Weekly Round-up: February 25, 2011 (Government Shut-Down Preview Edition)

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

• The Government Shutdown and You(Tube): Andrea Di Maio published a peice titled “What if Government 1.0 Shut Down? Government 2.0 May Have To As Well,” a great read, as is the comment by Doug Hadden. Also, NextGov points to one difference between the last government shut-down and this year’s potential shut-down in its article about cybersecurity and essential personnel.
• Hillary Clinton is the George Steiner of Twitter: Part of the Gov 2.0 that may shut down after March 04 are all the State Department Twitter feeds. Did you know they have feeds in Russian, Arabic, Farsi, Spanish, French, and Hindi? Steve Lunceford reports that Chinese is allegedely forthcoming.
• Important, Yes, but Is He Essential? Chris Vein has joined the Office of Science and Technology Policy just in time for a budget impasse. At least the weather in Washington, DC, is sufficiently like San Francisco’s to help him feel right at home! As all government agencies brace for a possible state of suspended animation, Vein’s interview with GovFresh seems prescient. When asked what it takes to be innovative in government, Vein replied “patience.”
• Of Smart Phones and Laser Vision. In a post titled “Citizen Superheroes: Is There an App for That?” the National Conference on Citizenship talks about the same issues that I covered in my series on Citizen 2.0.

John Kamensky

I’ll be on Francis Rose’s Countdown show on WFED 1500 at 2 p.m. today (Friday)., Francis, Robert Shea (former OMBer), and I will discuss what we think are the top three stories of the week affecting the federal government. All three of mine deal with the potential government shutdown, from different angles:

• #1. The Potential Government Shutdown: Impact on Citizens: “Government Shutdown: Facts and Figures” – Washington Post
• #2. The Potential Government Shutdown: Impact on Employees: “Union Demands Bargaining Over Potential Shutdown Furloughs” – Federal Times (2/23/11)
• #3. The Potential Government Shutdown: Impact on Contractors: “Contractors Seek Answers as Possible Shutdown Nears” – Federal Times (2/23/11)
• The ultimate Government Shutdown resource, though, is a recently updated Congressional Research Service report, “Shutdown of the Federal Government: Causes, Processes, and Effects,” by Clinton Brass (February 18, 2011).

Dan Chenok

• Innovative idea to test benefits of strong project management
• Cloud Computing get significant focus in 2012 Budget
• Cybersecurity Bill reintroduced without “kill switch”
• The government’s value of a (statistical) life increases

Business of Government Radio Show: Conversation with Authors Series with Professor Scott Overmyer

The Business of Government Hour features a conversation about management with a government executive who is changing the way government does business. The executives discuss their careers and the management challenges facing their organizations. Past government executives include Administrators, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Commissioners, Controllers, Directors, and Undersecretaries.

Dr. Scott Overmyer is Professor and Director of the MSIS Program at Baker College (Flint, MI), where he also supervises final student projects and teaches software architecture as a teleworker from his home in South Dakota. He is the author of “Implementing Telework: Lessons Learned from Four Federal Agencies,” a report released by the Center for the Business of Government.

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