Failure to change will leave government shackled to the status quo. Here are some ideas for changing your cultural mindset. 

Contrary to popular belief, there is no bolt of lightning when it comes to sparking innovation. "It's not a momentary flash of brilliance, the next bright and shiny object," said Darin Atteberry, city manager of Fort Collins, Colo. Sometimes, innovation can be as humdrum as a utility meter.

The city's new "smart meters" may seem mundane, but they're having a profound impact on the civic experience. "Now the consumers will have a portal where they can watch their consumption on a real-time basis," Atteberry said. "We are building a two-way relationship with our customer."

Innovation isn't necessarily a dramatic change. Rather, it's something transformative. It may be a new way of thinking, a new way of managing processes or a new use for technology that no one had foreseen.

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Sitegeist is an app designed by the Sunlight Foundation to "uncover the data around you." It pulls from publicly available data to create instant infographics about any U.S. location.

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Indiana residents interested in tracking bills through the legislative process now can sign up to receive updates via text message. The Indiana House Republicans announced last week that they would begin using short message service to keep subscribers up-to-date on 15 selected bills.

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Three mobile trends are expected in the next four years: more users, more connections and faster speeds. And these increases are projected to impact government IT operations -- including how government agencies connect with their constituents -- according to IT executives. 

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Software Solutions customers, City of Grandview Heights, City of Rossford, City of Fairview Park and City of Brunswick, Ohio earned the Auditor of State Award with Distinction. Fewer than 100 of Ohio's 5,600 public entities earned the award. The award is presented to public entities that file an annual CAFR and timely financial reports in accordance with GAAP, as well as receive a clean audit report. Bob Dvoraczky, Finance Director at Grandview Heights said, "It's very special to the Finance Department staff. But more important is the trust and the confidence of our residents in their city governement. That really means a lot to us all." 

Congratulations to Finance Directors Bob Dvoraczky, Karen Freeman, Lisa Rocco, Todd Fischer and their finance department staff members!

The nation's counties still have a lot at stake in ongoing Congressional negotiations that could affect everything from Medicaid and taxes to infrastructure funding, according to a report from the National Association of Counties (NAC0). 

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Social Media Today  looks at the top 6 trends to watch in 2013. Has your organization embraced social media yet? 

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The nation's cities continue to cut personnel, infrastructure investments and key services as the prolonged effects of the economic downturn take their toll on city finances according to the National League of Cities 27th annual City Fiscal Conditions report.

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Anyone responsible for the security of city or county information systems has reason for concern. Not only are hackers accelerating their attacks, but nations - including the United States, according to a recent New York Times article - also are joining in with new, well bankrolled attacks so sophisticated that it can take years to spot them. It is almost routine now to read of attacks that expose Social Security numbers, passwords, credit card information, medical records and more.

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The tribal wisdoms of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that "when you discover you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount." However, in many organizations a range of far more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

1. Change riders
2. Appointing a committee to study the horse
3. Arranging to visit other countries to see how others ride dead horses
4. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included
5. Reclassifying the dead horse as 'living impaired'
6. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse
7. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase the speed
8. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase the dead horse's performance
9. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance
10. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead, and therefore contributes substantially more to the mission of the organization than do some other horses
11. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses…

Do any of these strategies sound familiar to you?  Does your organization hold on to failed practices or strategies whether or not they are still relevant?  Do you find yourself doing an inefficient process over and over again, because that's the way you've always done it?  How can you help your organization overcome the resistance or fear of change?