Smarter Government: How to Govern for Results in the Information Age

A new way of governing is emerging across America-and around the world.

Smarter cities are the leading edge of this movement, and states and nations are following suit. This new way of governing is fundamentally entrepreneurial. It measures performance. And it focuses on engaging citizens. This modern type of governance is driven by leadership embracing new technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS) and the Internet of Things to deliver better, faster returns. The result: more open, transparent, and collaborative communities than ever before.

In Smarter Government: How to Govern for Results in the Information Age, former Maryland governor Martin O'Malley draws on his deep experience and lays out a blueprint for others to follow. He presents real-world examples to show how technology, performance management, and leadership practices work together to manage dynamic systems and complex problems at all levels of government. And the results speak for themselves: the biggest reduction in crime in any big city in America; schools ranked #1 for five years in a row; and reversing a 300-year decline in the health of the Chesapeake Bay.

We face many challenges today-improving education, safeguarding our communities, improving our well-being, restoring the health of our planet, and much more. This book lays out the new rules for governing and leadership and delivering results in the Information Age.

Data-driven decision-making, improved customer service, and collaborative circles of caring people focused on the latest emerging truth-these are the new ways of governing.

This is smarter government.

"Instead of passing the buck on accountability and efficiency, governors like Martin O'Malley ... have revolutionized performance management systems, showing the American people precisely how their governments are working for them."

-President Barack Obama

Martin O'Malley served as the Mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007 and as the 61st Governor of Maryland from 2007 to 2015. He was the first leader to take CompStat-a crime-management system pioneered in New York City in the 1990s-and apply the same ideas at city- and statewide scales.