Recent Posts
News•Feb 28, 2026
Purpose Drives Design: Functions of a Statewide Longitudinal Data System
Statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDS) can boost education and workforce outcomes, but designs vary based on intended functions—public reporting, research analytics, and individual support. The brief by Stefaan Verhulst explains how policymakers can align system architecture, governance, and legal frameworks with these functions. Aligning purpose with infrastructure ensures data access for decision‑makers. Properly designed SLDSs enable timely, accurate insights for policy and personal pathways.
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 28, 2026
Local Strategies for Engaging Youth with Data
Local organizations receiving grants from the Local Data for Equitable Communities program are training teenagers to collect, analyze, and present data on pressing neighborhood issues such as displacement, air pollution, extreme heat, and limited public spaces. The initiative, highlighted in...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 25, 2026
Using LLMs to Enhance Democracy
The paper by Seth Lazar and Lorenzo Manuali evaluates whether large language models (LLMs) can improve democratic deliberation. It examines LLM‑driven summarization, opinion aggregation, and preference prediction, finding mixed outcomes. While AI tools can make political texts more accessible, they...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 25, 2026
The Day Europe’s Data Stops Flowing
Europe’s digital economy is increasingly dependent on a complex data infrastructure that remains vulnerable to prolonged outages. The authors model how a systemic failure could evolve from brief inconveniences to widespread power loss, overwhelmed emergency services, and financial disruption within...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 25, 2026
Center for Regulatory Ingenuity
The FAS Center for Regulatory Ingenuity (CRI) is launching a transpartisan effort to modernize stagnant government institutions, beginning with climate policy. It creates high‑trust brainstorming environments and a "network of networks" to help policymakers update outdated laws for the clean‑technology...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 25, 2026
Seeing in the Dark: Towards a Broad Construction of the Access to Data Provisions of the DSA
The Digital Services Act’s Article 40 gives vetted researchers EU‑wide data access to study systemic risks, but its “necessary and proportionate” test may limit that access. Past denials on privacy grounds show researchers often lack prior knowledge of what data they...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 24, 2026
A Digital Omnibus: Identifying Interlinks and Possible Overlaps Between Different Legal Acts in the Field of Digital Legislation to Streamline...
The European Parliament commissioned a study to dissect the European Commission’s Digital Omnibus package released on 19 November 2025. The report separates administrative simplification from substantive changes to safeguards in data protection, privacy, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. It flags three hot‑button issues...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 24, 2026
Predicted: How AI Is Restructuring Social Life
Mona Sloane’s new book *Predicted* argues that artificial intelligence has moved beyond a technological breakthrough to become a core social infrastructure shaping daily interactions and institutional processes. The work frames AI as a co‑produced arrangement built on prediction, classification, and...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 24, 2026
The GeoAI for Humanitarian
Geospatial AI (GeoAI) is emerging as a powerful tool for rapid disaster assessment, predictive early‑warning models, population mapping in data‑poor regions, and real‑time tracking of displacement and infrastructure damage. The technology promises the speed, scale, and accuracy humanitarian actors need...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 23, 2026
Bridging the Gap Between Technical Innovation and Development Impact
The article argues that open‑source software can bridge the gap between technical innovation and development outcomes, noting that roughly 80% of government digital‑transformation projects fall short of their goals. It cites high‑impact examples such as Linux, OpenSSL, and OpenMRS, which...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 20, 2026
Geopolitical Union: Europe’s Attempt to Take Back Control of Technology Regulation
The European Commission is repositioning itself as a “Geopolitical Commission,” aiming to reclaim control over technology regulation. The strategy, outlined in Benjamin Farrand’s book *Geopolitical Union*, targets standards, micro‑chip access, online platform oversight, industrial data, and artificial intelligence. By blending...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 18, 2026
Resident Engagement Initiatives Local Governments Are Using Today
Resident engagement is evolving as local governments blend digital and in‑person tactics to meet higher citizen expectations. Examples include Banff, Alberta’s use of Pinterest for visual storytelling, extending community visibility and civic pride, and Rockingham County, North Carolina’s free eight‑week...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 18, 2026
Government Strategy Needs Reimagining: An Experiment From Argentina
Red de Innovación Local (RIL) launched an internal experiment to redesign municipal strategy by first applying its new AI‑driven process to its own team. Using PortalRIL, a platform built on ten years of local‑government data, staff answered a structured “Questions...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 18, 2026
Buy versus Build an LLM: A Decision Framework for Governments
Large language models are emerging as core digital infrastructure for governments, offering capabilities from routine citizen services to high‑stakes policy analysis. Policymakers must decide whether to purchase commercial offerings, build domestic models, or adopt hybrid solutions, each with trade‑offs in...
By GovLab — Digest —
News•Feb 17, 2026
Digital Government Index and Open, Useful and Re-Usable Data Index
The OECD has published the 2025 results of its Digital Government Index (DGI) and the Open, Useful and Re‑usable Data Index (OURdata), benchmarking how governments are building human‑centred digital services and open‑data frameworks. The indices draw on policies and initiatives...
By GovLab — Digest —