PD Newsletter #35: Why internet-era CTOs hire developers
Welcome to the 34th edition of the Public Digital newsletter. This week I have lots to share from Public Digital, so a little lighter on news from elsewhere this time around.
From James at Public Digital, why internet-era CTOs hire developers. On focusing on what differentiates you, and why you can't be good at internet-era ways of working while outsourcing tech delivery.
Part 1 of Geri Reid's series on scaling accessibility: making it perceivable. Practical, useful guide on implementing WCAG guidelines.
An interview with Mike at Public Digital, about how to deliver good public services. Start with design not tech first, and fund a team inside your government.
State of technology
📱 The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) have published the 2019 Affordability Report, assessing progress toward affordable internet. Their impact stories particularly bring the issues to life.
💰 A recent update from ProPublica on the lobbying and dark patterns Intuit use to prevent US citizens from filing taxes for free: including hiding free options from search engines and design decisions which lead customers to payment.
😐 In the surveillance state: People in China will have to have their faces scanned by telecom providers in order to get a new mobile number.
Events
November 9, London: For those of you in the UK, our friends at Ada's list are holding the 4th Ada's list Conference in a couple of weeks. 👉Sign-up on Eventbrite, and enter code ADAPD to get £10 off.
March 11-13 2020, Washington D.C: Code for America Summit 2020 is headed to D.C for the first time. The call for proposals has now closed, but you can mark your calendars and get your tickets. 👉Code for America Summit website
Digital Government
🇪🇺 The EU eGovernment benchmark 2019 calls out Malta, Estonia and Austria as frontrunners. The benchmark looks at user-centricity, transparency, cross-border mobility and key enablers like eID.
🇮🇹 Italian commentators are not impressed by the appointment of Paola Pisano as Minister of Innovation given her record in Turin. Here's a perfect example of prioritising robots over fixing the basics (worth a look just for the photos) Italian | English with Google Translate.
🇩🇪 Last week, the Bundestag rejected a request from the FDP to create a Federal Ministry for Digitization. German | English with Google Translate.
Last week, James, Dai, Emma, Stacey and Mike were in California, working with the Californian Government.
✈️ Another busy month for travel for Public Digital. Mike was in Colombia, California, Denmark and Finland. Andrew was in Victoria, B.C. Emily and Jamie went to Madagascar. Dai and Dave were in Nova Scotia. Ben was in Buenos Aires for Red Gealc followed by Lima with Emily Webber. Ben and Simon visited New York.
✉️A postcard from Colombia: Mike wrote about his recent trip to Bogotá. In English, and Spanish.
☀️In California? Work on something that matters. Expressions of Interest open to join a multi-disciplinary team re-imagining CA.gov.
