March 25, 2015 4:47 PM

Enriquez and Visco: The local control debate is part of a larger, 21st Century challenge

Glasshouse Policy Founders offer an update on their first attempt at crowdsourcing a public policy solution

While the 84th Texas Legislature engages in the necessary but sometimes dizzying challenge of distinguishing good local control from bad local control, Glasshouse Policy – Texas’ first crowdsourced think tank – is injecting into the discussion a report related to local control of fire codes.

And, the implications of Glasshouse Policy’s new report are broader than they first appear.

Using the power of 21st Century communication technology, 53 of the Texas House of Representatives’ 150 districts were represented during online discussions related to fire prevention. And, an equally diverse group of stakeholders participated in our in-person roundtable process, where the fire prevention ideas and policy solutions made by our online participants were translated in actionable public policy.

The complete column from Francisco Enriquez and Thomas Visco is in the R&D Department.

By Francisco Enriquez and Thomas Visco