at a ceremony unveiling the service. Since average hotel occupancy rates dropped to a record low in April/May of this year, the tourist department has been quick to introduce an incentive for both national and international guests. It's no surprise that "medical assistance in case of influenza AH1N1" heads up the list of services on the official website. Medical assistance for any other ailment, as well as emergency hospital accommodation and dental care are also included in the policies, which are underwritten by insurance provider MAPFRE.

The insurance isn't limited to medical issues; a 24-hour call centre will also provide legal assistance in case of robbery, and will help tourists whose flight is cancelled or delayed. The centre is staffed by attendants who are fluent in English, French, German, Portuguese and Spanish, who will even book tickets for events in the city. Whether or not this initiative will bring back the tourists remains to be seen. But it's an innovative move by Mexico City, tackling a major issue with wide-sweeping generosity.

Website: www.mexicocity.gob.mx/contenido.php?cat=50500⊂=13
Contact: servicios@mexicocity.gob.mx

Spotted by: Murtaza Ali Patel

In Paris, a citywide scheme to share electric cars

2009-08-17T17:06:18Z

Regular Springwise readers may remember Vélib‘, the citywide bike-sharing scheme in Paris that we covered back in 2007. Buoyed by the success of that effort, the city is now apparently planning another ambitious initiative—this time involving electric cars.

Paris actually already has a car-sharing scheme in place with some 5,000 members, but it's privately run and uses traditional cars. Autolib', on the other hand—from automobile + liberté—is a large-scale, city-backed effort that will provide only clean, electric vehicles. Planned for launch late next year or in early 2011, Autolib' will place some 4,000 electric cars at 1,400 self-service rental and recharging stations in and around Paris for short-term, temporary use. The USD 14 million initiative will likely be operated as a public-private partnership, according to a BusinessWeek report, with oversight by an intergovernmental council. Drivers will not need to make reservations to use a car through Autolib'. Rather, two- and four-seat cars will be available for rent at stands by simply swiping a card in a reader; users will then be able to return the cars at any stand that's convenient. Prices haven't yet been decided, but they'll likely be in the vicinity of USD 6 to USD 9 per half-hour, with monthly subscription fees of USD 22 to USD 29, BW reported.

French environmentalists are apparently protesting Autolib's potential to encourage driving and worsen urban congestion. Advocates, on the other hand, say it could reduce carbon emissions by 22,000 tons a year while improving congestion, since fewer Parisians will feel the need to own a car. Either way, there's no doubt the city-backed approach will give the effort a prominence that would be difficult to achieve otherwise, and its similarity to Vélib‘ could make gaining acceptance considerably easier. One to watch! (Related: Parking operator launches car-sharing service — Hertz launches global car-sharing service.)

Website: www.paris.fr
Contact: service.presse@paris.fr

Spotted by: Rick Elders

In Boston, an iPhone app for civic complaints

2009-07-10T16:27:09Z

It may have taken a while, but city governments are now rushing to catch up with the technological preferences of their citizens. Just last month we covered San Francisco's recent Twitter initiative, and now Boston is jumping on board with a new iPhone application for filing civic complaints.

Dubbed Citizen Connect, the application will allow residents of the city to snap photos of neighbourhood problems such as potholes, graffiti or abandoned vehicles, and e-mail them directly to City Hall, according to a report on Boston.com. Tapping the iPhone's GPS function, users will easily be able to specify the problem's precise location. And whereas in the past citizens often felt that their complaints "disappeared into a bureaucratic black hole," as Boston.com put it, the new application will give users a tracking number after they file their complaint, allowing them to follow city officials' progress in addressing it. Designed by New Hampshire firm Connected Bits, the app is due to enter a testing phase next week, with some 70 people—primarily City Hall employees and volunteers—trying it out, according to Government Technology. It will be offered as a free download from Apple's iPhone App Store, and is expected to become available in mid- to late August.

Also on board the iPhone train with civic applications are Utah and—no surprise—San Francisco, according to Government Technology. Other governments: what about you...?

Website: www.cityofboston.gov
Contact: www.cityofboston.gov/contact

Spotted by: Boston Globe via Raymond Kollau

In San Francisco, civic complaints via Twitter

2009-06-18T10:25:28Z

We've already written about several city governments' technology-enabled efforts to keep in touch with citizens, including Love Lewisham, Derby Kidz Talk and Neighbourhood Fix-It. Such web-, MMS- and 311-based efforts may have since become more common, but San Francisco is the first city we've seen to accept citizen complaints and reports via Twitter.

Early this month San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom announced that San Francisco residents can now send messages to the city government via Twitter by directing them to @SF311. Customer service representatives are available 24/7, 365 days a year, for help with such matters as the need for street cleaning, graffiti removal, potholes, abandoned vehicles and garbage can maintenance. Users simply sign up to follow SF311, which will automatically result in a reciprocal follow connection. Photos and links to illustrate the subjects of complaint are encouraged, and the city also plans to send updates about planned and unplanned local events using the platform. San Francisco is using Twitter business platform CoTweet to track its Twitter-based conversations, according to TechCrunch.

It's good to see governments catching up with the communication preferences of their citizens. More to follow soon, we have no doubt! ;-)

Website: sftwitter.sfgov.org/twitter
Contact: @SF311

Spotted by: TechCrunch

Free pop-up space for small creative businesses

2009-06-17T11:16:47Z

We recently covered a program at Oakland Mall that offers startups low-cost and short-term leasing to help them to set up shop. This summer, KiosKiosk will bring a similar idea to the streets of London by offering a small kiosk space to startups selling ceramics, art, fashion and other creative products. At no cost to its temporary tenants.

Creative organisations, businesses or individuals ready to trade simply send in their details and explain why they're a good candidate to fill the space. KiosKiosk's founders note that, although the number of people enrolling in design courses in the UK increases each year, it's difficult for creative businesses to find affordable retail space in locations with enough foot traffic to attract potential buyers. The initiative is backed by the London Sustainable Development Commission, working to promote creative independent shops instead of more dime-a-dozen souvenir stalls. The first KiosKiosk—an eyecatching design by Geraldine and Wayne Hemingway—will be set up outside London’s City Hall all summer, with plans to roll out the concept in other parts of the city and country at a later stage.

As well as encouraging startups and up-and-coming designers, the kiosk is a low-cost way for London to showcase the abundance of local creativity to visitors from around the world.

Website: www.kioskiosk.co.uk
Contact: www.kioskiosk.co.uk/html/contact-us.html

Spotted by: intelligentnaivety.com via Raymond Kollau

P.S. On a side note: back in 2004, our sister-site trendwatching.com coined the phrase pop-up retail, and one of the examples used was Delta's pop-up store in New York. Five and a half years later, Southwest Airlines is opening a pop-up lounge in Bryant Park, as reported by nytimes.com. Southwest is starting service at LaGuardia, and the "Southwest Porch" will be serving sandwiches themed to the cities they'll be flying to. Some trends just never grow old ;-)

Helping citizens keep tabs on legislators

2009-05-08T10:55:25Z

When it comes to monitoring the workings of democracy, there's no such thing as too much information. Helping involved citizens stay well-informed, LegiStalker filters US legislative news 24 hours a day.

Created as an entry for the Apps for America contest, LegiStalker allows users to search for legislators by name or location, and view live streams of their votes, Twitter posts, YouTube videos, favourite words and more. The website's database is updated every 20 seconds using Yahoo Search, GovTrack.us and other services. Plans are in place for additional features like voting histories and grouping politicians mentioned in the same news articles.

As LegiStalker says: “an accountable government requires an informed citizenry.” One to duplicate for dedicated citizens in other nations? (Related: Tweets from parliament seats — Crowds make parliament videos searchable.)

Website: www.legistalker.org
Contact: legistalker@forumone.com

Spotted by: Judy McRae

Hotel rooms scattered across the city of Linz

2009-03-25T11:32:49Z

The downside of a great hotel is that it makes it too easy for a traveller to stay inside and miss out on experiencing the local culture. The Austrian city of Linz is tackling that issue by scattering unique individual hotel lodgings throughout the city’s metropolitan area, in effect turning the entire city into a one large hotel—a Pixelhotel.

The Pixelhotel project is one of the city’s attempts, as 2009 European Capital of Culture, to lure tourists to Linz by using creative and sustainable approaches to architecture. The locations chosen for redesign are unorthodox, from a cabinetmaker’s workshop and a ship to an art gallery. Each unique unit has its own specific aesthetic to make it a one-of-a-kind hotel experience. Lacking regular hotel infrastructure, the units provide minimal amenities only, as a way of encouraging tourists to go out and explore Linz. Prices range from EUR 87 for a single room to EUR 147 for a double.

Linz’s mini hotel ‘pixels’ aren't quite pop-up hotels, but their flexible approach to accommodation shares that same spirit of surprise and creativity. Other innovative cities and businesses—time to consider transforming a few unused spaces? (Related: Free accommodation for visiting creatives — Swiss bomb shelter becomes 'zero star' hotel.)

Website: www.pixelhotel.at
Contact: office@pixelhotel.at

Spotted by: Martina Meng and Tais Reis

Tweets from parliament seats

2009-02-13T14:32:44Z

We've seen several web-based initiatives aimed at engaging the politically alienated, including theyworkforyou.com's video tagging. Now, tapping into Twitter—the communication platform du jour—Tweetminster has created a 'place where real life and politics tweet'. The website and public service provides real-time updates of life in British politics.

Tweetminster lets users track their favourite MPs, read politicians' and lobbyists' speeches as they're spoken, and find out the hottest topics of political debate from various MPs' blogs. Launched late last year, Tweetminster currently has a roster of 18 MPs from all over Britain, 60% of whom are members of the Labour party. Each politician has a personal page that displays their followers and lists their most recent 140-character missives, as well as a tagcloud of the words they use most often. There's also a section for prospective parliamentary candidates, letting them introduce themselves and their campaigns to the internet community.

UnLtdWorld, an online platform for social entrepreneurs, teamed up with Thin Martian, a creative digital agency, to move the concept from brainwave to launch state in 48 hours. (UnLtdWorld and Thin Martian also collaborated on a Shoreditch tricycle race we wrote about.) Inspiration came in part after stumbling upon Tweet Congress, an American site that chronicles the twittering activities of congressmen and congresswomen. Both sites aim to make politicians and political culture more accessible, thereby encouraging greater participation in debate.

Services such as Twitter are making it easier for consumers to establish an immediate, real-time dialogue with previously distant entities. And they provide organisations with yet another opportunity to turn transparency tyranny into transparency triumph.

Website: www.tweetminster.com
Contact: @albertonardelli — @killdozer — @goldenchild128 — @misja

Spotted by: Alice Pilias

Crowd efforts make parliament videos searchable

2008-09-23T21:21:35Z

Theyworkforyou.com, the site that helps the British public keep tabs on their politicians, has just made the government's goings-on even more transparent and accessible. Its full archive of video clips of debates in the House of Commons can now be searched, thanks to a new initiative to link parliament transcripts with video footage.

The website created a timestamping application in June 2008 to match up each clip--recorded from BBC Parliament, the British equivalent of C-SPAN--to the correct transcript. Even though all of the timestamping needed to be done manually without a budget, two months after launch all 42,018 video clips were fully searchable. The non-profit site managed this by involving the general public, creating a small incentive by naming its top taggers, one of whom is responsible for over 8,000 entries. It also encouraged participation by making it incredibly easy for anyone to pitch in: all users need to do to get started is to click the 'Give me a random speech that needs timestamping' link. They're then shown a video, and just need to press the 'now' button when they hear the words displayed below the player. The Houses of Parliament are currently in their Summer Recess, but when they get back to work in October, Theyworkforyou.com will be able to match up videos and transcripts as soon as they become available.

By relying on the simple system of text search, finding important parts of debates in seemingly endless sequences of video suddenly becomes much less daunting. The project's aim is to make it easy for citizens to watch relevant footage, and to remind politicians of the promises they've made. While Google and other tech behemoths work on making video searchable, the fact that this low-tech project was completed so quickly demonstrates the power of harnessing the crowds, and how ready and willing those crowds are to help create a greater degree of transparency. Politicians, beware: there's no place to hide ;-)

Website: www.theyworkforyou.com/video
Contact: team@theyworkforyou.com

Spotted by: Simon Blair