The Air Force is the single largest consumer of energy in the federal government. Last year alone the Air Force spent more than $9 billion on fuel and electricity. The energy bill constitutes more than 8 percent of the Air Force budget. But it could of been much higher. Dr. Kevin Geiss is the DeputyRead… Read more »
How you respond to the impacts of Federal sequestration on ongoing projects will be at least partly determined by how “mature” your project management practices are. Gartner’s PPM Maturity Model is useful to review here. Gartner describes 5 levels of “maturity, with 1 being low and 5 being high: Level 1: Reactive Level 2: EmergingRead… Read more »
10 years ago the role of the Chief Information Officer was radically different than it is today. Consider this, in 2013 the federal government will spend more than $80 billion on IT. And in the last 8 years they’ve spent more than $500 billion. The CIO must now oversee the most complex business organization onRead… Read more »
Carl Friedrich and Herman Finer debate the most effective way to ensure accountability of public officials In the Public Administration world, this question is almost always referred to as the Friedrich-Finer debate. In the beginning of the 1940s, Carl Friedrich and Herman Finer debate the most effective way to ensure accountability of public officials. ThisRead… Read more »
Many Americans are not aware that the standard railroad gauge in the U.S. (the distance between the two metal rails) is 4 feet, 8.5 inches. Why the heck did our government leaders ever establish such an odd size for spacing the tracks when building our nation’s first rail lines? Well, that is because, when ourRead… Read more »
In order for a project, program, department, agency or the entire government to function properly, you first need trust. But cultivating and growing that trust can be difficult, especially within large organizations. Tim McManus is the Vice President for Education and Outreach at the Partnership for Public Service. Earlier this week the Partnership hosted authorRead… Read more »
The Big Bang Theory is the most popular comedy on television. More than 20 million people each week sit down to watch Sheldon Cooper and his group of brainiacs search for answers to life’s most challenging puzzles. Those big brains are just what the government needs to stay on the front lines of research andRead… Read more »
Performance Measurement, Program Evaluation, Or Both; plus the importance of data in evaluation. The government is pushing evaluation, especially President Obama and the OMB. However, not many people have a clear understanding of the difference between performance measurement and program evaluation. Below, I outline the differences and discuss the importance of data. Performance Measurement: PerformanceRead… Read more »
On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER: After across-the-board gains in March and April, Thrift Savings Plan funds lost a little steam last month. Find out how much with the TSP’s Kim Weaver. Click here for the full recap. The SEVEN stories that impact your life The total federal workforce dropped by 14,000 employees in May, the BureauRead… Read more »
I’m serving as the team lead (non-technical) for a software implementation. Last week the vendors came for a site visit to do some initial testing. After a successful week, we said our goodbye’s and the representative from logistics headquarters said to me, “I’m not sure what you do here, but you seem important.” All IRead… Read more »