Takeaways from the NextGen Summit – Plus the 7 DorobekINSIDER’s Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER:

• Jennifer Pahlka, Deputy Chief Technology Officer & Founder of Code for America, kicked off the Next Generation of Government Training Summit. She outlined her six lessons learned for change agents. Click here for the full recap.

But up front: Lessons learned from #NextGenGov

We are just coming off two days at the Next Generation of Training Summit hosted by GovLoop and Young Government Leaders.

My take-aways:

• Wow! I have been to many similar events, and NextGen is simply remarkable. Frankly, there is much less whining compared to many of the events I go to. The participants don’t focus on what can’t be done, but are very focused on what they can do. And while they had definite ideas things that can be changed, they also work within the Apollo 13 rule — we have the tools that we have. What can we do with those tools.
• And then there are just remarkable participants. I found them interested… eager… thoughtful… and I found that they care. They care about the missions of their agencies… they care about the places that they work… they care about government… they care about public service.
• Even broader, I think conference matter… Not only do they matter, they are essential. One of my favorite things to do at conferences — or summits or whatever we call these meeting of the minds these days — but one of my favorite things to do at a conference is to just listen. At NextGenGov, I heard a lot of great sharing… of ideas, tools, contact information, thoughts, lessons learned. There are fewer and fewer places to do that these days. It was great to see folks come together to think, share and learn.
• Finally, big kudos to the team that put on this event — both GovLoop and YGL. It is a lot of work, and just read the blog posts from the event and you will see a diverse discussion on a host of important issues. Nice work.

And GovLoop’s DorobekINSIDER will be bringing you highlights in the days ahead.

The SEVEN stories that impact your life

1. Three White House staffers have their personal Gmail account hacked in what appears to be an operation directed at the Obama administration’s social media outreach team. According to Nextgov, the hacked accounts have sent other White House employees bogus emails intended to obtain personal email logins and Twitter credentials. White House social media employees may be seen as relatively easy game within the administration, as their goal is to make Obama more open to the public.

2. The National Treasury Employees Union is taking exception to a bill that would let citizens record conversations with federal officials. The bill has already passed the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. At its web site, NTEU provides cut-and-paste language for members to send to their representatives. The union says the law is unfair because it doesn’t include conversations between citizens and members of Congress or their staffs. NTEU is also opposing a measure from Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.) to put federal employees into health insurance programs under the Affordable Care Act. (National Treasury Employees Union)

3. Detroit is proposing a controversial plan for decreasing some of the $5.7 billion it owes in retiree health costs: pushing many of those too young to qualify for Medicare out of city-run coverage and into the new insurance markets that will soon be operating under the Obama healthcare law. According to the New York Times, the plan would be part of a broader effort to save the city tens of millions of dollars in health costs each year. Similar proposals are already in place in many other local municipalities, including Chicago, Sheboygan County, WI, and Stockton, CA.

4. Last Friday, the U.S. Navy announced that they will retrieve and dispose of the four bombs, which were jettisoned off the coast of Queensland, Australia, by two AV-8B Harrier aircraft in an emergency situation on July 16. The U.S. Department of Defense reports that the U.S. military is striving to mitigate the environmental impact of its exercises/operations and is working closely with the Australian Defense Force to ensure the environment is protected. The Department will announce a more comprehensive plan with recovery operations are finalized.
5. The Federal Election Commission was scolded last week by the House Administration committee’s top Republican for not approving an enforcement manual two years after lawmakers asked the panel to complete the task. According to the Washington Post, FEC Chairman Ellen Weintraub raised concerns about dealing with enforcement guidelines while the Senate is considering new nominees for the commission. Committee Chairman Candice Miller asserts that the FEC’s failure to produce the manual exacerbates a growing problem with lack of faith in government.

6. Members of Congress receive retirement benefits that are far more generous than those earned by the average worker. CNNMoney reports that President Obama will receive a future pension of $200,000, Speaker of the House John Boehner will get $85,000, the average public work receives $26,000, and Social Security recipient’s get $15,000. This does not include the Social Security payments and option to opt into the federal Thrift Savings Plan, a 401(k) style-plan with fees that are far lower than most retirement plans.

7. Today, the FBI concluded Operation Cross Country, a three-day nationwide enforcement action focused on underage victims of prostitution. According to an FBI official statement, the agency saved 105 sexually exploited children and arrested 150 pimps and other individuals. They worked in coordination with local, state, and federal agencies and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. It is the seventh and largest such enforcement action to date.

DorobekINSIDER water-cooler fodder

• Today is the 55th anniversary of NASA

• Sunlight Foundation’s John Wonderlich: Obama Promises Disappear from Web
  

  TechPresident: RIP, Change.gov: CIOs need to marry social and business data. Data collected from social networking accounts remain segregated in most organizations from the data collected from business systems used to record transactions and interactions with customers. That’s got to change, Susan Etlinger, an Altimeter Group analyst who researches social media, tells CIO Journal. “If you build a social strategy without looking at the data, you’re just building a cost center,” Ms. Etlinger said. “And you’re essentially cementing your own doom.”

• WSJ: CIOs Look for Ways to Marry Social Data with Big Data

• Miami Herald: Diplomacy in 140 characters: World leaders take to Twitter, gain followers