Empowering Change: Fostering Innovation in the Australian Public Service

The Australian Public Service (APS) Management Advisory Committee (MAC) last year commissioned a report on public sector innovation and what could be done to encourage innovation in the APS. That report, Empowering Change: Fostering Innovation in the Australian Public Service, has now been released. The report looks at the innovation ‘state of play’ in AustraliaRead… Read more »

Living on Lilypads!?

Japanese scientists, engineers and financiers have already charted their course and set sail on the botanical city. Forget about that tall building in Dubai, and picture a 3,330 ft. tower and a vertical farm (complete with cornfields and a livestock ranch) floating on a concrete lilypad in the middle of the ocean. By the yearRead… Read more »

Thad Allen will continue as oil spill response chief

Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad W. Allen will continue to serve as President Obama’s point man on the Gulf Coast oil spill after he retires later this month, the administration said Thursday. Obama tapped Allen last month to serve as national incident commander when he labeled the spill an “incident of national significance.” Such incidentsRead… Read more »

Official: Contractors will still play ‘a vital role’

By The Post’s Federal Diary columnist Joe Davidson: The mix of government work done by federal employees and that done by outside contractors is out of balance, but the right balance doesn’t necessarily mean having those employees do more of the contractors’ work, the Obama administration planned to tell Congress Thursday. “While contractors play, andRead… Read more »

The People Side of Change in Technology Implementations

The Enterprise Resource Planning systems (ERP) market is now worth upwards of $21 billion. Going into 2008, Cambridge, Mass.-based market researcher Forrester predicted a compound annual growth rate of 4.2 percent for ERP solution packages, and that number has continued to climb. The use of technology in the workplace is expanding at an astounding rate.Read… Read more »

ONGOING CRISIS AT NATION’S FEDERAL PRISON SYSTEM TO BE DISCUSSED ON AFGE’S RADIO SHOW

GovLoop Social Media Platform for Public Workers also to be Discussed on “Inside Government” (WASHINGTON) Serious staffing and funding shortfalls and an increase in violence at the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) will be discussed this week on the American Federation of Government Employees’ (AFGE) “Inside Government” radio show. The show will air on Friday, MayRead… Read more »

EXPANDING DEFINITION OF INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL AND PROMOTING INSOURCING MUST BE TOP PRIORITIES, SAYS AFGE

Largest Federal Employee Union testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia (WASHINGTON)—Citing the loss of public control over important and sensitive functions in all federal agencies, the American Federation of Government Employees, today, detailed specific recommendations for rebalancing the federal government’s civil service andRead… Read more »

OPEN COMPETITION, VETERANS’ PREFERENCE MUST BE UPHELD IN FEDERAL HIRING REFORM, SAYS AFGE

Union Supports Efforts to Modernize Hiring Process Washington) – The American Federation of Government Employees, today, testified before the House Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, the Postal Service, and the District of Columbia House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on reforming the federal hiring process. “AFGE supports the Obama administration’s efforts to modernize, simplify, andRead… Read more »