Inspector General Finds Power Grid Cyber Security Lacking

A report by the Department of Energy (DOE) Inspector General, released yesterday, revealed gaps in the way the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is implementing cyber security standards for the United States’ power grid. The audit revealed a number of issues with both the standards and their implementation. The implementation approach and schedule for criticalRead… Read more »

The Federal Coach: Setting Goals: An Interview with the Head of the Millennium Challenge Corporation

Daniel W. Yohannes is the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. foreign aid agency that works to promote poverty reduction in developing countries through economic growth. Prior to this role, Yohannes worked in banking and economic development for more than thirty years. A native of Ethiopia, Yohannes is also an active philanthropistRead… Read more »

How The Washington Humane Society Brands Social Engagements

Katherine Kennedy (Washington, DC) — Brands with a genuine “cool factor” or a hip CEO have no problem drawing fashionable tastemakers to their social events. But other brands, particularly in the public and volunteer sectors, have valid and interesting causes and missions but must work harder to draw an influential crowd to their digital orRead… Read more »

Re-Assessing Green Building Performance

The GSA recently released a report called Re-Assessing Green Building Performance. In it, the GSA looks at sustainably designed buildings and find that they use less energy and water, cost less to maintain, and have occupants that are satisfied when compared to typical buildings. We’ve posted the report over on the CEIL site, so thatRead… Read more »

Learning, knowledge and the ‘net

I had the pleasure earlier today to speak at a meeting of the Scottish Knowledge Management Network (link requires sign-in) in Aberdeen, hosted by the very generous SubSea7. My slides are embedded below. If you can’t see them, there’s a PDF here. My main points were: The internet has knowledge sharing and learning in itsRead… Read more »

The Federal Agency’s Hierarchy of Needs: How “Higher-Level” Needs and Activities Can Help Secure “Lower-Level” Needs

The Phase One team has had another productive year helping the Forest Service streamline and automate their processes surrounding the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). We’ve helped our clients leverage data that is entered to comply with legal mandates into useful information for their public websites; we have given them tools to make their proceduresRead… Read more »

What Obesity Tells Us About Our Leadership and Our Lives

With First Lady Michelle Obama’s spotlight honed on the issues of childhood obesity, access to healthy food choices and exercise as an issue of “national security,” perhaps we should ask why this continues to be an issue plaguing Americans. Not only is the United States home to the greatest number of obese people, the secondRead… Read more »

Virginia is for lovers entrepreneurs

In an announcement made earlier this week, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell unveiled a revamped website for business owners and potential entrepreneurs looking to start a business in the Commonwealth. The governor said the new website is designed to be the one and only stop for interested businesses. Virginia Business One Stop combines the needed formsRead… Read more »

Social media strategy seminar roundup

Photo by @bredadoherty The seminar yesterday in Edinburgh went pretty well, I think. We had a great turnout – about 30 people – which was surprising as we were only expecting 25, and meant we had to find some extra room. Luckily the staff at COSLA were very accommodating! Thanks also to Mike and theRead… Read more »

Happy Chinese New Year 2011

Wishing everyone the best on this Chinese New Year. Visit the Holiday Spot website for a history of this holiday. 2011 is the year of the rabbit on the Chinese calendar. Happy New Year! Original post