IBM Center’s Weekly Roundup

Articles from across the Web that we at the IBM Center for The Business of Government found interesting, the week of March 16-20, 2015. Dan Chenok Interesting review of State government measures to encourage reporting on programs that aren’t working well: http://www.govexec.com/excellence/promising-practices/2015/03/government-works-making-it-safe-report-bad-results/107907/?oref=eig-homepage-module Advice on DATA Act implementation: http://www.federaltimes.com/story/government/management/blog/2015/03/18/six-things-data-act/24973895/ OMB launches site to access multiple ITRead… Read more »

What Links Customer Experience And Innovation? The Right Question

Chris Dorobek’s March 18, 2015 program, “The Lowdown on Digital Services,” didn’t focus on innovation, but his guests’ ideas were all about it. Martha Doris, Rick Parrish, and Hannah Moss described Federal Government efforts to improve customer experience. Their comments about value as the point of a good customer experience are what innovation is supposedRead… Read more »

5 Awesome Government Infographics

Just a few years ago, infographics seemed to be the hottest type of content online. Lately, the shine has worn off as bad infographics inundated the internet. High-quality infographics still can rise up from the flood of drivel. Infographics are not inherently bad. When infographics are designed well they simplify complex information and can make boring topics interesting. Eye-catching visualsRead… Read more »

Getting Cozy With The Customer

The government has one of the biggest customer bases – the whole United States. Digital services are being used increasingly to enhance the citizen experience for government functions. GovLoop’s recently released guide, “The Future of Digital Services: Five Trends Transforming Government” gives readers the inside scoop on the customer-facing digital world. Listen to the ArchiveRead… Read more »

Engaging Citizens in Your Digital Services

This post is an interview excerpted from GovLoop’s recent guide, The Future of Digital Services. In the guide, we explore five trends that are transforming the way government serves citizens in the digital age. There’s more to digital services strategy than placing information online. You also have to draw citizens to your portal and getRead… Read more »

19 of the Coolest Government Mobile Apps

There’s pretty much an app for everything these days. And that on-the-go accessibility to the information you need has slowly been creeping into federal and state government over the past few years, driven in part by a presidential memo encouraging a federal digital strategy and contests encouraging app developers to come up with creative newRead… Read more »

The Present & Future of Distance Learning in Government

This week I met with Dale Carpenter, the National Park Service’s (NPS) Distance Learning (DL) Program Manager, to collect some thoughts about the current and future state of DL in government. Dale’s unique perspective includes experience from years of service in both the public and private sector. What does a day look like inRead… Read more »

On The Use of Memes In Government Communication

We begin with the assumption that government communication should be as good or better than private-sector communication, for three reasons: The public relies on the government as a trustworthy source of information Many are misinformed or under-informed about what the government does and the services it offers Trust in the government by the public isRead… Read more »

Get the 311

Remember what life was like before 311? Residents lucky enough to live in communities that operate 311 centers know the convenience of having one number to access a host of services and resources. In honor of such a great service, we think March 11th should be dedicated as National 311 Day! Let’s celebrate the communities… Read more »

ASDFJ??? Do You Know What You Need To Learn?

I have some bad news. There is no such thing as paint-by-numbers training. In fact, trainings come in all sizes and shapes. But there are some basic tenets that make an effective online experience. In GovLoop’s new guide, Your Virtual Training Playbook, we talk about how each type of training still starts at the sameRead… Read more »

Digital Government