Office of InnovationNews
The latest news, articles, reports, and publications about innovation in the State of New Jersey.
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Innovating an Inclusive Open Innovation Challenge
September 02, 2021MediumOpen innovation challenges — an open call to find the best ideas, products, or solutions around a particular question, problem, or issue — have become increasingly common among businesses and governments to foster innovation. While theoretically egalitarian, long application processes, narrow outreach and lack of creative recruiting strategies limit participation.
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EDA: New Jersey ranks 3rd in distributing grants to small business
July 27, 2021PoliticoNew Jersey ranks third among states in how much in grants it has distributed to small businesses during the pandemic, according to an analysis from the state’s Economic Development Authority. According to the analysis, which was compiled based on publicly available data, New Jersey has distributed $759 million in grants to small businesses.
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More Than Innovation, Sparking A Movement To Support Workers
July 27, 2021MediumLong used by tech companies to spur innovation, accelerator programs are being adopted by governments — but with a twist. Most accelerator programs run by the private sector seek to advance innovation by supporting startups or entrepreneurs with a combination of education, mentorship, financing, and other resources as they develop a new product or novel approach.
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N.J. small businesses revamp and reinvent to keep doors open during crisis
July 13, 2021JerseyBest.comChallenged by statewide shutdowns, social distancing mandates, ever-evolving guidelines and regulations, and often-hesitant customers, many Garden State businesses have had to rely on innovation and creativity to “reinvent” their products, services and operations in order to survive (and thrive) during the unprecedented public health crisis and economic upheaval of the past year.
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Game on: N.J., Stockton sign MOU to create Esports Innovation Center in Atlantic City
June 23, 2021ROI-NJStockton University took another step toward becoming the esports center of New Jersey on Tuesday, when officials from the university and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority signed a memorandum of understanding enabling the NJEDA to provide $200,000 in funding plus staff resources to Stockton for its esports initiative.
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Have a Future of Work Solution? There’s a New Jersey Accelerator for that!
June 05, 2021NJ Tech WeeklyDo you have a tech solution that impacts the future of work? Or are you innovating ways for companies and people to deal with how work is changing? Then the New Jersey State Office of Innovation’s Future of Work Accelerator could be the place for you.
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To get digital services right, government needs to stay crisis-ready
April 15, 2021StateScoopAt U.S. Digital Response, we field weekly calls from government partners looking for support with digital service delivery.We started early in the COVID-19 pandemic, offering pro bono advice or teams of technologists for surge support to help our partners meet the needs of their communities. Most asks for support were immediate: “How do we set up VPNs for our newly remote workforce?” “How do we scale our unemployment insurance systems to meet an increase in demand from nearly 40 million claims?”
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'Beta Version' of State's Use of Force Dashboard Launched
April 06, 2021Cape May County HeraldTRENTON - Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal April 6 announced the launch of the “beta version” of an online dashboard that catalogues the use of force by New Jersey’s 38,000 law enforcement officers.
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COVERAGE: N.J. launches new tool to help you find COVID vaccination appointments
March 31, 2021NJ.COMWith people across the state still struggling to schedule their shots, New Jersey on Wednesday unveiled a new online tool to help residents more easily find COVID-19 vaccine appointments. The tool — found at covid19.nj.gov/finder — aims to address one of the biggest complaints residents have had: That New Jersey’s vaccine scheduling system is hard to navigate, with people often having to search various sites to find scarce appointments.
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REPORT: How New Jersey tracked COVID-19 when no data was available
February 18, 2021StateScoopNearly one year since the pandemic first upended our lives, there is a deluge of data on everything from the number of new COVID-19 cases per day to the rate of transmission, ventilators in use to PPE stockpiles. That’s a far cry from last March when state officials had little information about how quickly the virus was spreading and where cases were emerging.
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CASE STUDY: How New Jersey connected workforce supply and demand during the pandemic
February 18, 2021New Jersey Office of Innovation MediumIt seemed in Spring 2020 that the whole world had shattered. In the United States, during a single week in mid-March, three and a half million workers lost their jobs. New Jerseyans from low income communities — particularly immigrants and people of color — felt the blow intensely.
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CASE STUDY: Breaking Through the Noise — Building a Trusted Source of Information for COVID-19
January 01, 2021Beeck Center for Social Impact + InnovationTwo-way communication between government and the public is vital during a public health emergency, especially one as significant as the COVID-19 pandemic. Residents need to be informed of the prevalence of the disease in their communities as well as what they can do to keep their friends, families, and neighbors safe.
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COVERAGE: 6 Lessons Cities Can Learn from New Jersey’s Cutting-Edge Innovation Team
December 02, 2020Bloomberg CitiesAmong public-sector innovation circles, Beth Simone Noveck is well known as the head of The GovLab at New York University, a hub of knowledge and experimentation in using technology to improve governance. Two years ago, Noveck put on an additional professional hat when New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy asked her to join his cabinet as the state’s first-ever Chief Innovation Officer.
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RELEASE: Governor Phil Murphy Announces First Tenants of The Hub in New Brunswick
November 19, 2020Choose New JerseyTRENTON – Governor Phil Murphy today announced Princeton University, Rutgers University, Hackensack Meridian Health and RWJBarnabas Health will be the first tenants of The Hub, a new collaborative site in downtown New Brunswick designed to foster research, entrepreneurship, innovation, and start-up incubation in New Jersey.
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COVERAGE: Panel Sees Opportunity for New Jersey to Capitalize on COVID-induced Workplace Trends
October 16, 2020NJ Tech WeeklyAt a discussion titled “Keeping the Innovation State Growing,” on October 14, all the panelists agreed on one point: Work at tech and life science companies will look dramatically different in the years to come. This trend presents opportunities for New Jersey and its real estate sector, and the State should be ready to capitalize on them.
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COVERAGE: Workers fear losing full-time jobs, no training, corporate surveillance
September 25, 2020NJ SpotlightState tax credits to encourage companies to offer worker training, 401(k)-style accounts to help people pay to learn new skills and a statewide platform that helps independent contractors get and use benefits are among the options a New Jersey task force studying the future of work is considering to meet some of workers’ major concerns.The New Jersey Future of Work Task Force, created by Gov. Phil Murphy in October 2018, is charged with preparing for both the opportunities and challenges that technology will bring to the state’s workforce. The group surveyed workers earlier this year about issues relating to technology’s impact on their jobs and has completed a report on its findings.
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POST: How New Jersey Asked Workers About the Future of Work: The Importance of Partnership
September 25, 2020New Jersey Office of Innovation MediumAn architect would never design a house without talking to the client, yet those who govern often create policy without the meaningful input of affected residents. That is why the New Jersey Future of Work Task Force went online in February 2020 to ask New Jersey residents what they felt were the challenges that technology posed to the future of work in order to inform the Task Force’s recommendations. Nearly 4,000 responded.
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POST: What We Learned About the Future of Work from 4,000 Workers in New Jersey
September 25, 2020New Jersey Office of Innovation MediumThe Future of Work Task Force, charged with understanding how coming changes in technology will impact New Jerseyans at work, is responsible for producing a comprehensive policy roadmap to prepare Garden State workers and businesses. In order to better understand the issues facing workers and businesses, the Task Force created a digital public engagement campaign, entitled “Your Future of Work,” asking the public to share their greatest concerns with regard to the impact of new technology on three policy areas: lifelong learning and skills, rights and benefits for workers, and workplace health and safety.
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FEATURE: An Equity-Based Job Search Site with Heart Creates a Quiet Revolution in Public Problem Solving
September 17, 2020The Rockefeller FoundationGreg, an IT professional with a background in accounting, business intelligence and data analytics, left his job because he wanted to quit traveling and work closer to home. Four years later, he was still looking for work when he stumbled upon the New Jersey Career Network online. He had a strong resume and he’d already identified his career goals but his periodic internet searches were not yielding positive results. “I would spend time looking everywhere,” he said in an interview, “but not really having any documentation of what I did, who I spoke to, how many resumes I sent out.”
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POST: Open Sourcing a New Approach to Serving Businesses in New Jersey
September 12, 2020New Jersey Office of Innovation MediumNew Jersey’s Office of Innovation has been busy over the last several months in transforming the state government into a digital-first operation, enabling new online services that cover everything from COVID-19 health recommendations to internal supply chain check-ups. Officials worked with the Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation at Georgetown University to share the lessons they’ve learned, including that partnerships are crucial when dealing with an unprecedented crisis.
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POST: Four Ways State Government Digital Service Teams Can Support the COVID-19 Response
June 29, 2020New Jersey Office of Innovation MediumCOVID-19 has made the work of government agencies more critical than ever. States are fostering greater inter-department collaboration, innovating with the public, and ensuring their services are accessible to people in need. Digital service teams are partnering closely with experts across the government to accelerate this work.
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COVERAGE: Labor Department launches online chatbot for most asked unemployment questions
May 12, 2020ROI-NJThe New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development announced on Monday it has launched a new chat feature on its unemployment website to enhance service amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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INTERVIEW: Chief Innovation Officer discusses ‘peak’ and predictive modeling
April 20, 2020NJTV NewsGov. Phil Murphy says the state’s best chance at fighting the coronavirus outbreak will be through a “data driven approach.” Senior Correspondent Briana Vannozzi spoke with the person behind the numbers, New Jersey’s Chief Innovation Officer Beth Simone Noveck.
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COVERAGE: NJ’s newly-launched jobs portal attracts thousands of job hunters
March 31, 2020NJTV NewsLosing your job — even temporarily — is very stressful. And in the midst of the current health care crisis, far too many New Jerseyans are also feeling job and financial stress. A record number of people have filed for unemployment claims as COVID-19 has ravaged the economy. Efforts to help came quickly from state leaders. And days after businesses began closing, the Murphy administration launched a new COVID-19 jobs portal.
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COVERAGE: Resources in Place for NJ Workers Dealt Blow By COVID-19 Job Losses
March 26, 2020TAPinto.netTRENTON, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy today announced the launch of a new online portal to connect New Jersey residents with jobs in critical industries responding to COVID-19. The jobs portal is available here: https://jobs.covid19.nj.gov. Employers in critical industries should submit information about openings with urgent hiring needs related to COVID19 at https://jobs.covid19.nj.gov/intake.
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PRESS RELEASE: New Jersey Launches Job Portal to Connect Out-of-Work Residents to Opportunities in Critical Industries
March 24, 2020Office of the GovernorTRENTON, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy today announced the launch of a new online portal to connect New Jersey residents with jobs in critical industries responding to COVID-19. The jobs portal is available here: https://jobs.covid19.nj.gov. Employers in critical industries should submit information about openings with urgent hiring needs related to COVID19 here: https://jobs.covid19.nj.gov/intake.
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COVERAGE: New Jersey launches online portal to give residents accurate answers about COVID-19
March 23, 2020TechCrunchThe New Jersey Office of Innovation and Yext created an online portal tacking live state updates and orders, testing information and assistance information for businesses and employees. It also has a hub that presents the most researched questions, like “how can I prevent myself from getting the virus” and gives answers from scientists.
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PRESS RELEASE: Governor Murphy Announces Launch of New Jersey COVID-19 Website
March 21, 2020Office of the GovernorNEWARK – Governor Phil Murphy today announced the launch of the New Jersey COVID-19 Information Hub, a new, visitor-friendly website available at covid19.nj.gov. The New Jersey COVID-19 Information Hub provides New Jerseyans with the most up-to-date information about COVID-19 and the State’s response, including information about services such as food assistance and small business assistance.
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INTERVIEW: New America Publication, The Commons, Features Interview with Chief Innovation Officer & Digital Director on Starting an Innovation Team
January 24, 2020The CommonsTRENTON - In an interview with The Commons – a digital publication led by the Public Interest Technology team at New America – Chief Innovation Officer Beth Simone Noveck, and the Office of Innovation’s digital director, Giuseppe Morgana, discussed the creation of the Office of Innovation, its mission, and offered their thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of starting up innovation teams within government.
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PRESS RELEASE: Governor Murphy Announces “Jobs NJ: Developing Talent to Grow Business in the Garden State”
January 15, 2020Office of the GovernorEAST BRUNSWICK - Alongside students, educators, cabinet members, elected officials, and business community leaders, Governor Phil Murphy today unveiled his talent-based economic development strategy – “Jobs NJ: Developing Talent to Grow Business in the Garden State.” The new plan outlines initiatives to ensure all career-seeking New Jerseyans have the education and training necessary to access high-quality employment and ensure businesses and employers can quickly and efficiently fill their talent needs.
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PRESS RELEASE: Governor Murphy, Chief Innovation Officer Beth Simone Noveck Announce Winners of Innovation ENJINE Challenge
December 19, 2019Office of the GovernorTRENTON - Governor Phil Murphy today announced five winning teams of the Innovation ENJINE Challenge, an open innovation competition launched this spring to elicit State employees’ unique perspectives and ideas to make government more effective and efficient. The ENJINE Challenge – which is part of the State’s SmarterNJ initiative focused on creating new and innovative ways for the public to contribute meaningfully to the policymaking process – is also among the first of the Governor’s and Chief Innovation Officer Beth Simone Noveck’s efforts to encourage innovative public problem-solving and advance public entrepreneurship in New Jersey.
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COVERAGE: NJEDA Podcast, ECONversations, features Chief Innovation Officer Beth Noveck
October 29, 2019NJEDATRENTON - In this episode of ECONversations, which focused on the one-year anniversary of Governor Murphy’s economic plan, host Tai Cooper sat down with four of the most influential women in New Jersey to discuss how the agencies they lead contributed to building a stronger and fairer New Jersey economy over the past year and what they have planned for the future. Featured guests included Chief Innovation Officer Beth Noveck, Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver, New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education Zakiya Smith Ellis, and Executive Director of the New Jersey Business Action Center (BAC), Melanie Willoughby.
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PRESS RELEASE: Governor Murphy Marks One-Year Anniversary of Economic Plan
October 01, 2019Office of the GovernorGLASSBORO - Governor Phil Murphy today touted his Administration’s economic successes over the past year as he marked the one-year anniversary of the release of his sweeping economic vision with a one-on-one discussion with New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Chairwoman Linda Bowden at Rowan University. The event included an announcement regarding the release of the new Business.NJ.gov beta website, which was developed by the Office of Innovation, in partnership with the Department of State’s Business Action Center and the NJ Economic Development Authority.
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COVERAGE: New Jersey State Chief Innovation Officer Beth Noveck Appears on NJTV State of Affairs with Steve Adubato
August 01, 2019NJTVNEWARK - In an interview on State of Affairs with Steve Adubato, New Jersey State Chief Innovation Officer Beth Noveck discusses her role as the State’s first Chief Innovation Officer, connections between higher education and New Jersey’s innovation economy, the importance of technology and data in helping government achieve policy and program outcomes, and the Administration’s efforts to equip the State’s workforce with the tools and skills to leverage new technology to solve public problems.
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PRESS RELEASE: New Jersey to Host Garden State’s First Ever Summit to Connect Minority, Women, Veteran, & LGBTQ Businesses with Billion-Dollar Economic Engine
July 24, 2019Office of the GovernorTRENTON - Governor Phil Murphy announced today that the State of New Jersey will host NJ Connects, the first-ever state summit designed to connect minority-, women-, veteran-, and LGBTQ-owned businesses with roughly one billion dollars in public and private sector contracting opportunities. In keeping with the Governor’s commitment to build a stronger and fairer economy, the summit – taking place in Newark on September 20 – is designed to create a more robust and diverse state contracting supply chain by fostering opportunities for minority, women, veteran, and LGBTQ business enterprises (MWVBE).
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PRESS RELEASE: First Lady Tammy Murphy and NJEDA Announce Partnership with Golden Seeds to Increase Funding for Women-Led Startups
July 16, 2019Office of the GovernorTRENTON - First Lady Tammy Murphy and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority today announced that the NJEDA Board of Directors approved a proposal to organize a New Jersey chapter of Golden Seeds, a national angel investor network dedicated to investing in women-led startup companies. The collaboration between First Lady Murphy’s Office, the Economic Development Authority, and Golden Seeds will advance Governor Phil Murphy’s efforts to make New Jersey the “State of Innovation” by providing new funding sources and mentorship opportunities for female entrepreneurs.
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COVERAGE: Gov. Phil Murphy announces economic mission trip to India
July 16, 2019News India TimesSOUTH PLAINFIELD - New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy will lead a seven-day, six-city economic mission trip to India in September. The delegation will visit six cities, including Delhi, Agra, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Gandhinagar. The focus of the mission is to strengthen economic ties with one of New Jersey’s largest trade and investment partners, cultivate international investment opportunities in the Garden State, and deepen cultural and educational ties between New Jersey and India.
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PRESS RELEASE: Governor Murphy Launches Innovation Skills Accelerator Training Program to Promote Innovation in Government
June 17, 2019Office of the GovernorTRENTON – Today, Governor Phil Murphy announced the launch of the New Jersey Innovation Skills Accelerator - a free, online program to train public officials to leverage new technology and data to drive innovation in their day-to-day work and tap into the intelligence and expertise of residents of the Garden State.
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PRESS RELEASE: Governor Murphy Signs Legislation Permitting Operation of Low Speed E-Bikes and Motorized Scooters
May 03, 2019Office of the GovernorTRENTON - As Governor Phil Murphy continues working to bolster New Jersey’s innovation economy, he signed legislation today (S731) that outlines regulations governing the use of low speed electric scooters and e-bikes. The bill calls for motorized scooters and e-bikes capable of traveling 20 miles per hour or slower to be regulated much the same as ordinary bicycles, allowing their operation on streets, highways, and bicycle paths in this State.
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PPRESS RELEASE: Online Land-use Permit System Will Improve DEP Efficiency and Public Transparency
April 29, 2019Department of Environmental PreservationTRENTON - In an effort that will significantly improve efficiency and transparency while reducing costs for businesses and residents, the Department of Environmental Protection is launching a new system that will allow applications for land-use permits to be submitted online. DEP’s efforts to bring additional services online advances Governor Murphy’s commitment – made under his economic plan released last October and reinforced through Executive Order 63 – to modernize government services. The release also comes as the Administration works to digitize and streamline permitting processes across state government.
