Flood insurance? Bank deposit insurance? Pension guarantees? Home loan guarantees? . . . No private sector business will take on some risks that the federal government agrees to bear on behalf of the broader society – at least not at an affordable price. So government, by nature, oftentimes puts itself at financial or reputationalRead… Read more »
By Charmaine Richman, PhD, Program Manager With Labor Day weekend over, it’s full steam ahead for government agencies and those who support them. For some, telework will be part of the mix as teams manage the fiscal year-end rush. Recently I started supporting a federal agency where telework is encouraged and systems are inRead… Read more »
A binder of org charts and history on a federal agency is one way to greet a new person to a job in the public sector. I think my team mentioned the existence of such a hefty introduction when I joined two years ago. I never saw it, but I also didn’t think I neededRead… Read more »
By Koi Hernandez, Design Fellow at GovDelivery With Google now automatically showing images in emails, email marketing has taken a turn for a more visual and captivating approach. In a previous GovDelivery post on various image file types, we learned about the “faster loading cousin” of the .PNG, the .GIF. GIFs can and have alwaysRead… Read more »
The fiscal year is quickly coming to a close and you know what that means: its Fantasy Football time! There is nothing more American than rooting for your favorite team to win on Sundays… as long they win without the Quarterback throwing any touchdowns because he’s on your friend’s fantasy team and you’re playing thatRead… Read more »
We are a few weeks into the new school year, with all the back to school shopping and morning bus rides that come with it. Going back to school isn’t just for students, though. As students, those schools gave us the skills we need. As professionals, our alumni networks are a tremendous professional resource. TheRead… Read more »
As you near retirement age, there are a number of different factors you’ll likely be thinking about. You might realize that you aren’t as financially prepared to retire as you had anticipated, you might have trepidation about not having something to occupy your day, or you might just really like your job. If you fallRead… Read more »
At Helpful HQ we’re a big fan of tools like the Lean Canvas or our friends Comms2Point0′s Comms Planning tool (PDF). A simple plan on a page or two that sets out what you’re trying to achieve, how you’ll know if you’ll achieve it, and what you’ll do to get there is more useful thanRead… Read more »
For most purchasing professionals in the public sector, solicitations and open bid processes are “just the way things have always been done.” Open solicitations are a way for governments to protect themselves, ensure transparency, show good stewardship of public funds and give the best value for monies spent. There is also a trickle-up benefit toRead… Read more »
A coffee, a run, meditation…. We all need one thing to get our brains working early in the morning. For me, it’s a long, scalding hot shower. But as a native of California, which is experiencing one of the most severe droughts in the state’s history, my long morning shower is a thing of theRead… Read more »