Introducing the “Federal Buzz,” a Column for the Washington Post!

Great news out of GovLoop this week! Beginning today (but from now on, appearing on Fridays), I’m going to be writing a column called the “Federal Buzz” for the Washington Post. These pieces will recap just what govies have been saying about a hot topic or major issue during the previous week and will beRead… Read more »

New York’s Balanced Budget: Passing the Buck and Business Opportunities in a $10 Billion Reduction

INPUT Sr. Analyst Chris Cotner reports. The New York State Legislature and Governor Cuomo reached an agreement by the April 1 deadline to balance the state budget. The press releases and budget introductions by both touted making the “hard choices” to change “business as usual” in the state. Notably, the state faced a $10 billionRead… Read more »

Are App Contests Sustainable?

On May 2, Government Technology published a great article called Apps Contest Winners Need Better Government Data to Sustain Innovative Services. It was a very well-written article about the challenges of sustaining the make-data-available-for- private-sector-innovators model. By now, many of us are aware of events like Apps for Democracy, an app developing contest in WashingtonRead… Read more »

Engage people on their terms, not yours

I’m always going on about how, if you want people to give up their time to help you out, then you need to make it easy for them to do so, else they won’t bother. Stefan has a lovely example, which he documents at admirable length on his blog. I have laboured all of thisRead… Read more »

Power lines

The RSA have just published a rather interesting paper that is well worth a flick through. The paper argues that the government’s efforts to build the Big Society are too focused on citizen-led service delivery. An approach based on utilising and building people’s social networks, which largely determine our ability to create change and influenceRead… Read more »

The Project Management Professional (PMP) exam and Military Basic Rifle Marksmanship!

At first read, the title of this blog probably looks like a mistake, as two totally unrelated subjects appear to be illogically associated together! But bear with me, hopefully I can sell you on their similarities, at least as far as the PMP exam and project management experience go. I passed the PMP certification examRead… Read more »

Election tales

via flickr.com As part of a community reporters project, local people used a variety of social media to cover the local elections in Kirklees. Some really interesting coverage of election night, candidacy and the roles of the people who make elections run smoothly. See it all at Election Tales Share/Bookmark Original post

SES job vacancy notice at the CDC!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is seeking exceptional candidates for the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO). This position is located in the Office of the Director in Atlanta, Georgia. The selectee will report directly to the CDC Director, serving as a key management official responsible for the development of program systemsRead… Read more »