Weekly Round-up: September 17, 2010

This is what the folks at the IBM Center for the Business of Government found interesting this week.

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

• Civic Commons launched, with a blog, a wiki, and way for governments to share apps.
• Pew Research’s Susannah Fox wrote about the mobile web. She writes that “six in ten Americans go online wirelessly.”
• Lovisa Williams compared Gov 2.0 to blind men trying to describe an elephant. She argues that we need more change within agencies and leaders who understand the entire beast. Many comments ensued.
• CNET reports on a Norton study that claims cybercrimes affect “two-thirds (65 percent) of Internet users globally, and almost three-quarters (73 percent) of U.S. Web surfers have fallen victim to cybercrimes, making America one of the most victimized nations in the world.”
• And one Gadi Ben-Yehuda published “Becoming Citizen 2.0: Step Two, Creator” If you read only one blog post with a link to the rules governing the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, it should be this one.

John Kamensky

While this week was notable across the government for being the week agency budget submissions for FY 2012 were due to OMB, several other important things happened (or didn’t):

First, President Obama sent the first-ever memo to the entire senior executive service, highlight their role in, and the importance of, the implementation of his management improvement initiatives, dubbed the “Accountable Government Initiative.”

Second, the undersecretary for defense acquisition sent out a detailed memo on the steps to be taken across the department on reducing costs by better managing $400 billion in contracts. His 23-point agenda focuses on specific actions to be taken, and many are big changes in how the Defense department works.

Third, OMB Director nominee Jack Lew testified before Congress that he vows to pay attention to management issues. According to Federal Times: “Lew offered a four-part recipe for successfully using performance standards.When agencies set clear goals, make lead officials responsible for driving progress, regularly review progress and make the results transparent, “they are more likely to improve both performance and accountability to the public,” he said.

And finally, Congress has yet to act on any of the 12 appropriations bills, needed to keep the government operating past September 30. Federal Times reports the House has passed 2 of the 12 and the Senate has acted on none. Continuing resolutions are likely. The question is when will Congress act: before the election in early November, after the election, after the Deficit Commission reports in early December, or after the new Congress takes office in January.

Business of Government Radio Show: David M. Bowen

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.

David M. Bowen is the Assistant Administrator for Information Services and Chief Information Officer at the Federal Aviation Administration.