There are a great many insights we can get on the Federal workforce by looking at the Best Places to Work survey conducted by Partnership for Public Service, but one struck me as particularly revealing. In looking at the data from the 2012 survey, we can see that only four in ten Federal employees believeRead… Read more »
Cross Government Collaboration: Lessons from Superstorm Sandy Rear Admiral Steven Smith, Director of SBA Disaster Planning Unit Desiree Matel-Anderson, Chief Innovation Advisor, FEMA Marion McFadden, Chief Operating Officer, Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Admiral Steven Smith, begins the Cross-Government Collaboration session with a illustrative anecdote. In 2008, after Hurricane Ike, he described a meeting ofRead… Read more »
It seems everywhere you look these days agencies are talking about the value of innovation. The need for innovation. The power of innovation. But taking the concept of innovation and making it a reality can be a big challenge, especially during the sequester. But actually fostering innovation can be a huge challenge. Seth Kahan. KahanRead… Read more »
The July 2013 edition of Contract Management magazine, published by the National Contract Management Association (NCMA), included an encouraging article on how communications between government and industry not only can improve outcomes and business relationships, but also show positive results to improve requirements and the opportunities for better outcomes overall. The article, “MythBusting – CommunicationsRead… Read more »
One quality that made my old project manager both successful and likable was his ability to bring colleagues together to take a break. As a smoker and a Caribou/Starbucks coffee-drinker, my manager, “Roger,” took a few breaks throughout the day. Of course, I’d often join in, but less so for the smoking breaks. I’m notRead… Read more »
Last week, the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) conducted their inaugural 2013 Mythbusting Awards to three Federal agencies for their work in improving vendor communications in the acquisition process. The program also contained a forum on Mythbusting, in addition to breakout sessions on various MythBusters issues related to the previous memosRead… Read more »
“I’m just a bill. Yes, I’m only a bill. And I’m sitting here on Capitol Hill. Well, it’s a long, long journey to the capital city. It’s a long, long wait, while I’m sitting in committee. But I know I’ll be a law someday. At least I hope and pray that I will. But todayRead… Read more »
Swift, certain, consistent and proportionate – that is the motto of the new probation program making waves in Hawaii. The program – called HOPE – has reduced recidivism by 51% and has been recognized by Harvard University’s Ash Center as one of the ‘Top 25 Innovations in Government.” (See the full list of the TopRead… Read more »
The FOSE convention was held this month, and I had the pleasure of moderating a panel on the future of the workforce—specifically how technology is changing the work environment and will enable people to succeed within it. There were four technologies that I saw as coalescing to transform the workplace: Mobility, meaning both the end-devicesRead… Read more »
Turning data into decisions, it sounds obvious but for large organizations compiling, formatting and interpreting vast amounts of data can be almost impossible. But Army Lieutenant Colonel Bobby Saxon and his team have created a system that does just that for the Army. It’s called Enterprise Management Decision Support System (EMDS). For his work Lt.Read… Read more »