The earliest scholars of public administration often struggled with the exact definition of bureaucracy. Is it the invisible fourth branch of government? Do bureaucrats derive their power politically or managerially? I believe bureaucracy is best defined when we reach to the constitutional undertones and examine government “by the people, for the people.” How do practitionersRead… Read more »
Continuity of operations and continued services provision in case of natural disasters. Reduction in energy use, carbon footprint and real estate costs. These are some of the reasons the US Federal Government is investigating the implementation of Public Service Employee Telework programs. Do you think Telework is an option or under consideration for the CanadianRead… Read more »
The weather sure has been hot lately. Want to get a good picture of the weather over the past year? Then get NOAA’s National Climate Data Center recently published report on the weather and climate occurring around the world in 2009. Because weather fascinates many of us and is experienced by all of us, theRead… Read more »
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has recently released its annual report on the federal work force for fiscal year 2009. The report assesses the state of equal employment opportunity throughout the federal work force. The reported cited the fact that for the first time since 1995, the percentage of people with targeted disabilities inRead… Read more »
Things are heating up! JD Lasica: Cool Gov 2.0 sites you don’t know about Steve Ressler: Three Sings that Government is More Innovative than Ever Sunlight Foundation: Ten Principles for Opening Up Government Information Steve Myers: 4 Digital Tools to Improve Your Government Coverage Urban Omnibus: Code for America Anthony Stewart: Robocalls to give MPsRead… Read more »
Join CivSource and Caspio for a free webinar to learn how the latest cloud-based technologies are enabling state and local agencies to publish databases and deploy interactive web applications on their websites without programming. Topics to be covered: * How cloud technology is used for a variety of Gov 2.0, open government, and e-gov apps.Read… Read more »
One of the big concerns government agencies have about cloud computing is the idea of their data being stored in the cloud, under the control of a third party. The Indiana Department of Natural Resources has avoided that situation with a cloud platform that makes information and records available for search online without giving upRead… Read more »
A Florida health agency and a Texas-based Community College are both utilizing a simple and cost effective cloud-based solution to help them expand services, increase performance and better serve their constituents. Opening access to information, while reducing response time and personnel overhead, sits at the core of both their strategies. http://civsourceonline.com/2010/08/05/egov-apps-get-boost-with-cloud-based-database-publishing-tool/
Have you seen the slick new CityCamp website? Here you go: Notice some of the great features: – Start a Camp: Right now, the site is just collecting information about interested CityCampers, but my hunch is it will develop into a resource page with “How-To” guides and tips for bringing it to your hometown. –Read… Read more »
Public managers within a single organization commonly define fundamental terms differently. Since public managers come from diverse backgrounds and have different experiences, it’s not unexpected that they interpret the world around them differently. Are these differences in understanding detrimental to the public organization? How should public managers react to these situations? Perhaps hermeneutics is theRead… Read more »