Too frequently, small government agencies are stifled by budget cuts, lack of funding, and the fear of being stonewalled by a higher branch. Congress and the Executive branch want these agencies (and the nation) to succeed, but sometimes unforeseen challenges prevent them from achieving maximum success. Too frequently, employees at an organization are stifled byRead… Read more »
As state governments move toward total financial transparency, there is at least one place to look for information on how the states are doing in providing constituents with data on where money is being spent and what results are being achieved with the investment. Earlier blog posts have elaborated on the current ‘shortcomings’ of stateRead… Read more »
Civic software-as-a-service can make what seems like a new burden for cities an opportunity to collaborate Yesterday, citizens in the state of California amended their constitution to make it more open and transparent: Voters approved Tuesday a measure to give greater protection to California’s open meeting and public records laws by putting them in theRead… Read more »
Earlier this year Gartner announced their 2014 Magic Quadrant for Data Warehouse Database Management Systems – and for the first time ever, Cloudera debuted on the list. Gartner’s Magic Quadrants serve as one of Gartner’s flagship market research reports, covering dozens of IT trends for both private and public sector technology solutions. The report makesRead… Read more »
It’s a bird, it’s a plane – it’s Superman!…nope, even better: it’s NASA. NASA has eyes in the skies, helping to monitor and protect us. Each day, NASA satellites collect and transmit valuable data about environmental conditions on earth, including climate change and the impact of natural disasters. But this information is useless without theRead… Read more »
For a host of reasons, many organizations have been taking a Digital DIY (Do It Yourself) approach to pursuing technology initiatives, both externally and internally. Though the motivations for these approaches are understandable and seem logical on the surface, more often than not they are suboptimal strategies that aren’t in an organization’s best interests. ARead… Read more »
A chain is no stronger than its weakest link, and life is after all a chain. William James To information security professionals, having a strong chain of policy, practice and architecture is indeed, life. The human factor is always the weakest link in any information security program. Why is that? People are our greatest asset!Read… Read more »
Did you know that one of the biggest procurement programs underway is happening at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)? “The Professional and Technical Support Services Contract Vehicle (also known as Pro-Tech) will be awarded next year for a five-year, $5 billion program. It will deliver a wide array of specialty services in theRead… Read more »
At Accela, we’re committed to finding ways to leverage the talents and ideas of civic entrepreneurs and open data hackers to benefit the governments we serve. That’s why we’re excited to announce the Accela App Challenge. The App Challenge offers a total of $25,000 in cash prizes to developers that build a new civic appRead… Read more »
[This is the 3rd blog in the series on ‘Exploring Government R&D Program Fundamentals’. Visit Blog 1: Keys to a Successful R&D Program and Blog 2: Setting R&D Program Goals & Principles] Want to know a sure-fire way of shooting your R&D program in the proverbial foot? Fail to engage stakeholders creatively and consistently. It’sRead… Read more »