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Mark Headd
Mark Headd

2.6K Followers

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Mar 3

Rethinking Residency Requirements

Residency requirements for municipal employees are a contentious topic among local government officials, city employees, and taxpayers. The idea that city employees will be more invested in their jobs and perform at a higher level if they live in the cities for which they work underpins most of the logic…

Remote Working

6 min read

Rethinking Residency Requirements
Rethinking Residency Requirements
Remote Working

6 min read


Dec 1, 2022

Mourning and Memory

I just finished, and so thoroughly enjoyed Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? A Memoir, by Séamas O’Reilly. An easy and enjoyable read, but a personal one for me. The author is one of an Irish Catholic family of eleven children who lost his mother when he was very young. I…

Books

4 min read

Mourning and Memory
Mourning and Memory
Books

4 min read


Nov 22, 2022

Mashed Potatoes and Digital Modernization

There is a scene in Steven Spielberg’s 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind where Roy Neary (played by Richard Dreyfuss) shapes a pile of mashed potatoes into a mushy replica of Devils Tower. Neary, after a brief encounter with an alien spacecraft, has become so obsessed with the…

Civic Technology

2 min read

Mashed Potatoes and Digital Modernization
Mashed Potatoes and Digital Modernization
Civic Technology

2 min read


Feb 16, 2022

Complexity and (Potential) Corruption

Two things happened at the same time this week that made me think about how inefficient, opaque processes can introduce opportunities for certain individuals to receive beneficial treatment. First, my wife and I had to take one of our children for a PCR test. The process of getting the results…

Civictech

3 min read

Complexity and (Potential) Corruption
Complexity and (Potential) Corruption
Civictech

3 min read


Feb 5, 2022

On Zealotry and Cryptocurrency in Government

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose. ― William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice Ten years ago this year, I rode a growing wave of enthusiasm for how governments manage and share data into a position as the first ever Chief Data Officer for the City of Philadelphia. The…

Civictech

6 min read

On Zealotry and Cryptocurrency
On Zealotry and Cryptocurrency
Civictech

6 min read


Mar 2, 2021

Hands Across America

A story about two hands doing work to support digital transformation in government — Pain is weakness leaving the body — A quote often attributed to United States Marine Corps I want to tell you a short story. it’s a story about my hands. Sometime in mid 2017, I woke up one morning with pain at the base of my middle finger on my…

Civictech

4 min read

Hands Across America
Hands Across America
Civictech

4 min read


Jan 31, 2021

What Lies Beneath

Procurement challenges don’t end when a government agency selects a vendor to fulfill a contract. In many ways, they are just beginning. — If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the world of civic tech for the last 5–10 years then you don’t need to be told that one of the major challenges to implementing effective digital solutions in government is the procurement process. Its hard to find a large or…

Civictech

4 min read

What Lies Beneath
What Lies Beneath
Civictech

4 min read


Jan 27, 2021

PFC: A Cautionary Tale for Civic Tech

In a month of chaotic vaccine distribution rollouts, no government’s effort has been more dysfunctional, or controversial, than that of Philadelphia. To spearhead delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to city residents, the City of Philadelphia decided to partner with a young startup called Philly Fighting COVID (PFC). In recent days, the…

Covid 19

3 min read

PFC: A Cautionary Tale for Civic Tech
PFC: A Cautionary Tale for Civic Tech
Covid 19

3 min read


Dec 5, 2020

On Unbecoming a Hotshot

My four-year anniversary at my current job snuck up on me a few weeks back. It’s not an anniversary I have a lot of experience with — it’s been a while since I worked somewhere for four years in a row. My professional career has taken me on an interesting…

Civictech

4 min read

On Unbecoming a Hotshot
On Unbecoming a Hotshot
Civictech

4 min read


Nov 25, 2020

Virtuous Roadblocks and Digital Service Delivery

If Men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. …

Civictech

4 min read

Virtuous Roadblocks and Digital Service Delivery
Virtuous Roadblocks and Digital Service Delivery
Civictech

4 min read

Mark Headd

Mark Headd

2.6K Followers

I am a true believer. #opendata #civichacking

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