Better Government Competition Awards Dinner 

The Winner of the 23rd annual Better Government Competition is “Compass® CoPilot,” proposal to integrate data collection and reporting at state and county human services agencies, submitted by Rich Bowlen, Director of Protective Services at Northwoods, an Ohio-based technology firm.  

The Better Government Competition winner and four runners-up were selected by a distinguished panel of judges from the business, legal, non-profit and municipal government communities:

• Andrew O. Davis, Managing Partner, Overall Capital Partners
• Keith N. Hylton, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law
• Patrick Larkin, Director, The Innovation Institute, MassTech Collaborative
• David O'Connor, Senior Vice President for Energy and Clean Technology, ML Strategies, LLC
• Kevin Stokes, Chief Information Officer, City of Brookline

The four runners-up to the 2014 Better Government Competition are:

• OpportunitySpace.org, a start-up company that is placing vacant public land available for purchase into an online, searchable database designed to reduce government maintenance costs, and increase economic development. Submitted by Alexander Kapur, OpportunitySpace.org Co-Founder.
• Handicap Parking Permit Application and Management System, a three-part, web-based system to streamline the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles’ parking permitting process for disabled residents, significantly reducing customer wait periods and staff time. Submitted by Betty Johnson, Nebraska DMV Vehicle Services Administrator.
• Independent Risk Manager model, a third-party entity with the IT infrastructure and expertise to manage care services for costly patient populations, relieving physicians of the administrative burdens that jeopardize their independence. Submitted by Caitlin Reiche, Stephanie Zaremba, senior managers, athenahealth, Inc.
• City Hall to Go, a Boston-based, mobile delivery program that gives residents access to dozens of municipal services within their own neighborhood. Submitted by Danielle Valle Fitzgerald, Director, City Hall to Go, City of Boston.

The four special recognition recipients of the 2014 Better Government Competition are:

• BusinessUSA - Dennis Alvord (Washington, DC) Online portal that serves as a single point of entry for U.S. entrepreneurs and exporters seeking to accessinformation about federal government programs, tools and services assisting American companies.
• mTicketing - Richard Davey, Secretary of Transportation (Commonwealth of Massachusetts)Mobile ticketing application for Massachusetts’ commuter rail and ferry riders that lowers fare collection costsand improves customer experience by enabling users to avoid lines or surcharges for onboard purchases.
• National Registry of Motor Vehicles - Chris Laws (Boston, MA) This proposal to centralize motor vehicle registrations, eliminating re-registration after relocating out of state, saves states $150 million annually, assists in local law-enforcement and reduces wait times.
• Powerline - Jesse Chen (Hoboken, NJ) A mobile app and web platform integrating polling, petition and discussion capabilities to create two-way communication between public officials and constituents, and increase government accountability.