Yearly Archives: 2012

Lonely Planet: NASA Needs Your Best Ideas About Exploring Mars

Mark Drapeau (Washington, DC) — Due to severe budget cutbacks, NASA’s Administrator Charles F. Bolden, Jr. has instructed a number of his senior administrators to “lead a reformulation of the Mars Exploration Program” in order to continue space exploration on a budget. To do that, NASA is sponsoring a June, 2012 workshop in Houston toRead… Read more »

Recruiting for Culture

Recruiting has been interesting for Human Resources professionals over the past two to three years. It has definitely been an employer’s market. So many organizations have downsized, leaving a significant number of quality candidates in the job market. This economy has been tough, but I am a believer that it is turning around. With thatRead… Read more »

Just Say No to Pinkerton Detectives

If there’s one thing I love, it’s forgotten, obscure laws, regulations and policies. They’re even better when they’re in my line of work. So here’s one for you — FAR 37.109, i.e. just say no to Pinkerton Detectives. 37.109 — Services of Quasi-Military Armed Forces. Contracts with “Pinkerton Detective Agencies or similar organizations” are prohibitedRead… Read more »

Frequently Asked Questions about Gov 2.0: How do we convince risk-averse management to say yes to social media initiatives?

This is the second in my series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) posts to address some of the ‘persistent’ questions related to social media and Government 2.0. The question I am addressing is “How do we convince risk-averse management to say yes to social media initiatives?” This is one of the most common questions IRead… Read more »

Making the Most out of Temporary Assignments

You’re given a temporary assignment. Maybe you’re an intern or a fellow. Maybe you’re a new employee who’s been given a wonderful opportunity to rotate through various departments – hopefully making you a well rounded employee down the road. I had the pleasure of talking with one of my coaching students this morning who isRead… Read more »

Gearing Up for Food Day 2012

The second annual Food Day, the nationwide celebration of healthy, affordable, and sustainably produced food, is just months away. Food Day is October 24 every year. Food Day brings together organizations and individuals working on food issues as varied as hunger, nutrition, agriculture policy, animal welfare, and farmworker justice. Last year, some events were largeRead… Read more »

Rightdoing at GSA

Today, I want to throw some kudos to one of my favorite agencies, the General Services Administration (GSA). GSA does great things for the federal government and the American people – including save taxpayer dollars. They provide services to federal agencies. But as important, they coordinate important management efforts across agencies, helping eliminate expensive duplicationRead… Read more »

3 Tips for Civic Accelerator – Gov’t Software, Valuable Open Data, Now’s the Time

I’m super excited that Code for America launched their Civic Accelerator today. Public sector faces huge challenges and we need more entrepreneurs trying to solve civic problems and I applaud the Civic Accelerator for helping make this happen. The focus of the accelerator is on three types of companies: 1) they provide services on topRead… Read more »