One of the ways I know when issues people are facing become commonplace is when I hear the challenge being articulated a number of different ways. We read stories about the “enthusiasm gap” among various parts of the electorate. My foreign-born friends tell me about the “stale energy” they feel when visiting the US andRead… Read more »
It’s ironic that a competitive process could so quickly build community. One could imagine that with 8,500 applicants vying for some 850 spots, any candidate could rediscover his or her high-school-athletics-competitive streak. Yet, as nearly 75 of the “who’s who” at USC’s School of Policy Planning and Development listened to the application process for theRead… Read more »
For those in acquisition, we have to do a thing called a responsibility determination. It means the federal government considers the contractor able to fulfill a contract. The first step in doing this is checking the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS). Any contractor that is debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment is placed in thisRead… Read more »
The House passed a bill in June to revamp the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act. In late September, the Senate took steps to update it as well. Since these bills support the Administration’s efforts, there is a good likelihood that a GPRA refresh will pass. Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) summarized the need for aRead… Read more »
“Start your engines.” The phrase is on internal repeat this week as I dive headfirst into the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) application. While I’m not a huge NASCAR fan, the phrase seems appropriate, as it is certainly a long competition with the best of the best of graduate and professional level students who share theRead… Read more »
You can get a recap here by Ogilvy’s Kety Esquivel, as well as view a video podcast. The panelists were: – Alexander Howard, O’Reilly Media – Gwynne Kostin, U.S. General Services Administration – Micah Sifry, Personal Democracy Forum – Ari Melber, The Nation – Mark Murray, NBC News http://blog.ogilvypr.com/2010/09/gov-20-at-ogilvy-dc/ (Full disclosure: I am a NewRead… Read more »
So much for the Government/Non-Commerce track at the eMetrics conference in Arlington: Alex Langshur–usually well organized and thoughful–barfed a bunch on marginally related stuff under the topic “Using Analysis to Inform Public Policy Decisions. Dan Drury told us all about an insurance company’s site re-organization: “Web Effectiveness Scorecard”–not particularly specific. Ross Jenkins told all aboutRead… Read more »
Research 1. How does your state match up digitally? (09/28/2010) – 2010 Digital States survey evaluated states in eight categories, such as leadership and innovation; citizen engagement and open government; and administration and human resource management. Top Digital States: Michigan, Utah, Pennsylvania and Virginia. http://www.govtech.com/enterprise-technology/50-State-Report.html 2. Friends, Followers and Feeds (09/2010) – New study byRead… Read more »
During coaching, certain preconceived notions emerge around the issues that keep people from becoming all they can be. An idea that usually comes up early in the coaching process is the long-held belief that work is something you do to earn money while doing what you are good at and what you enjoy is reservedRead… Read more »
Like many of you, I was horrified by the recent NY Times article on the effects of drastic cuts in local and state government. “Reductions in force” (as government layoffs are called) have had a major impact on communities around the nation. So for, layoffs seemt to have mainly occurred in local and state governmentRead… Read more »