Recently, there has been a good amount of discussion on GovLoop about culture in the government agencies. I am hopeful that we continue the discussion because I fervently believe that cultural change is the key to fully realizing openness in local, state, and Federal governments. Maybe 2012 will be the Year of Culture as weRead… Read more »
Stocks opened with a bang on the first trading day of 2012, but we actually saw the week’s highs hit within the first hour of trading in the new year. For the TSP, the C-fund gained 1.67% on the week, the S-fund was up 1.65%, the I-fund lost 0.41% because of rally in the dollar,Read… Read more »
A recent Defense Department inspector general report found that contracting officers and their representatives (COR) at the U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity need to step up their game when it comes to improving contract performance and acquisition outcomes. The report shins a light on a reality hitting many procurement offices, where the intense workload,Read… Read more »
In January of 2011 shortly after taking office as Governor, Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order creating the Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission. The purpose of SAGE is to modernize and rightsize government to make it more efficient, effective and accountable. On December 15, 2011, the SAGE Commission met and approved some interesting recommendations.Read… Read more »
Streets are tricky things. I was reading Car Parking vs. parks vs. restaurant patios, over on Richard Layman’s blog, Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space. It is a short but good article that made me think about why we don’t allow more uses of on-street “parking spaces”. The strip of street running parallel to theRead… Read more »
The following PMP® exam sample question is taken from the Free PMP Exam Simulator at http://free.pm-exam-simulator.com – The answer is at the very bottom: —————————— You are performing the Plan Risk Responses process for your manufacturing project when encounter a critical risk that may have a high impact on the project completion. All of theRead… Read more »
As we turn the calendar to the new year, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve done here at Civic Commons over the past year, what we’ve learned, and where we’re planning on heading next. It’s been a busy year for us. While the Civic Commons initiative began, slowly, as anRead… Read more »
I got the chance to review the new performance appraisal system for the Senior Executive Service that was issued to agencies by OPM and OMB earlier today. The new system represents some notable steps forward, including: 1) A renewed alignment: Typically, the criteria senior executives are evaluated on changes once they’re on the job versusRead… Read more »
Matt’s Awesome Daugthers on Hallowed Ground 2011 I had a really long post planned (and may still post a diatribe at some point), but when I thought more about it, this need not be long. I had an interesting year. An organization that I care a great deal about, have my entire life, did itsRead… Read more »