Weekly Round-up – November 11, 2011

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

Gov 2.0 in San Francisco. Jay Nath, whom you should be following on Twitter, has a piece in the National Civic Review titled “Reimagining Government in the Digital Age.” In it, he details what Gov 2.0 has meant for his city, San Francisco, and what it can mean in local governments around the country.

Gov 2.0 at the National Archives. Michael O’Connell, writing for Fed News Radio, relates how the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is using social media to “to tag records in its online catalog or transcribe handwritten documents so they’re easier to find online.”

Gov 2.0 around Town. Did something else happen this week?

Dan Chenok

• International cyber policies need alignment.
• Google change may reduce search results for Federal sites.
• White House looks to save money on duplicative devices.

John Kamensky

• A Geeky Thing. Federal Computer Week’s Alice Lipowicz writes “Google algorithm change may mean less traffic for some government websites.” So basically, if an agency doesn’t refresh its content very often, you won’t be able to find it. Sounds fair to me!!
• A Grant Thing. OMB is consolidating several existing inter-agency councils to create a new “Council on Financial Assistance Reform.” According to the OMB memo, it will work with agencies “. . . to foster more efficient and effective Federal financial management by coordinating the development and implementation of a standardized business process, data standards, metrics, and information technology.” In addition: “The Council will also work with key stakeholders in coordinating the streamlining and simplification of the financial assistance process by eliminating unnecessary regulatory, reporting, and grant-agreement requirements and by increasing flexibilities for satisfying grant requirements.”
• Obama the Swag Killer? It’s one thing to take on a website of defenseless fiddlers, but now President Obama takes on the small stuff – agency swag (and travel, and technology, etc.). The President issued an executive order, “Promoting Efficient Spending.” Bet we won’t have to wait six months for OMB Guidance to follow! Agencies have 45 days to submit their plans of action to OMB. . . . Meanwhile, Washington Post’s Ed O’Keefe writes about the order and includes a video of the government swag he’s collected over the years.
• The PMSU Strategy Guide. Sometimes you just run across the most amazing things on the internet. Here’s a terrific 208-page guide for developing strategy and the associated analytic skills in government. It was prepared back in 2004 by the British Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit (PMSU, of course!)
• WikiOrgCharts of the Federal Government. Federal News Radio’s Michael O’Conner did a nice piece on WikiOrgCharts.com, which charts out the organizational structure, and contacts, across the government. In a quick look, it doesn’t look terribly accurate, but you can fix it!

The Business of Government Radio Show: Linda Gibbs

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.

The show airs fives times a week on two radio stations in the DC Metro Area.

Linda Gibbs oversees the Departments of Health and Mental Hygiene, Human Resources Administration, Administration for Children’s Services, Homeless Services, Aging, Health and Hospitals Corporation, Correction, Probation, Juvenile Justice, Office of Health Insurance Access, and the HIV Health and Human Services Planning Council.

Broadcast Schedule: Saturday, November 12 at 9:00 a.m & Friday, November 18 at 2:00 p.m on CBS Radio 1580AM on For those outside of the Washington, D.C. area, you can listen to our live webstream on CBS Radio 1580AM. Monday, November 14, at 11 a.m., Wednesday, November 16, at Noon, and Thursday, November 17, at Noon on Federal News Radio 1500AM WFED

If you can’t wait, though, you can listen to it or download our interview with Beth and all our interviews at businessofgovernment.org and by searching our audio archives.