Tech

DOD Secretary Gates details planned cuts in defense IT and elsewhere — Government Computer News

With upcoming and eminent DoD budget cuts, enterprise IT capabilities like AKO/DKO may become the norm. Regarding the current way of doing business, “All of our bases, operational headquarters and defense agencies have their own IT infrastructures, processes and application-ware,” Gates said at a Pentagon press conference. “This decentralized approach results in large cumulative costs,Read… Read more »

Open Data: When Uniformity Becomes a Virtue

Open data encourage transparency, accountability, and citizen engagement, all ideals of democracy. But context is equally vital, and unfortunately it’s often missing from the open data conversation. While individual states and cities have taken action to open up their books, little has been done to regulate and structure their data so that the information canRead… Read more »

Did you bring the map? Three ways to take GIS to the next level in government

Early in 1995 and with a new governor, the State of Maine embarked on an expansion of its GIS (Geographic Information System, for those who aren’t familiar). Then governor, Angus King had a vision. He wanted to use maps to prove that Maine had great locations for new and relocating businesses. Being that it wasRead… Read more »

Gov 2.0 Radio Hot Links – August 10, 2010

Nothing but the best content: Benjamin Pauker: The Geopolitics of Google Earth Ron Pringle: Is Your Content Really Serving the Public Adriel Hampton: San Francisco City Attorney’s Office on Flickr Steve Radick: Identify the Right People to Manage Your Social Media Initiatives Philipp Mueller (via GovLoop): Citizens Make the State 2.0 Clay Johnson: How didRead… Read more »

Gov 2.0 Radio: Empire Avenue – Content, Influence and Gov 2.0

Listen to internet radio with Gov20Radio on Blog Talk Radio Empire Avenue – Crowdsourcing the Best Content: We interview Empire Avenue CEO Duleep Wijayawardhana about how individuals, governments and cause organizations can harness social media, virtual markets and game mechanics to engage their communities. Download episode.

Considering “the Cloud” – Asking the right questions and looking for the right answers

I recently saw a blog post from Jim Townsend (President of InfoStrat) which did a fantastic job of articulating some of the concerns around cloud computing in the public sector. This is a topic that has been and will continue to be widely debated within and outside of government IT. Rather than pose a numberRead… Read more »

Congress Simplifying a Process? Making Prizes more attractive to the Federal Government…

Prizes and competitions provide one way to stimulate innovation and tap “solver communities” that may not have been leveraged previously when considering some of our nation’s grand challenges (see my blog posting from the White House/ Case Foundation event on prizes and competitions in April where I discuss this assertion in more detail). Building onRead… Read more »

Gov 2.0 Radio Hot Links – August 9, 2010

Life’s a game, Internet’s a game: Sen. Kate Lundy: Speech to the Technology in Government and the Public Sector conference Kristin Burnham: A Victory for Social Media – Inside the Election of Columbia’s New President Richard Abshire: Dallas Police Chief David Brown urges social media to catch ‘unrepentant criminals’ CivSource: New Open 311 integration toolkitRead… Read more »

How to Ensure Effective Outreach

How many spokespeople does your organization have? How many officials from your organization are tasked with ‘spreading the word,’ and talking with different constituents about your mission, the services and support you provide, or new programs that you’re implementing? When it comes to implementing effective outreach, it is crucial that every spokesperson for your organizationRead… Read more »

Cloud Computing–How High Should Government Fly?

The information technology industry has fallen head over heels when it comes to cloud computing. Many analysts have weighed in on the inevitability of shutting down your outdated server room and shifting to services that are hosted on the Internet at a remote data center. It’s hard to argue against the cloud computing trend, especiallyRead… Read more »