The power you have as a contracting officer (KO) or even the contract specialist is more than just the authority of the FAR; you have reputation power. “The CO said you can do that”; “The CO said you can’t do that.” That’s a lot of power because it can mean not using a small businessRead… Read more »
Yes, there are lots of things to be done in order to make the Federal government, and the country, more sustainable between now and 2013. But every once in a while it’s worth looking ahead to see what the future may bring; especially when a consensus has formed. The consensus we’re reading about concerns theRead… Read more »
The Department of Defense is partnering with the Performance Improvement Council to host the upcoming Performance Symposium for all federal government employees. You must be a federal government employee to register. The event will take place on June 27-30, 2011 at the National Conference Center in Lansdowne, VA. Federal employees are invited from every departmentRead… Read more »
INPUT Sr. Analyst Chris Cotner reports. On Meet the Press [May 1, 2011], Governor Bob McDonnell jousted points of the state budget with Obama 2012 Campaign Advisor David Axelrod. “We made all those really tough decisions last year … We balanced a $6 billion deficit without raising taxes, mostly through spending cuts, and it includedRead… Read more »
Every successful organization has at least one linchpin; some have dozens or even thousands. The linchpin is the essential element, the person who holds part of the organization together. Without the linchpin, the thing falls apart. – by Seth Godin in Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? (2010) Two American icons have been getting a bit ofRead… Read more »
Tweet Illinois will be examining the next phase of high-speed rail through a new study group that includes the University of Illinois, the Illinois Department of Transportation and private sector. The group is looking at the feasibility of 220-mph passenger rail service between Chicago, Urbana-Champaign and beyond. Currently, the state is building a 110-mph railRead… Read more »
We all heard about the recent recession being called a “mancession” due to job cuts in male-dominated work, but as the economy slowing hits its upswing, men are recovering quicker than women as far as unemployment numbers. They say the reason for this is that women are disproportionately represented in state and local governments –Read… Read more »
Hype over Cloud Computing and SOA have inverted It is hard to measure hype. We can detect it by well trained B.S. sensors, but how we go about quantifying it is another question. Take for example the hype around SOA as a solution for all enterprise needs. IT professionals have been reading about SOA forRead… Read more »
Want to know whether you can commute to that new job in less than 30 minutes? Mapnificent can show you. Developed by German software engineer Stefan Wehrmeyer, the application helps users visualize how far they can travel by transit or bicycle in a given time. The app uses transit data in the GTFS format toRead… Read more »
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority launched TransitView last week, a service that shows users real-time bus and trolley location information via smart phone or Internet connection. TransitView does not provide arrival predictions but shows current bus locations on map that is updated every three minutes. Based on GPS data, location information is available for SEPTA’sRead… Read more »