Power to the Public

<p><b>Worth a read for anyone who cares about making change happen.--Barack Obama</b> <p/><b>A powerful new blueprint for how governments and nonprofits can harness the power of digital technology to help solve the most serious problems of the twenty-first century</b> <p/>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 <i>Power to the Public</i> 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. <p/>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. <p/>Clear-eyed yet profoundly optimistic <i>Power to the Public</i> presents a powerful blueprint for how government and nonprofits can help solve society's most serious problems.</p>