Weekly Round-up: August 09, 2013

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

• A Guide for e-Petitions.  America Speaks has released a report,“Government Sponsored E-Petitions: A Guide for Implementation and Development,” which according to that organization's Elana Goldstein, "serves as a guide for public managers who are interested in e-petition design and implementation. The guide breaks down the key decision areas that a public manager may face throughout the implementation process. In addition, the guide includes three case studies, each of which examines a different governmental entity’s approach to e-petition implementation."
• Hacking for Good.  The CEO of PublicStuff, Lily Liu, write in Huffington Post about "When Hacking Is Actually a Good Thing: The Civic Hacking Movement."
• Related: Resources for eGov, OpenGov, Gov20: In June, the MPA @ UNC shared a good list of resources for people who wanted to learn more and then participate in various digital government programs.

John Kamensky

• Developing a Common Operating Picture. A new GAO report describes the status of the U.S. Coast Guard’s progress in developing an approach to sharing strategic information across its various commands via the creation of what it calls a “common operating picture.”  This multi-million dollars system is a visual map of information that it also shares with it maritime partners, such as ports and harbors, in order to ensure everyone is “on the same page” when it comes to understanding what is going on in the maritime environment.
• Nine Ways to Better Government.  Michael O’Connell, Federal News Radio, reports that the Partnership for Public Service and Booz Allen have released a report detailing nine strategies the federal government could adopt that could save money by moving from agency-based approaches to cross-agency, governmentwide, or “enterprise,” approaches.  The report builds on authorities created under the GPRA Modernization Act.
• Federal CIO Council Reorganizes. Jason Miller, Federal News Radio, reports that the federal Chief Information Officers Council has reorganized, moving from five committees to three:  Innovation, portfolio management, and information security & identify management.
• IT Contracts Portal at GSA.  Andy Medici, Federal Times, writes that the General Services Administration launched a new online portal -- the IT Solutions Navigator -- “designed to help agencies figure out the best procurement vehicle for their IT needs.”  The portal “will also provide agencies with market research tools and video tutorials.”
• Scandal Management 101.  Mark Funkhouser, director of the Governing Institute, offers a cautionary note worth remembering:  “State and local government leaders watching the scandal over the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) targeting of conservative groups should know this: Somewhere in most larger governments is a festering problem that is going to look really ugly when it inevitably is brought to light. This is most likely to happen because a bureaucratic system has been strained to the failing point. When it fails, the result may or may not be branded a scandal, depending on how salacious and embarrassing that failure can be made to seem and what advantage the relevant political players might stand to gain or lose, but it certainly won’t be pretty.”
• Worst Job in DC. Lauren French, Politico, writes that John Koskinen has been named by President Obama to be the next IRS commissioner:  ““John is an expert at turning around institutions in need of reform,” Obama said in a statement. “With decades of experience in both the private and public sectors John knows how to lead in difficult times, whether that means ensuring new management or implementing new checks and balances.”

The Business of Government Radio Show: Paul S. Bartley

The Business of Government Hour features a conversation about management with a government executive who is changing the way government

Paul S. Bartley is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Support in the Department of Health and Human Services. What is shared services and its benefits? How does HHS’s Program Support Center manage the business of government? How is PSC using technology to streamline operations, increase efficiencies, and reduce costs? Join host Michael Keegan and he explores these questions and so much more with Paul Bartley, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Program Support at U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, and director of its Program Support Center.

Broadcast Schedule: The show airs Monday at 11 a.m., and Wednesday at noon, on Federal News Radio 1500AM WFED

If you can't wait, though, you can listen to (or download) this week's program and all our previous interviews at businessofgovernment.org and by searching our audio archives.