Contracting issues will be on the front burner of the Obama administration, and the stakes are large. With the passage of the Stimulus Bill, having an effective federal contracting function will be critical to the success of the Bill. While many observers see the current federal contracting system as broken, the seminar participants identified aRead… Read more »
I’m starting a new series called “Project of the Week.” Basically, it’s a follow-up to “Member of the Week” where currently GovLoop Community Leaders interview members The idea for “Project of the Week” is GovLoop Community Leaders will interview/highlight a project from a GovLoop member. Could be a new website, a new HR initiative, aRead… Read more »
March 2nd is the deadline to submit research proposals to the IBM Center for The Business of Government. Coinciding with the inauguration of a new President, the financial crisis, stimulus bill and other new developments, we are particularly eager to receive proposals focusing on five cross-cutting management issues: Contracting and acquisition E-Government, Web 2.0 andRead… Read more »
Has anyone read or glanced at an “Images of America” book featuring any of many places in the U.S.? I’m working on Pine City’s version of the book. I was just wondering what everyone else thought of the series and whether anyone out there had ideas or suggestions for me.
Let’s get transparency right. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passed this Friday the 11th, requires an extraordinary level of “transparency” on the part of federal, state and local agencies. Title XV embodies the transparency requirements. Section 1511 requires that all local and state governments receiving funding for infrastructure investment, must certify: “..thatRead… Read more »
Shelley spoke yesterday to the government-wide Performance Improvement Council about her report and recommendations. The members, including OMB staff, were very receptive to her insights and many thought that they could begin acting on her ideas even before a Chief Performance Officer is appointed! Read the report here.
The Center is mentioned in an article in Government Executive by Alyssa Rosenberg about good government groups banding together to make government better. She writes, “despite their varied agendas, think tanks, nonprofits and associations are banding together under one overarching theme – to make government better. Like any Cabinet chief or agency leader, they areRead… Read more »
This is a short and to the point document that focuses on management in Washington. Here are the first two paragraphs of the 11 page document. The transition from campaign to governing requires that presidential policies be transformed from rhetoric into an actionable agenda and then into concrete results. Neither good policies nor sound investmentsRead… Read more »
Peer to Patent / Community Review BACKGROUND: Software and algorithms used to be unpatentable. Recent court decisions and patent-office rule-making has made software the fastest growing patent category. In 1991 the patent office was cut off from general tax revenues and required to subsist entirely on fees for its operating budget. The political argument wasRead… Read more »
In the UK a Power of Information Taskforce has been looking at the use of web 2.0 technologies for public service purposes. I am providing part of the secretariat to the Taskforce. Yesterday we published a detailed report, in a form which encourages others to comment, and a set of recommendations. The report is availableRead… Read more »