Communications

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 »

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 »

State & Local Pension Investments Grow, Recovery Continues, & GovCon Prospects Improve

Deltek Sr. Analyst Chris Cotner reports. The U.S. Census rather quietly produced a report this month on public employee retirement systems. Overall, pension news is very good and improving, with balances improving in FY 2010 after two straight years of losses. For FY 2010, cash and investment holdings for state-administered pensions increased to $2.2 TrillionRead… Read more »

GovBytes: Do you give up your right to data privacy at the door?

Happy belated Data Privacy Day! This past Saturday marked the official U.S. Data Privacy Day, recognized by Congress in 2009. However, it seems that, regardless of how we value (or claim to value) data privacy, its an ever waning asset. The loss of data privacy comes at a heavy price, potentially allowing corporations to makeRead… Read more »

Prime Minister of Israel Hosts Facebook Chat

Pretty cool to see other countries start hosting Facebook Chats to reach citizens and connect with folks across the globe. Next Up – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be hosting a chat in Arabic on Monday at 10:00 am Jerusalem time (3:00 am ET) on his Arabic Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/IsraeliPM.Arabic Favorite

Social media and the 21st Century Enlightenment

Some time ago I wrote and presented a paper advocating the need for a Public Service Renaissance. A philosophical kindred spirit recently drew my attention to the work of Matthew Taylor and the RSA. In particular RSA Animate – 21st century enlightenment. Some historical context. The Renaissance saw advances in literature, architecture, humanism, and aRead… Read more »