Leadership

Make Conversations Possible: What Open Standards and Open Source means to government and citizens

Over the past week, we have been inundated with articles surfacing in response to the UK government’s first open standards roundtable discussion hosted by the Cabinet Office that was held on the 4th of April. It was described as “a resounding call to scrap the government’s policy on open standards“, as Mark Ballard from ComputerRead… Read more »

Chicago-Based CrowdSpring Powers Free Creative Work For Nonprofits

Mark Drapeau (Washington, DC) — Even when a successful nonprofit takes in a lot of money, much of it is earmarked for carrying out their main mission. Things like advertising, design work, and other activities, while valuable, are expendable if funds are limited. Now, a creative services company is helping them, pro bono. Crowdspring– aRead… Read more »

We Need Public Financing Of Elections

Political campaigns are where power and cash meet. Politicians need lot’s of money to run for office. People seeking jobs or government business provide the money politicians need. The current campaign process truly is a “pay to play” system in that the best way to get a politicians attention is by donating money to theirRead… Read more »

HelpMeConsult: Independent Guide to Formal E-Consultation

Also announced today was HelpMeConsult, another online resource for online consultations. From the blog post: The second lanch is a solo project. It’s called ‘HelpMeConsult‘ and is an independent guide to (formal) eConsultation. It contains details of the various solutions, legal matters and tips/tactics. So, just another data push? Wrong! We’re adding a premium contentRead… Read more »

The Battle

When there is small hope, when all seems stacked against you, that is the time unknown and unexpected reserves will appear. They may be your family, your allies, your friends. They may come from a breath of wind in the spring. Folks in far places may surprise you. You are not alone. We are withRead… Read more »

Collaborating in a Hierarchical World

What are the key issues facing collaboration-minded managers in government? Two thoughtful academics identify what they think are the Top Ten and offer some advice on areas for future research. Drs. Rosemary O’Leary and Nidhi Vij presented a paper at the recent annual conference of the American Society for Public Administration, “Collaborative Public Management: WhereRead… Read more »

Recruiting for Culture

Recruiting has been interesting for Human Resources professionals over the past two to three years. It has definitely been an employer’s market. So many organizations have downsized, leaving a significant number of quality candidates in the job market. This economy has been tough, but I am a believer that it is turning around. With thatRead… Read more »

Frequently Asked Questions about Gov 2.0: How do we convince risk-averse management to say yes to social media initiatives?

This is the second in my series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) posts to address some of the ‘persistent’ questions related to social media and Government 2.0. The question I am addressing is “How do we convince risk-averse management to say yes to social media initiatives?” This is one of the most common questions IRead… Read more »

Making the Most out of Temporary Assignments

You’re given a temporary assignment. Maybe you’re an intern or a fellow. Maybe you’re a new employee who’s been given a wonderful opportunity to rotate through various departments – hopefully making you a well rounded employee down the road. I had the pleasure of talking with one of my coaching students this morning who isRead… Read more »