Yearly Archives: 2012

What’s a Filibuster?

There is no such thing as a “filibuster-proof majority” In his State of the Union address to Congress last week, President Barack Obama asked the U.S. Senate to amend or abolish its filibuster rules to break the Congressional gridlock. Don’t hold your breath. Neither party wants to change those rules because they always benefit theRead… Read more »

Hampton Roads Section Meeting 16 Feb 2012

APA Virginia presents “Retrofitting the American Dream,” recently featured at the 2011 APA Virginia Conference…Come join us for a presentation of strategies for making our suburban communities more sustainable. Thursday, February 16, 11:45 – 1:30 PM Free Admission and Lunch Included CM Credits Pending Newport News Marriott at City Center 740 Town Center Drive NewportRead… Read more »

Designing An Effective And Flexible Organization Structure – It’s More Than The Structure Itself

A key element in organization (and work units within an organization) success is its structure – how its work activities are organized; and how responsibility and authority are identified. Structure affects how employees – even at the very top of the organization – execute their responsibilities and authority, coordinate and work with others and achieveRead… Read more »

Does Citizen Participation Work?

As federal agencies tighten their belts, they’ll be questioning the value of citizen participation initiatives under the Obama Open Government Initiative. Do they lead to better results or reduced costs? A new report, “A Manager’s Guide to Evaluating Citizen Participation,” by Tina Nabatchi, an assistant professor at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University, is designedRead… Read more »

Should Ministerial staff reveal their affiliations when commenting on political matters online?

Much of Australia’s population doesn’t realise there is a difference between Australia’s public servants, who are employed and work for the state in an apolitical fashion, and Ministerial and other political advisers and staff, who are employed and work directly for politicians and political partie. However there is a crucial difference at the moment asRead… Read more »

SAP Basis Administration in Denver, CO

The state of Colorado’s Office of Information Technology currently has openings in the ERP workgroup at the Department of Transportation (CDOT), including SAP Basis Administration! See the detailed position description at http://bit.ly/OIT-SAP-Basis

Social Media: Is it Worth it?

As the Information Age progresses and is still in its infancy, the transfer of information has become nearly instant. Government has been using Twitter and Facebook to connect with its constituents, though some say that social media in government is unnecessary. Others suggest that government should serve citizens the best way possible, including utilizing socialRead… Read more »

Open for Business: Leveraging Open Government to Improve Agency Operations, Part I

This is the first post in a three part series about the newly released report, Open for Business: Leveraging Open Government to Improve Agency Operations. I’d encourage you to check out the Open Government Analyst briefing by the Government Business Council, the research arm of Government Executive magazine and OpenText . The report includes aRead… Read more »