For his Federal Eye blog this morning, Ed O’Keefe asked readers to help with his upcoming year-end review. Vote on or suggest what the biggest “head slams desk” moments of the year was for the Federal Government. Some examples include: — The Agriculture Department announces that Christmas tree growers plan to add a surcharge toRead… Read more »
We can never be a normal user of our own services. We can temper that by being self-c0nscious in reflecting on our experiences as users of other people’s. But even that tacitly assumes that we are like normal users other than in our expertise as providers of a particular service. But that assumption may beRead… Read more »
The MITRE Corporation, in partnership with the Federal Service-Oriented Architecture Community of Practice (SOA CoP), recently hosted the SOA for e-Government Conference: Practical Models Across the Federal Government. The event, the 12th in an ongoing series, drew more than 250 practitioners from industry and government to discuss examples of how government is effectively adopting SOARead… Read more »
David Moore of the Participatory Politics Foundation (PPF) — and a member of our community — has posted OpenGovernment.org: Researching U.S. State Legislation, on the VoxPopuLII blog, published by the Legal Information Institute at Cornell University Law School. In this post, Mr. Moore discusses OpenGovernment.org, a new, free, open, citizen engagement and transparency service forRead… Read more »
You really can have the whole world in your hands! The ArcGIS App is now available for use on Android phones as well as the iPhone and the Windows Phone 7. What does this app have to offer? The ArcGIS App for Smartphones and Tablets lets users navigate maps, collect and report data, and performRead… Read more »
From Data to Decisions (11/30/2011) – The Partnership for Public Service and IBM’s Public Sector Business Analytics and Optimization Practice examined seven programs using analyticsin eight agencies including the Coast Guard, Navy, and Social Security. The report notes common practices of successful efforts, such as leadership commitment, staff having a clear line of sight, andRead… Read more »
Last Friday, GovTech published a report outlining how law enforcement tools have evolved from wanted posters, to social media outreach. This form of “community policing” has helped officials with finding missing children, reporting suspicious activity, and informing the public about crimes committed in their neighborhood. “Social networking rapidly has become a valuable intelligence-gathering tool forRead… Read more »
Massachusetts Treasurer Steve Grossman is making good on his campaign promise to bring the state’s finances online. Massachusetts Open Checkbook, a website detailing the state’s expenditures will go live later today in an effort to increase transparency. The website will contain not only expenditures, but contract details as the state works to lower overall contractingRead… Read more »
The New Zealand Government’s “Social Media in Government: Hands-on Toolbox” was written to assist practitioners with setting up social media accounts. The guide is written for public servants with limited exposure to social media tools and offers guidance on how to start using social media at their agency. Here is a quick excerpt from theRead… Read more »
A new dashboard ranks more than 100 federal agencies based on their use of Twitter. The Federal Social Media Index, created by nonprofit ExpertLabs, tracks how agencies are engaging their public based on several measures. For the week ending December 4, NASA came out on top, with 360 replies from 1,643,429 followers. (Most answered question:Read… Read more »