The Business of Defense Business Transformation

No one in the Department of Defense owns “transformation.” The term is used freely by just about anyone who wishes to make a significant change in the Department. Changes attempted under the banner of “transformation” are as varied as the people who use the word. We assume that most “transformations” are attempts to make theRead… Read more »

KSAs out, TalentLink in at Homeland Security

Sharie Bourbeau, Deputy Under Secretary for Management at DHS, told FederalNewsRadio, the largest non-military department in the federal government is doing away with the KSA, the dreaded Knowledge, Skills and Abilities portion of their job application. In order to “compete in this labor market with private industry to ensure that we get the top talent,”Read… Read more »

Gov 2.0: Stay Wired to Share

from adrielhampton.com – Last evening I was reminded about a point Canadian govie Nick Charney made in a recent chat – tools like Twitter are fantastic for connecting those in government (or anywhere, really) who are “wired to share.” That resonates with my strong opinion that “Government 2.0″ is about a culture, not any particularRead… Read more »

Federal Eye: Eye Opener: Feds (allegedly) behaving badly

Happy Wednesday! (Unless maybe you live in Rio.) Perhaps it’s just unfortunate coincidence, but there are at least four cases of former federal employees in trouble with the law this week for allegedly committing acts against the government. Let’s review (in alphabetical order): • P. Leonardo Mascheroni: Investigators have seized the physicist’s property, telling himRead… Read more »

Public Intelligence: How It Can Work

I’ve been contemplating the notion of “public intelligence” in the context of government transparency. Public documents and data play a lead role for both government and non-governmental organizations alike. They create an Internet data space that offers information about public concerns, while at the same time providing this information for public use with added analyticalRead… Read more »

Video on Harrisonburg Summits – Open Space Meetings Hosted by Mayor

I’m excited about this 3-minute video that captures the energy at a Harrisonburg Summit. You’ll see footage from my Mayor’s Sustainability Summit, which is archived online. I was honored to have Harrison Owen, the founder of Open Space Technology, come visit me to give guidance on how to design the first summit. Over 150 peopleRead… Read more »

Meet the Beefalo: A Hybrid Approach to Outsourced Municipal IT Services

By Sophicity. The 17th century saw the widespread introduction of domesticated cows to North American shores by English settlers. However, over the next century it became clear that while the cows were docile and produced good milk and meat, they were not particularly well suited to the harsh winters of the New World and consumedRead… Read more »