Weekly Round-up: January 11, 2013

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

In 2013, we’re all growing up a little bit.

• Smartphones entering that awkward phase? The Google Nexus 4 is too big for some hands (heck, even the iPhone used big hand models in 2007 to make itself look smaller), and yet the 5-inch Galaxy Note sold 10 million units and is spawning a new device: the phablet. What are the implications for mobile delivery of government services?
• Printing of House Bills entering the 21st Century? The Government Printing Office will start publishing the bills from the House of Representatives in machine-readable XML.
• Are we asking better questions? Way, way back, in 2012, I wrote about the MeriTalk survey, sCIOcial Circle. Mark Drapeau and Joseph Marks have since looked at the way the metrics were evaluated and have some interesting insights.

Dan Chenok

• The latest in a long tradition — OMB reports on Federal reports to eliminate.
• NIST stepping up its game to help agencies address cyber challenges.
• Management issues that could come before Congress this session.

John Kamensky

• Federal Budget for FY 2014 Will Likely Be Delayed. By law, the President submits his proposed budget to Congress in early February. But Federal Times reports that – because of the lack of a FY 2013 budget and the lack of resolution to the impending sequestration – OMB has not yet finalized agency budgets (which is normally done in early December). As a result, it reports that the budget will likely be delayed.
• Fed Interest in Pininterest. NextGov reports that the General Services Administration has recently signed a Terms of Service agreement with Pininterest so government agencies can now participate on this social network. It will be incorporated into the Federal Social Media Registry and GSA will offer training on its use. Wonder what recipes the government will post [Actually, check out this Pinboard of “Interesting Things the Government Is Selling.” Learjet, anyone? – ED]?
• OPM Guidance on Furloughs. Federal Times reports that with the uncertainties surrounding agencies regarding the “fiscal cliff” and sequestration, the Office of Personnel Management has posted guidance on ways agencies can conduct furloughs.
• New GAO Web Page on Key Issues. GAO has launched a new one-stop web page that highlights key issues it follows. It also announced that it will release its High Risk report in February and its annual Program Duplication and Overlap report in April.
• Agency Use of Social Media to Get Their Work Done. Federal News Radio reports that Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen Hamilton have jointly sponsored a new study, #ConnectedGov: Engaging Stakeholders in the Digital Age, that examines how agencies are using social media and technology to further their agencies’ goals and missions.

Michael Keegan

Survey: PIOs turn focus to quality, not quantity

There’s an old adage in federal management circles: You can’t manage what you can’t measure. And now, performance improvement officers say agencies are getting better at the measuring part — using data to driver better performance. Overall, 71 percent of agency PIOs who responded to an exclusive Federal News Radio survey said their agency makes good use of performance data, and a similarly high number of respondents said the administration focus on performance management has increased in recent years. The survey, sent to 46 PIOs or deputy PIOs over the summer, garnered a 15 percent response rate. Most of the PIOs who responded hailed from small agencies.

Sequestration 2.0 would mean furloughs for DoD’s entire civilian workforce

When Congress pushed the pause button on sequestration last week, it also made some changes to how the automatic budget cuts would take place. And a new analysis suggests almost every civilian employee in the Defense Department would be forced to take a month of unpaid leave if the new version of sequestration isn’t undone.

Congress begins to look beyond the budget

As a new Congress starts a new year, is there a new imperative to find common ground?

Agencies getting better at social tools

There is no shortage of social activity in government, but a new report finds that agencies are becoming increasingly familiar with the benefits of social platforms and discovering uses that further their missions.

Finding structure for unstructured data

If hype equaled performance, big data and cloud computing would already be unmatched cost-cutting, efficiency-increasing, bottom line-building tools in the federal space.

The Business of Government Radio Show: Dr. Phillip Joyce

Federal News Radio 1500-AM
Mondays at 11 a.m., Wednesdays at 12 p.m.

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.

How does federal budgetary uncertainty impact government agencies and other sectors? What is the affect on the efficiency and effectiveness of government? Are we facing a fiscal cliff or slope? We will explore these questions and much more with Professor Phil Joyce, author of the new IBM Center report, The Costs of Budget Uncertainty: Analyzing the Impact of Late Appropriations.

Broadcast Schedule: The show airs Monday, December 17, at 11 a.m., and Wednesday, December 19, at noon, on Federal News Radio 1500AM WFED

If you can’t wait, though, you can listen to (or download) this week’s program and all our previous interviews at businessofgovernment.org and by searching our audio archives.