Boston: There's an App for That

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/boston-theres-an-app-for-that-107661.html#.VYml6PlViko

Ben Schreckinger

Politico

10 June 2014

Text / Over 3000 Words

Boston had a hard time solving civic problems efficiently and holding its leadership accountable. In response, a team in the Mayor's office was charged with "making Boston better through clever, low-cost hacks" such as a mobile app that allows residents to send government service requests to City Hall.

Farmers markets reaching more consumers who get nutritional benefits

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-farmers-markets-food-stamps-20140609-story.html

Lee Romney

Los Angeles Times

8 June 2014

Text / 800-1500 Words

Through creative financing and new technology, a non-profit in San Francisco is making farmers markets more accessible to residents who rely on federal nutrition benefits.

Dealing with blight complaints requires new approach, Memphis says

http://www.fayobserver.com/a9f5d553-c59b-5643-9b12-55aca76dde64.html

Greg Barnes

Fayetteville Observer

22 February 2014

Text / Under 800 Words

In Memphis, a creative blight-reduction initiative called 25 Square Blocks broke down the city into blocks. Inspectors were able to quickly identify all the violations and fix them, using the same amount of funding, but less time, as the old call-and-respond model.

New Orleans ends veteran homelessness

http://nationswell.com/new-orleans-ends-veteran-homelessness

Chris Peak

NationSwell

20 January 2015

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New Orleans implemented an extraordinary 10-year plan that engaged unprecedented cross-sector collaboration between government, non-profit, and private entities to provide housing and housing services to the city's homeless veterans. The city's success in providing homes for every single veteran formerly on their streets motivated cities across the nation to tackle the crises using similar means, leading to a 1/3 decline veteran homelessness since 2010.

Nigeria's polio endgame and a chance to improve struggling routine vaccination services

http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-medicine/2015/09/03/nigerias-polio-endgame-and-a-chance-to-improve-struggling-routine-vaccination-services

Alexandra Wollum

Nancy Fullman

On Medicine

3 September 2015

Text / Under 800 Words

In light of a study published in BMC Medicine, authors Nancy Fullman and Alexandra Wollum take a deeper dive into Nigeria’s gains against polio and what they could mean for the country’s routine vaccine systems.

Oklahoma schools district offers insight as EPISD, YISD consider shutting schools

http://www.elpasotimes.com/story/archives/2015/03/21/tulsa-outreach-key-palatable-school-closures/73899232

Lindsey Anderson

El Paso Times

21 March 2015

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Tulsa Public Schools drew on expertise across many sectors and extensive neighborhood input to address the issue of thousands of empty seats in local schools. Through a community-focused process, they were able to mindfully close under-utilized schools and better maximize the community's resources for students.

Improving School Lunch by Design

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/16/rethinking-school-lunch

Courtney E. Martin

The New York Times

16 October 2013

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The San Francisco Unified School District is piloting a collaboration with the design firm IDEO to re-imagine the school food system and help combat childhood obesity by better designing the space and the experience of how children eat, as much as the type of food they consume.

Minneapolis uses citywide plan to reduce youth violence

http://archive.jsonline.com/news/crime/minneapolis-uses-citywide-plan-to-reduce-youth-violence-b99537782z1-316820251.html

Ashley Luthern

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

18 July 2015

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After a rampant problem of violence among youths, Minneapolis enacted a violence-prevention plan which focused on collective action and stemming the causes at their source, resulting in nonfatal shootings involving youths drop by 72%. Now, other cities with similar problems are trying to follow suit.

Program removes barriers to learning English

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/english-536883-program-parents.html

Jordan England-Nelson

Orange County Register

14 November 2013

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The Twilight Education Club is a non-profit working to break down the barriers – transportation, child care and cost – that typically prevent the economically disadvantaged from accessing social services such as language classes. While the Twilight program is specifically geared toward the needs of the parents - getting better jobs and securing greater stability - the long-term focus remains on creating future opportunities for their children.

Out of Poverty, Family-Style

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/out-of-poverty-family-style

David Bornstein

The New York Times

14 July 2011

Text / 1500-3000 Words

A non-traditional program called the Family Independence Initiative (F.I.I.), uses a radically different approach from the traditional American social service model to empower entire families alleviate themselves from poverty. The results in multiple states thus far have been so striking, that this model of self-sufficiency may be able to have a significant impact reducing poverty nationwide.