Posts By Mariah Bastin

A Look Into the Future of Gov-2016

A possible government shutdown (a decision that will be made on December 11th) and a potential new executive order are some of the first signs that call for a changed and improved government going into 2016. It is true that it takes a few missteps to figure out the right solution and Tom Fox, ViceRead… Read more »

Tracking Disruptive Tech Changes in Gov

As technology continues to enhance our daily lives, we can’t help but want more- more out of our technology. Digital government has evolved out of this demand for services. However, these technologies can also be VERY disruptive to an organization. Disruption isn’t necessarily bad, but it does create monumental change and any change, big orRead… Read more »

Unifying Around FITARA – Understanding the Future of Tech

Recently, GovLoop’s Christopher Dorobek moderated a panel of government IT experts, hosted by the Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM). Parts of the panel discussion around the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) will be on today’s DorobekINSIDER. Last year, a new law – FITARA – was passed to help government better spendRead… Read more »

25 Years of the CFO Act

Twenty-five years ago Congress passed the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act. This act marked the beginning of an era that incorporated necessary positions of oversight; ranging from CFOs to Chief Information Officers (CIOs). But, what do all these acronyms really mean? Have they been successful in helping government function more smoothly? Jim Taylor, Managing DirectorRead… Read more »

Grade Gov’s Performance Reviews

Performance reviews are not just report cards. Employees often feel like performance reviews are just a waste of time because they seem to provide little feedback to truly enhance the agency’s mission. Performance reviews can also provide an avenue for communication within the agency. They can provide a way for both employees and leaders toRead… Read more »

CX: Lessons from 2015 and Trends for 2016

Customer experience, or CX, has not always been associated with government, but this year government has taken some big steps towards improving its customer experience image. One of the reasons for the increase in government’s customer service mentality is the mandated cross-agency priority goals. 15 cross-agency priority goals were announced earlier this year with theRead… Read more »

Finding the Security Balance in the Internet of Things

Finding the balance between privacy and security has never been more of an issue than it is today — especially in the wake of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, which allows machines to interact with each other through signaling systems. These machine interactions allow IoT to embrace a technological revolution unlike anything we’ve seenRead… Read more »

Government Customer Service Isn’t Customer Experience

If you think government isn’t in the customer experience business, think again. Every American deals with government on a daily basis – whether you know it or not – which is why improving customer service is paramount. But the government still has a long way to go. The Forrester’s Customer Experience Index (CX Index) hasRead… Read more »

There’s No “I” in Federal Team

It should come as no surprise that government work (on any level), particularly in the federal sphere, requires complete teamwork. Unfortunately, there are some inherent discrepancies when dealing with rotating political leadership with the approach of a new administration. But there are ways in which executive leadership can improve the system from within after suchRead… Read more »

Forecasting Cyberattacks

Let’s just take a step back and imagine a world in which we didn’t have people who forecasted the weather at all. Wouldn’t planning and dressing appropriately for the entire day (or even for different intervals throughout the day) be very difficult? The bottom line here is that forecasting is essentially the best solution weRead… Read more »