Doing better with less with Code for America, Crafting your Innovator DNA and Measuring Metrics by GovLoop Insights
On today’s program…
- Doing more with less… how about doing more and better with less. That may be possible. And we’ll blow your socks off. We’re going to talk to a person that Government Technology billed at one of 2012s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers in Public Sector Innovation. We’ll talk to Code for America Jennifer Pahlka.
- How do you make innovation part of your DNA? We’ll talk one of the authors of the book The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators and we’ll find out how you can cultivate your own innovation skills.
- You get what you measure, right? Online, you can measure a whole bunch. How do you determine what is worthwhile? We’ll talk about that.
But as we do each day, we start with the stories that impact your life for TUESDAY the 13 of March, 2012… your government world in 120-seconds…
- After three rocky years, DARPA director Regina Dugan is stepping down to take a job at Google. Wired’s Danger Room says deputy director Ken Gabriel will take over as the acting director. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is the Pentagon’s premier research group. Dugan successfully pushed through many short-term projects to improve cybersecurity and next generation manufacturing. But, she was also the subject of an IG investigation for DARPA awards to a company she founded and still partially owns.
- The Office of Personnel Management wants to add more diversity to the federal workspace and they’re asking agency leaders to help. OPM Director John Berry instructed managers to “identify employment barriers and create strategies to get rid of those barriers. The Washington Post says the Director’s memo follows an from an executive order President Obama signed last August “to promote the Federal workplace as a model of equal opportunity, diversity, and inclusion.” The agencyies have until this Friday to complete their assessments.
- The Defense Department is hoping to harness more effective and innovative energy solutions and they’ve got a plan to make it happen. FedScoops says plan is part of the Pentagon’s Operational Energy Strategy Implementation Plan which created seven specific targets and near-term activities. The Secretary of Defense – Leon Panetta – applauded the plan saying, “Smart use of energy can be a strategic advantage for the U.S. military. I want the department to harness the best energy innovations at all levels, from the individual warfighter to the largest installation, to enhance our operational effectiveness and deliver more bang for the buck.”
- Christopher Liedel has been tapped to be the new President of Smithsonian Enterprises. Liedel was the executive vice president and CFO for the National Geographic Society. The Smithsonian Enterprises is the revenue-producing arm at the Institution. It has three primary business divisions: media, retail and business development and licensing. Liedel will start later this month.
- Colorado is the latest state moving their email to the cloud. Government Technology says the state’s 15 siloed email systems will be consolidated into Google’s Apps for Government. The suite is a cloud-based platform. The transition is expected sometime later this year and will save Colorado roughly 2 million dollars a year on email services.
- The massacre of at least 16 Afghan civilians by a rogue U.S. soldier is doing more than fueling anti-American rage throughout Afghanistan. National Journal’s Yochi Dreazen writes, it is also raising doubts about the broader U.S. strategy for winding down the unpopular war.
- And over on GovLoop, you can register for our latest training guide on data center consolidation. The conversation called, “Your Agencies’ Data Center Consolidation Blueprint: applying yesterdays lessons to tomorrows success,” will provide you with tangible skills, networking time with your peers, tips and tricks for quick wins, as well as assist with long term data consolidation strategies. The tickets are free and the March 20th training is quickly approaching so head over to our homepage and sign up now.