Nick Sinai

Nick Sinai

Nick Sinai was most recently U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer, where he led President Obama’s Open Data Initiatives to increase access to data and encourage innovation and economic growth. Sinai also led the Open Government Initiative to foster federal government transparency, and helped start and grow the Presidential Innovation Fellows program, which brings entrepreneurs and technologists into the federal government. Prior to joining the Obama administration, Sinai was a venture capitalist at Lehman Brothers Venture Partners (now Tenaya Capital) and Polaris Partners. At the Shorenstein Center, he spoke widely, led study groups, and researched the media, policy and economic implications of providing greater public access to government data.

The U.S. Digital Service: What We’ve Learned So Far

This session will look at the U.S. Digital Services (USDS) work and how it has attempted to modernize government. Born in the rescue effort of healthcare.gov, the USDS has been working to modernize immigration, improve the veteran experience, and create better tools for students.  This session will be a frank discussion about lessons learned both from successes

Read More »

Crowdsourcing, Prizes, Moonshots, and More: Bringing New Ideas and Tech into Government

Panelists: Chris Nelson, White House, Assistant Director of Open Innovation Jenn Gustetic, NASA, Small Business Innovation Research Program Executive Sandeep Patel, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Open Innovation Manager Wendy Taylor, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Director of the Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact Nick Sinai, HKS Adjunct Lecturer in Public

Read More »

FOIA in the Digital Age

9:00-10:00 a.m.  Networking Breakfast 10:00-11:30 a.m.  Panel discussion Email and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is in the national news—and has become part of the fabric of the 2016 presidential race. FOIA has helped journalists break many important national news stories over the past 50 years—but what are the implications for national media and

Read More »
Kimber Dowsett

Cybersecurity and Privacy in a Connected World

Panelists: Brent Colburn, Fellow, Institute of Politics; former Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs); Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Homeland Security Kimber Dowsett, Security Architect, 18F; Mission Information Specialist, NASA Jen Ellis, Vice President of Community and Public Affairs, Rapid7 Ari Schwartz, former Senior Director for Cybersecurity, U.S. National Security Council

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Designing a Better Digital Government — and Inspiring Harvard Students

September 16, 2015 — Nick Sinai, HKS Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and Walter Shorenstein Fellow (spring 2015), provides a recap of this month’s “Bringing Silicon Valley to Government?” panel, which featured tech guru Tim O’Reilly, White House U.S. Digital Service co-founder Haley Van Dyck, and VA Chief Technology Officer Marina Martin. The panel discussed the importance

Read More »
Haley van Dyck

Bringing Silicon Valley to Government?

A conversation about remaking government with simpler, user-centric digital services. Panelists:  Tim O’Reilly, Founder, O’Reilly Media Haley Van Dyck, Co-founder, U.S. Digital Service Marina Martin, Chief Technology Officer, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Nick Sinai, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, HKS, former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer (moderator) Schedule: 9:30am – 10:00am: Casual breakfast and networking 10:00am – 12:00pm:

Read More »
Bob Schieffer

Media & Politics Must Reads June 5, 2015

Our weekly roundup of news found at the intersection of media, politics, policy and technology, from the Shorenstein Center and from around the web. This Week at the Shorenstein Center Bob Schieffer Named Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow. The renowned journalist’s fellowship will focus on the 2016 presidential election and extend over three semesters,

Read More »
Nick Sinai

HKS PolicyCast: A WHOLESALE AND RETAIL APPROACH TO DIGITAL GOVERNMENT

May 20, 2015 — Nick Sinai, Walter Shorenstein Media & Democracy Fellow, discussed the effort the Obama administration has put into modernizing the federal government’s digital services, both by opening up data to public and private groups, as well as to individual citizens by creating online portals to access government services. Listen to the interview on HKS’s PolicyCast podcast.

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Regulatory Modernization Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Description: From the EPA’s release of the toxic chemicals data to the FCC’s current net neutrality debate, transparency/disclosure can be an

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Healthcare.gov: A Case Study Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Ryan Panchadsaram, U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Description: The failures and subsequent rescue of Healthcare.gov is a compelling story in its

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Freedom of Information Act Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Cori Zarek, White House Senior Advisor for Open Government Description: FOIA reform narrowly missed becoming law in the last Congress, but

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Data Journalism Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Alex Howard, editor at E Pluribus Unum, columnist for TechRepublic. Description: Data journalism is a hot topic—with a number of

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Smart Cities/Internet of Things Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Sokwoo Rhee, Associate Director of Cyber-Physical Systems, NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Description: Increasingly, cities are networking vehicles, street lights, electric

Read More »
Time Cover: Code Red

Will Geeks Save The World?

March 5, 2015 — A famous TIME magazine article in the 1990’s featured a cover with Bob Rubin, Alan Greenspan, and Larry Summers as “the committee to save the world” and inspired the next generation of economists to pursue public service as a means to solve big problems. More recently, a TIME article in 2014 has

Read More »
Doctor with tablet

Transforming Healthcare Delivery through More Open Data

March 5, 2015 — Last week at Harvard Kennedy School, we hosted a roundtable of several dozen healthcare leaders to discuss how better use of data can lead to improved care, smarter spending, and healthier people. By conversation’s end, leaders from a dozen public and private sector organizations pledged a number of tangible steps to make

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Government Spending Transparency Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Guest: Hudson Hollister, Executive Director of the Data Transparency Coalition. Description: Spending transparency has the potential to reduce corruption, improve government efficiency, and improve trust in government. The 2009

Read More »

Entrepreneur Roundtable

Panel discussion of how entrepreneurs can build great products and companies through the use of open data. Featuring: Aaron Chatterji, Visiting Associate Professor, Harvard Business School Alyssa Ravasio, CEO, Hipcamp Racquel Russell, Director of Government Relations, Zillow Yaron Samid, CEO, Bill Guard Vincent Yang, CEO, EverString Gil Zimmermann, Founder & CEO, CloudLock Aneesh Chopra, Walter Shorenstein

Read More »

Data & Technology in Government Panel Discussion

With Aneesh Chopra, Todd Park, Lynn Overmann, DJ Patil, and Nick Sinai. February 26, 2015, 6:00 p.m. If the story below doesn’t load correctly, view it on Storify. [View the story “Data & Technology in Government Panel Discussion” on Storify]

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Marketing U.S. Data: Data jams, Datapaloozas, Hackathons, Prizes, & CDOs Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Aneesh Chopra, co-founder Hunch Analytics and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Description: The federal open data strategy includes efforts to spur

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Privacy and Personal Data Portability Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Jim Waldo, Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Chief Technology Officer, Harvard

Read More »
Tech and Public Service, Event Series with Aneesh Chopra and Nick Sinai, February 23-27, 2015

Tech & Public Service Events

As part of HKS’s public service week,  the Shorenstein Center will hold a series of special events focusing on technology, governance, and innovation. Why Are Technology & Open Innovation Important for Public Policy Students? With Aneesh Chopra, Walter Shorenstein Media & Democracy Fellow, co-founder of Hunch Analytics and former U.S. CTO, and Nick Sinai, Walter

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Government Digital Services Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Erie Meyer, founding member, U.S. Digital Service Description: With the new government-wide U.S. Digital Service unit at the White House,

Read More »
Michele Norris

Seminars/Study Groups with Nick Sinai and Michele Norris

Data, Technology and Innovation in Government Seminar Series Led by Nick Sinai, Walter Shorenstein Media & Democracy Fellow, former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Topics will include smart cities, government digital services, privacy and data portability, data journalism, and more. Wednesdays, 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m., starting February 4 Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate),

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Introduction to Open Data Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and not-for-credit. Description: The U.S. government collects and creates a ton of data that is increasingly being made available to the world. President Obama’s Open Data Initiatives include Executive Order

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Nick Sinai: Uncle Sam Needs More Geeks

January 21, 2015 — “One of President Obama’s guests at this year’s State of the Union address was Kathy Pham, a health IT expert formerly of Google and IBM. Pham recently joined the federal government to make it easier for veterans to access the benefits they have earned – like her brother, who earned a

Read More »
U.S. Census Bureau app

Nick Sinai: 2015: Year of the Chief Data Officer

January 8, 2015 — “If government agencies are going to act as open platforms, shouldn’t they follow the lead of platform companies like Facebook, Google, Salesforce, and aspiring tech platform start-ups?” Nick Sinai, Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow, writes about the rise of the role of Chief Digital Officer in numerous government agencies, and why

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Nick Sinai: Data as Infrastructure

December 12, 2014 — Nick Sinai, Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow, discusses the case for treating data as infrastructure, and how data is poised to significantly alter government, journalism, and the private sector. Read more…

Read More »

The U.S. Digital Service: What We’ve Learned So Far

This session will look at the U.S. Digital Services (USDS) work and how it has attempted to modernize government. Born in the rescue effort of healthcare.gov, the USDS has been working to modernize immigration, improve the veteran experience, and create better tools for students.  This session will be a frank discussion about lessons learned both from successes

Read More »

Crowdsourcing, Prizes, Moonshots, and More: Bringing New Ideas and Tech into Government

Panelists: Chris Nelson, White House, Assistant Director of Open Innovation Jenn Gustetic, NASA, Small Business Innovation Research Program Executive Sandeep Patel, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Open Innovation Manager Wendy Taylor, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Director of the Center for Accelerating Innovation and Impact Nick Sinai, HKS Adjunct Lecturer in Public

Read More »

FOIA in the Digital Age

9:00-10:00 a.m.  Networking Breakfast 10:00-11:30 a.m.  Panel discussion Email and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is in the national news—and has become part of the fabric of the 2016 presidential race. FOIA has helped journalists break many important national news stories over the past 50 years—but what are the implications for national media and

Read More »
Kimber Dowsett

Cybersecurity and Privacy in a Connected World

Panelists: Brent Colburn, Fellow, Institute of Politics; former Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs); Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, Department of Homeland Security Kimber Dowsett, Security Architect, 18F; Mission Information Specialist, NASA Jen Ellis, Vice President of Community and Public Affairs, Rapid7 Ari Schwartz, former Senior Director for Cybersecurity, U.S. National Security Council

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Designing a Better Digital Government — and Inspiring Harvard Students

September 16, 2015 — Nick Sinai, HKS Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and Walter Shorenstein Fellow (spring 2015), provides a recap of this month’s “Bringing Silicon Valley to Government?” panel, which featured tech guru Tim O’Reilly, White House U.S. Digital Service co-founder Haley Van Dyck, and VA Chief Technology Officer Marina Martin. The panel discussed the importance

Read More »
Haley van Dyck

Bringing Silicon Valley to Government?

A conversation about remaking government with simpler, user-centric digital services. Panelists:  Tim O’Reilly, Founder, O’Reilly Media Haley Van Dyck, Co-founder, U.S. Digital Service Marina Martin, Chief Technology Officer, U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Nick Sinai, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy, HKS, former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer (moderator) Schedule: 9:30am – 10:00am: Casual breakfast and networking 10:00am – 12:00pm:

Read More »
Bob Schieffer

Media & Politics Must Reads June 5, 2015

Our weekly roundup of news found at the intersection of media, politics, policy and technology, from the Shorenstein Center and from around the web. This Week at the Shorenstein Center Bob Schieffer Named Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow. The renowned journalist’s fellowship will focus on the 2016 presidential election and extend over three semesters,

Read More »
Nick Sinai

HKS PolicyCast: A WHOLESALE AND RETAIL APPROACH TO DIGITAL GOVERNMENT

May 20, 2015 — Nick Sinai, Walter Shorenstein Media & Democracy Fellow, discussed the effort the Obama administration has put into modernizing the federal government’s digital services, both by opening up data to public and private groups, as well as to individual citizens by creating online portals to access government services. Listen to the interview on HKS’s PolicyCast podcast.

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Regulatory Modernization Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Description: From the EPA’s release of the toxic chemicals data to the FCC’s current net neutrality debate, transparency/disclosure can be an

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Healthcare.gov: A Case Study Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Ryan Panchadsaram, U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Description: The failures and subsequent rescue of Healthcare.gov is a compelling story in its

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Freedom of Information Act Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Cori Zarek, White House Senior Advisor for Open Government Description: FOIA reform narrowly missed becoming law in the last Congress, but

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Data Journalism Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Alex Howard, editor at E Pluribus Unum, columnist for TechRepublic. Description: Data journalism is a hot topic—with a number of

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Smart Cities/Internet of Things Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Sokwoo Rhee, Associate Director of Cyber-Physical Systems, NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Description: Increasingly, cities are networking vehicles, street lights, electric

Read More »
Time Cover: Code Red

Will Geeks Save The World?

March 5, 2015 — A famous TIME magazine article in the 1990’s featured a cover with Bob Rubin, Alan Greenspan, and Larry Summers as “the committee to save the world” and inspired the next generation of economists to pursue public service as a means to solve big problems. More recently, a TIME article in 2014 has

Read More »
Doctor with tablet

Transforming Healthcare Delivery through More Open Data

March 5, 2015 — Last week at Harvard Kennedy School, we hosted a roundtable of several dozen healthcare leaders to discuss how better use of data can lead to improved care, smarter spending, and healthier people. By conversation’s end, leaders from a dozen public and private sector organizations pledged a number of tangible steps to make

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Government Spending Transparency Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Guest: Hudson Hollister, Executive Director of the Data Transparency Coalition. Description: Spending transparency has the potential to reduce corruption, improve government efficiency, and improve trust in government. The 2009

Read More »

Entrepreneur Roundtable

Panel discussion of how entrepreneurs can build great products and companies through the use of open data. Featuring: Aaron Chatterji, Visiting Associate Professor, Harvard Business School Alyssa Ravasio, CEO, Hipcamp Racquel Russell, Director of Government Relations, Zillow Yaron Samid, CEO, Bill Guard Vincent Yang, CEO, EverString Gil Zimmermann, Founder & CEO, CloudLock Aneesh Chopra, Walter Shorenstein

Read More »

Data & Technology in Government Panel Discussion

With Aneesh Chopra, Todd Park, Lynn Overmann, DJ Patil, and Nick Sinai. February 26, 2015, 6:00 p.m. If the story below doesn’t load correctly, view it on Storify. [View the story “Data & Technology in Government Panel Discussion” on Storify]

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Marketing U.S. Data: Data jams, Datapaloozas, Hackathons, Prizes, & CDOs Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Aneesh Chopra, co-founder Hunch Analytics and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Description: The federal open data strategy includes efforts to spur

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Privacy and Personal Data Portability Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Jim Waldo, Gordon McKay Professor of the Practice of Computer Science at Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Chief Technology Officer, Harvard

Read More »
Tech and Public Service, Event Series with Aneesh Chopra and Nick Sinai, February 23-27, 2015

Tech & Public Service Events

As part of HKS’s public service week,  the Shorenstein Center will hold a series of special events focusing on technology, governance, and innovation. Why Are Technology & Open Innovation Important for Public Policy Students? With Aneesh Chopra, Walter Shorenstein Media & Democracy Fellow, co-founder of Hunch Analytics and former U.S. CTO, and Nick Sinai, Walter

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Government Digital Services Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and are not-for-credit. Please register below to reserve your space.  Guest: Erie Meyer, founding member, U.S. Digital Service Description: With the new government-wide U.S. Digital Service unit at the White House,

Read More »
Michele Norris

Seminars/Study Groups with Nick Sinai and Michele Norris

Data, Technology and Innovation in Government Seminar Series Led by Nick Sinai, Walter Shorenstein Media & Democracy Fellow, former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Topics will include smart cities, government digital services, privacy and data portability, data journalism, and more. Wednesdays, 4 p.m.-5:30 p.m., starting February 4 Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate),

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Introduction to Open Data Seminar

This session is part of the 10-week seminar series, Data, Technology and Innovation in Government, led by Nick Sinai. Seminars are for students only (graduate and undergraduate) and not-for-credit. Description: The U.S. government collects and creates a ton of data that is increasingly being made available to the world. President Obama’s Open Data Initiatives include Executive Order

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Nick Sinai: Uncle Sam Needs More Geeks

January 21, 2015 — “One of President Obama’s guests at this year’s State of the Union address was Kathy Pham, a health IT expert formerly of Google and IBM. Pham recently joined the federal government to make it easier for veterans to access the benefits they have earned – like her brother, who earned a

Read More »
U.S. Census Bureau app

Nick Sinai: 2015: Year of the Chief Data Officer

January 8, 2015 — “If government agencies are going to act as open platforms, shouldn’t they follow the lead of platform companies like Facebook, Google, Salesforce, and aspiring tech platform start-ups?” Nick Sinai, Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow, writes about the rise of the role of Chief Digital Officer in numerous government agencies, and why

Read More »
Nick Sinai

Nick Sinai: Data as Infrastructure

December 12, 2014 — Nick Sinai, Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellow, discusses the case for treating data as infrastructure, and how data is poised to significantly alter government, journalism, and the private sector. Read more…

Read More »