The Story Behind SMI

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Rob Green developed the Standard Municipal Index to help cities of all sizes organize and archive their policies and plans. 

As a city councilor and then mayor in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Rob frequently referred to the government's documents in his deliberations. Some documents were hard to access, others were obsolete.  Often large policy manuals were difficult and cumbersome to update and re-approve.  

Working with city staff from 2020-2024, Rob led the effort to modernize and digitize his city's policies and manuals, to make them readily available to anyone who wanted to view them. 

In 2026, SMI has matured as an organizational tool to the point that it can be replicated in cities across America.  By sharing policies and procedures, SMI is meant to be a tool for finding best practices and minimizing the policy development burden by giving cities access to pre-vetted policies from across the nation.

Rob Green is a full-time web developer for the University of Northern Iowa, and lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He earned his undergrad degree in Government / Public Policy at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (1998) and also has a Masters in Library and Information Science (MLIS), and an MA in Instructional Technology. Rob enjoys helping fellow residents learn more about how local government works through public policy. 

Rob spent two years as an at-large city councilor in Cedar Falls prior to serving two terms as the full time mayor.  He continues to stay active in the city as a goodwill ambassador for Cedar Falls.