Put Your Civics Where Your Houseplant Is

The core assumption of engagement applications is that people will do an activity consistently and repeatedly if you just structure the experience and incentivize it correctly — even if it’s asinine. The justification for civic engagement apps can be similarly foolish: people will perform a potentially beneficial activity that they aren’t currently doing if weRead… Read more »

Labor Goes High-Tech: Nation’s largest federal employees union extends its reach through technology

The Information Services department at the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) headquarters in Washington, D.C., is seeking to streamline the online content found on AFGE local websites with content and updates from AFGE National. This product, named LaborWeb will considerably simplify the process of creating a website for a local, as well as createRead… Read more »

Protecting IT Assets From a Hurricane: A How To Guide

Zetta Offers Reliable Offsite Backup During a Disaster Author: Nick Mueller, Zetta.net When the local news starts reporting that a tropical storm or hurricane will make landfall near your town, do you know how to protect your company’s IT assets? If you do, congrats! This post isn’t for you. If not, here are some suggestions.Read… Read more »

The Business of IT – A Tale of Two Strategies

Developing a strategy to progress towards a desired end result is just one component of a successful program. Crafting plans and successfully implementing those plans are equally critical. In my Summer 2012 column in FedTech Magazine, I evaluated two recent strategies issued by the Federal CIO to assess the likelihood of their success. What doRead… Read more »

Go (South by South)West, Gov 2.0!

As in prior years,South by Southwest (SXSW, or just SX for initiates) is crowdsourcing their panel selection, and as in prior years, there is a host of Gov 2.0-related offerings. Of the 3,123 proposals this year, 82 have been tagged as “Government or Citizen Engagement.” Those tagged include presentations on law, coding, public participation, openRead… Read more »

GAO Report Signals Opportunity for Contractors in Agile Software Development

Applying agile software development methods to IT projects has been a hot topic as of late at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The agency recently unveiled a report highlighting its 32 tips for applying agile development to help improve how the federal government will develop and implement IT infrastructure projects. Specifically, these tips focus onRead… Read more »

2012 AWRA Summer Conference Student Presenter Winners

Originally posted to AWRA Water Resources Blog AWRA convened two Summer Specialty Conferences this year and each one held a Student Presenter Competition. We wish to congratulate the winners of each. A total of thirty-two students participated during both conferences in both oral and poster sessions. Conference attendees were given the opportunity to judge theRead… Read more »

Mentor-Protégé Programs Provide Opportunity for Small Businesses

When doing business with government, it’s not always easy for small businesses to get a leg up. Prime contractors have the resources, relationships and tools for capturing significant pieces of business, which can leave smaller contractors behind. Thanks to mentor-protégé programs, small contractors can compete more successfully and develop the innovations that government needs byRead… Read more »