Cutting public sector jobs may decrease overall expenditures, but it doesn’t amount to the fundamental change we’ve been talking about, nor does it put us on a path to sustainability. At least that is what the recently released Drummond Report argues: If civil servants and public sector workers want pay raises, they should find theRead… Read more »
‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ Most of us don’t have the power which Humpty Dumpty claimed for himself to make words mean what we want them to mean. We may be able toRead… Read more »
A couple months ago, I had the opportunity to deliver an Ignite presentation for The Public Manager / ASTD’s “Government Workforce: Learning Innovations” event. If you’re not familiar with the Ignite format, it’s like a shorter version of TEDTalks developed by O’Reilly. You get 20 slides that automatically rotate at 15 seconds each so thatRead… Read more »
Recently, there has been a shift in the traditional way government manages mobile devices. Many of today’s U.S. federal agencies are moving from RIM’s blackberry devices to Apple’s iPhone. One reason for this movement is that government employees are tired of being forced to use their out of date government issued Blackberry’s. They have beenRead… Read more »
Yesterday Don Drummond – a leading economist hired by the Ontario government to review how the province delivers services in the face of declining economic growth and rising deficits – published his report. There is much to commend, it lays out stark truths that frankly, many citizens already know, but that government was too afraidRead… Read more »
Very few town board or city councils actually set goals or involve the community in goal setting and reviewing the accomplishment of goals. Bay City Michigan (population 35,000), does all of the above. As reported in the Bay City News , the City Commission invited the public to participate in a Saturday meeting to setRead… Read more »
Today I am publishing a guest post from Pia Waugh, a well known open government and open source advocate who recently left Senator Lundy’s office as her IT Advisor to take on a mystery role in the APS. Pia attended the presentation and dinner with Vivek Kundra on Tuesday (which I also attended). Vivek isRead… Read more »
Nominations are now open for the National Association of Government Communicators’ most prestigious award: “Communicator of the Year.” Each year, NAGC awards a government communicator who has helped instill public trust by effectively presenting accurate, timely and meaningful information, sometimes under exceptional circumstances. The award is presented at the annual NAGC Communications School, which willRead… Read more »
Jacqueline Simon, Public Policy Director at the American Federation of Government Employees, has written a detailed rebuke of the recent Congressional Budget Office study comparing the compensation of federal and private-sector employees. It’s a must-read. American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO CBO Study of Federal vs. Private Sector Pay Compensation – Many Flaws in AnalysisRead… Read more »
A recent Pew Research Center report titled The Rising Age Gap in Economic Well-being contends that the old prosper relative to the young and they provide abundant statistics to prove their assumption. I’m tired of the constant subtle attacks on anyone that did the right things throughout their lives; saved, worked hard, spent responsibly, paidRead… Read more »