Technology vs. Government With Lloyd Levine — ICYMI

Over the last 20-plus years, technology has dramatically transformed almost all aspects of our lives — from the way we listen to music and reserve a table for dinner to the way we communicate with each other. Technology has transformed almost every industry in America …except, perhaps, for government.

It’s not always lack of adequate funding that explains why the public sector lags behind the private sector when it comes to adopting new technology. Indeed, just a few years ago more than half of U.S. states had budgets that would rank them amongst the Fortune 100. The issue seems to stem more from a difference in culture — where government has become more process-oriented than outcome-oriented — as well as a frequent disconnect between policymakers and implementers.

On this episode of In Case You Missed It, Lloyd Levine joins Joe Morris to discuss the culture of our current political system and the potential for change that Generation “T” (for technology) represents.

Levine, a former California state legislator, current senior policy fellow at University of California, Riverside’s School of Public Policy and T-Mobile for Government’s national senior executive for State Government Strategy, is a self-admitted public policy “junkie.” His new Studies in Media and Communications book Technology vs. Government: The Irresistible Force Meets the Immovable Object delves into the political culture and the real-world consequences of technology failures.

Having worked in both the public and private sectors, he recognizes the need to build a consensus, to become better educated and to turn the focus away from procedure and towards transformational change. While this itself will go a long way towards improving the relationship between government and technology, Levine also ponders how the expectations of a new generation that has grown up with technology will impact the government experience — will they change the culture, or become a victim of it?

LEARN MORE

• Connect with Lloyd Levine on LinkedIn
• Visit the UC Riverside School of Public Policy
• Find out more about his new book on Amazon

COMING SOON

In Case You Missed It is Government Technology’s weekly news roundup and interview live show featuring e.Republic* President Dustin Haisler and Chief Innovation Officer Joe Morris as they bring their analysis and insight to the week’s most important stories in state and local government.

Follow along live Fridays at 12 p.m. PST on LinkedIn and YouTube.

*e.Republic is Government Technology’s parent company.