Weekly Round-Up: August 22, 2014

Staffing the U.S. Digital Service Office.  According to Jason Miller, Federal News Radio: “The Office of Management and Budget today announced Mikey Dickerson will be the administrator of the U.S. Digital Service and the deputy federal chief information officer.”  Former OMB executive, Steve Kelman, offers some advice on how he can be successful: “look for agency volunteers for his team's help on projects before imposing himself.”

Is Telework in Danger?  The recent Washington Post story by Lisa Rein about the abuse of telework at the Patent and Trademark Office has led to some demanding clarification, and others saying this is a management, not a telework, problem.  Nevertheless, a congressional oversight committee is “demanding answers.”

Saving $3 Billion a Year Using Mobile Phones.  Colby Hochmuth, Federal Computer Week, writes that the Army is replacing old bar code scanners with soldiers’ mobile phone devices to help inventory equipment. Replacing the existing paper-based system will reduce errors and save money.

Dropping Crime Rate Changes Role of Prosecutors.  Heather McDonald, in a Los Angeles Times op-ed, observes that, with the use of predictive analytics in policing, the crime rate is dropping.  As a result, another part of the justice system – prosecutors – are finding that they too need to change their roles and behavior from just prosecuting crimes to helping prevent them.

Defense Starting to Worry About Sequester.  While Congress suspended the 10-year sequester for 2014 and 2015, But Defense News reports that Defense planners are already worrying about what happens in 2016 as they prepare their long-range budgets. One Army general said: “it is ‘virtually impossible right now to make a strategic decision’ due to funding unpredictability.”

The Business of Government Radio Show: Conversation with David Robinson, Associate Administrator, Mission Support, Federal Emergency Management Agency

What are the strategic priorities of FEMA’s Mission Support Bureau? How is FEMA’s Mission Support Bureau providing the support, tools, and resources that ensure FEMA meets its mission? What is FEMA doing to improve its operational performance?

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.