All too often, the public assumes that government, when going toe-to-toe with the private sector, always loses. Even when we trumpet major successes of government (e.g. moon shot, arpanet), the public snickers and points to the private sector government contractors who supported these initiatives. Now for the ask! Nineteen organizations have been identified as finalistsRead… Read more »
Be honest. You have heard us all talking/worrying/complaining about the potential for sequestration since August of 2011, but do you actually know how it would work? I, for one, only had a loose understanding of the process. Todd Harrison is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He gave Chris DorobekRead… Read more »
Yesterday, the third session of Howto.gov’s (managed by GSA’s Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies and the Federal Web Managers Council) 8-part series on APIs aired. These free, online discussions aim to inform and inspire agencies nationwide to get their data online and develop APIs to make life easier internally and externally. This sessionRead… Read more »
The Balanced Scorecard Institute is a well-respected organization that has a popular method for measuring organizational effectiveness. I’m going to work on building its lessons into my office. The basic idea behind the Balanced Scorecard comes from its creators, Drs. Robert Kaplan and David Norton: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” AccordingRead… Read more »
Craig Thomler’s post about redesigning government got me thinking about the other ways that legacies from the Industrial Revolution are no longer serving us well. The language could use some updating. So could the ways we think about how best to structure work. One of my recent favorite non-fiction books is “Shop Class as SoulRead… Read more »
Finance managers across government are looking at ways to reduce the cost of Finance and government operations in response to flat or reduced budgets for the foreseeable future. The initial rounds of budget cuts are being achieved though quick, short-term actions, e.g., reduced travel, training, and contracted services. What I see less of are longerRead… Read more »
Take advantage of FREE knowledge and register for Digital Government University’s webinar airing today (Wednesday, the 19th) from 2:30-3:30 on some awesome case studies on how API’s are used to improve government. If this sounds intimidating, don’t fret. You can start from the beginning with Dig Gov U and learn what exactly an API isRead… Read more »
I believe I run a very effective office. But it’s not enough to believe it, or even for others to say it, it’s important to be able to measure and demonstrate it with data as well. The best way to demonstrate effectivess is to measure your office’s results and benchmark those results against competitors. ButRead… Read more »
Last week, GovLoop hosted our Government Innovator’s Online Summit. In the fifth and final session, “Project Management Survival Guide,” we heard from two experts in the field of project management, Dr. Bill Brantley and Scott R. Macrae. First up was Dr. Brantley, certified Project Management Professional (PMP), who provided attendees with some advice on managingRead… Read more »
I spent this Saturday in a 5 hour session all about the MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) and how to translate an understanding about personality types into a tool to help navigate the workplace. If you’re not familiar with the assessment, it’s a quick quiz that determines your personality type along 4 trait dichotomies. In anRead… Read more »