Communications

App-lifying USGS Earth Science Data

The USGS has a wealth of data and we’ve recently launched our first-ever challenge through Challenge.gov. While this is the first challenge, it’s doubtful to be the last. If you know anyone who loves getting their fingers into 0s and 1s, then please share this with them. Here’s a little bit about the challenge: App-lifyingRead… Read more »

Teaching Leadership

Some individuals are thought to be ‘natural’ leaders – they seemingly step into the role fully functional – such as George Washington. Some individuals develop as leaders once in the role – Steve Jobs, for example. Some individuals learn leadership by opening their mind and soaking up the rich material provided by other leaders, coaches,Read… Read more »

How to Make Your Organization Have a Winning Season in 2013 – And Make The Playoffs Year After Year!

With my favorite NFL team out of the playoffs this year – I’ve had plenty of time to contemplate what makes a winning team – and it’s not all about the coach (or firing the coach, like my team did this year.) When it comes down to it, making an organization and a football teamRead… Read more »

Is Your Business a “Benghazi”?

So by now most of you are aware of the incident that occurred at the US Embassy in Benghazi on September 11th 2012. An independent panel was established by the U.S. Government to further investigate how the attack occurred, how it was handled, and what can be done to prevent such future issues from takingRead… Read more »

Maps: Where Design and Data Meet

Maps: Where Design and Data Meet From store locators to Google navigation tools, interactive maps have become an integral part of our daily lives. Maps are also appearing more frequently on organization websites. Visualizing information in a geographical framework can be a powerful tool for advocacy, government and educational groups. And, in the past coupleRead… Read more »

5 Reasons Why the White House Response to the Death Star Petition Was Genius

Back in November 2012, someone posted on the White House’s “We The People” site petitioning the federal government to secure funding and resources to build a Death Star by 2016. We The People is an online petition website that allows any citizen to make a suggestion, and if it receives 25,000 votes, the White HouseRead… Read more »

OpenCounter: Code for America and Santa Cruz strike permitting gold

The City of Santa Cruz is the smallest community to ever partner with Code for America, but it had one of the largest problems to solve: how to make it easier to take an idea for a small business from conception to reality. From a concept to a permit. They created an online permitting portalRead… Read more »

Inauguration is coming are you ready?: Plus the DorobekINSIDER 7 Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER: As the world has become dependent on IT, so has the federal government. Leveraged effectively, technical tools can engage the public, create cost savings, and improve outcomes. These benefits are obscured by regular reminders that federal IT is fundamentally flawed. It is too big to succeed,” said Zachary Bastian. Find outRead… Read more »

Is government IT TOO big to succeed?

As the world has become dependent on information technology (IT), so has the federal government and its constituencies. Leveraged effectively, technical tools can engage the public, create cost savings, and improve outcomes. These benefits are obscured by regular reminders that federal IT is fundamentally flawed. It is too big to succeed,” said Zachary Bastian. TheRead… Read more »