Communications, Human Resources, Leadership, Miscellaneous, Tech

5 actions human services agencies should take now to make the most of the ACA

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will expand health coverage in the United States by more than 35 million people. This expansion requires states to take a fresh look at eligibility and customer service operations, and develop new business processes for interacting with stakeholders. Existing IT systems are outdated, and under-resourced state agencies are challenged byRead… Read more »

Leadership, Tech

Field trip: City Hall

Pre-field trip: Debate on dress code – Blazers vs. Track Jackets Travel: Muni with clipper card tutorials for the bikers. SF City Hall Wiki trivia: Dome is the fifth largest in the world. Conference room: Freezing, fellows glad they had track jackets. Speakers: Steve Cawa – Chief of Staff to Mayor Lee Jay Nath –Read… Read more »

Career, Leadership, Miscellaneous

Do You Have To Be Narcissistic To Be An Elected Official?

Don Hambrick Professor of Management at the Smeal College of Business at Penn State has studied how damaging Narcissistic CEOs can be to their companies. Hambrick defines a narcissist as someone showing the following four personality characteristics: (1) Exploitativeness/Entitlement –> I insist upon getting the respect that is due to me; (2) Leadership/Authority –> IRead… Read more »

Communications, Social Media, Tech

Is Social Media Useful for Engaging Your Constituents?

Town hall meetings, Twitter, hotlines, e-mail… The list of potential lines of communication goes on. There are more open lines of communication between agencies and the citizens they serve than ever before. Since the advent of the Internet, they are constantly evolving, particularly social media, to better serve the public will. But are we betterRead… Read more »

Acquisition, Career, Human Resources, Miscellaneous, Tech

Purchasing preferences for veteran-owned businesses on the rise

Deltek Sr. Analyst Kyle Ridley reports. As the unemployment rate for Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans continues to climb, more states and localities are establishing purchasing preferences for veteran-owned businesses (VOBs). Current-war veteran unemployment is more than four percentage points higher than the national average of 8.5 percent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13.1Read… Read more »

Career, Human Resources, Project Management

To Dream is to Question

More research indicating that our inner capabilities for perception, understanding, and imagination are not three separate activities in our brains – but rather an intertwined set of abilities directed at prediction. We have an efficiency unmatched by any computer: we notice and process only that information about our world that does not match our predictiveRead… Read more »

Project Management, Tech

GovBytes: Street Surveillance – Good Governance or Poor Policy?

In a post 9/11 world, surveillance is becoming prominent as more resources are allocated to fighting terrorism. There are those who oppose surveillance, such as street cameras, out of fear that the government is becoming too powerful. There is also concern that increased surveillance may be bad fiscal policy. Government Technology reported that a 2005Read… Read more »

Career, Communications, Human Resources, Tech

No rules here – we’re trying to accomplish something!

Edison’s quote about trying to accomplish things has always been one of my favourites. For me it highlights the problems that can occur when rules, guidelines and parameters are applied to something as fluid as engaging online. One of the things I find people ask for most when devising a ‘social strategy’ are previous examplesRead… Read more »