Weekly Round-up: April 14, 2011

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

• CIO Council Launches Best Practices Web site.  NextGov reports that a new site has lanuched to help federal IT managers.  
• Social Media at State, Half the World Away. An interesting article on the social media activities of the US State Department in New Zealand. 
• Deputy Mayor Stephen Goldsmith: Now on Video! Last week, Deputy Mayor Golsmith was featured on the Center's Radio show, this week, he's on CSPAN, via Alex Howard.
• What Makes Mobile Work in Government? Federal Computer Week reports on what the mobile apps offered by the federal government.

John Kamensky

• Performance Improvement Officers Key to Action. A survey released by the Partnership for Public Service, “A Critical Role at a Critical Time,” highlights the role of a relatively new agency position -- performance improvement officers -- in improving agency performance. Government Executive summed it up: “Federal Improvement Officers Stretched Too Thin, Study Says.” The Partnership held a forum to release the report and one performance officer said the job is like “solving a simultaneous equation.”
• GAO Validates OMB Approach to IT Oversight. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra has been touting the effectiveness of the governmentwide dashboard and TechStat review process for IT investments, testifying that the effort has saved $3 billion in recent months. Interestingly, GAO has released a new report “Information Technology: Continued Improvements in Investment Oversight and Management Can Yield Billions in Savings” that validates Kundra’s efforts (with the usual caveat that more could be done!).
• 100 Down, 700 to Go. Federal Times reports that the governmentwide effort to consolidate data centers from 2,094 to 1,294 is making progress. One hundred are to be closed this year, and the remaining 700 by 2015. But is this enough? In 1998, there were 432 data centers. Only the data center consolidation task force knows for sure!
• OMB Guidance Implementing the Plain Language Act. It’s out, and it’s clear!! Who is your agency’s Senior Official for Plain Writing?
• Updated List of Agency High Priority Performance Goals. First listed in the FY 2011 budget, agency high priority performance goals have been fine-tuned. Here’s a link, so if someone asks what your agency’s priority goals are, you have a crib sheet! 

Dan Chenok

• New Hill bill would increase CIO focus around accountability.
• DOD looking at various cloud options:.
• Oversight of cyber -- new role for DOD? 

Business of Government Radio Show: Dr. Robert Childs

The Business of Government Hour features a conversation about management with a government executive who is changing the way government does business. The executives discuss their careers and the management challenges facing their organizations. Past government executives include Administrators, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Commissioners, Controllers, Directors, and Undersecretaries.

Dr. Childs is the Senior Director of the Information Resources Management College (iCollege), and has recently been named Chancellor. Under his leadership, the college has become the international leader in providing graduate-level educational services and learning experiences in Information Assurance, Chief Information Officer, “E” Government, and strategic leader competencies to government employees; and was designated as a “National Center of Excellence in Information Assurance Education.” 

Each week, The Business of Government Hour interviews government executive who are changing the way government does business. The show airs four times a week on two radio stations in the DC Metro Area. If you can't wait, though, we also put it online. You can also search our audio archives for your favorite interview.