Industry leaders forming cloud computing commission

According to a recent Washington Post article: As cloud computing picks up steam within the federal government, senior industry officials are seeking to put their stamp on its deployment, signing on to a panel that will make recommendations to the federal chief information officer and the commerce secretary. http://tinyurl.com/6x2zg46 How many of you have alreadyRead… Read more »

IRS Computer Glitch Got Your Refund?

If you’re one of the lucky home buyers who purchased your home in 2008 and took the First Time Home Buyers Credit (technically an interest free loan), this was the first year that you had to pay it back. More than likely, if you made your first payment to the IRS this year you filedRead… Read more »

Hosting SecondLife Orientations Focus of March 9 Virtual Worlds for Engmt Mtg

Please join us this coming Wednesday (tomorrow!) for our March Virtual Worlds for Stakeholder Engagement Working Group. This month’s meeting focuses on the subject “Orientations to Second Life.” Beth Offenbacker/PublicDecisions (Bettina Mint in SL) and Hope Kandel Gershik/Learning Times (Rye Checchinato in SL) will speak on the key elements of hosting an effective Second LifeRead… Read more »

Changes That Help Women Business Owners Grow Through Government Contracting

Businesses have the opportunity to grow their revenues through government contracting. According to www.USAspending.gov, the federal government spends over $500 billion annually on goods and services. Thanks to changes in federal policy, women-owned businesses have a greater chance to win government contracts. The Women-Owned Small Business Program, recently created by the Small Business Administration (SBA),Read… Read more »

Illinois passes redistricting reforms

Illinois is taking steps to protect its minority communities ahead of state redistricting. A new law will protect the voting rights of racial and language minority communities in the state by making it hard to divide up groups between several districts and effectively split votes. The Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011, will allow forRead… Read more »

Creating the Secret Sauce – Selecting Change Management Champions

To achieve successful implementation of major change, a public sector organization must identify multiple Change Management Champions (CMC) to help lead the grass roots efforts for change. Ideally, CMC candidates should opt into the role. After all, forcing employees to be a CMC would appear to be antithetical to what change management is all about.Read… Read more »

How to sustain high CRM User Adoption.

This article was originally published on Tri Tuns Blog. OBSERVATION We have found that the best way for organizations to “boost” and then “sustain” high CRM user adoption is to develop and implement a comprehensive user adoption strategy. Most CRM failures occur when organizations take a Go-Live centric approach to CRM (on-time & on-budget deliveryRead… Read more »

Democs: Smart In-Person Process for Small-Group Consultations

Stephen Whitehead, researcher at London, UK-based New Economics Foundation (nef), recently alerted me to a new paper of theirs: Connected Conversations Reflecting on nef’s decade of experience in democracy and participation, this pamphlet argues that tackling the biggest issues, from climate change to social inequality, needs to start with small conversations between friends and neighbours.Read… Read more »

Top Ten Strategies For Managing A Virtual Workforce

Many of our clients are dealing with the challenges of managing the virtual workforce with colleagues spread out in different locations and multiple time zones. Since our inception 14 years ago, Strategic Partners has been managing a virtual workforce. What follows are 10 strategies that we have adopted to help our virtual workforce enhance theirRead… Read more »