Weekly Round-Up: August 29, 2014

Gadi Ben Yehuda

State Tech Magazine publishes an article by Lindsay Crudele, Boston's digital engagement director for in their Department of Innovation and Technology, "Why Governments Should Adopt a Digital Engagement Strategy"  Related: In FCW, Colby Huchmuth asks: "Beyond BYOD: Who oversees the apps?" 

Wired offers this send-off to Todd Park, replete with a picture his new digital team, and touching on every major Gov 2.0 initiative of the past five years.   Related: FCW profiles "The women behind OSTP"  

Dan Chenok

Collaboration is the new normal for networks

DHS Official: Create a Governmentwide Seal of Approval for Apps

OMB to Congress: Fix 2015 budget to avoid return of limited sequester.  

John Kamensky

The Secret to Improving Performance.  Stephan Goldsmith, in Governing, highlights a new book on the evolution and use of PerformanceStat systems in government as a way of improving organizational performance.  Goldsmith, a former mayor of Indianapolis and former deputy mayor of New York City, observes that creating systems and processes aren’t the answer, that it takes leadership commitment because: “Common sense and innovative thinking cannot be codified.”

Social Media and Citizen Deliberation.  Greg Otto, in FedScoop, sums up a new Pew report, noting that: “Social media is very effective for calling people to action and encouraging activists to take stands. It turns out it’s not that great for deliberation,” said Lee Rainie, director of Internet, science and technology research at the Pew Research Center and a co-author of the study.

Why Contract Officers Fear Innovation.  Dan Verton, in FedScoop, writes that the 1,800 pages of rules in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) creates complexity and ambiguity.  He notes that “Complexity, coupled with stiff penalties for running afoul of the FAR, may be forcing an ultra-conservative approach to contracting. . . . ‘Contracting officers, legitimately, feel that it’s a difficult situation for them. Nobody wants to lose their warrant [or authority to contract on behalf of the government] and certainly nobody wants to go to jail or prison for making the wrong decision,’” observes [Wolfe] Tombe [chief technology officer at US Customs and Border Patrol].

Should Government Do Long-Range Planning?  Yes, says Dan Blair, president of the National Academy of Public Administration, in an article in Government Executive magazine.  Blair says that the five-year horizon required by law for agency strategic plans may not be enough, that some agencies need to look out one or two decades.

Obama and VA Culture of Accountability.  Gregory Korte, Federal Times, writes: “President Obama announced a new series of executive actions to help veterans Tuesday, telling veterans in Charlotte that he’s instituting a new “culture of accountability” at the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

ObamaCare and Accountability.  Putting someone in charge is often the first step in creating accountability for results.  And now that is being done. Rebecca Carroll, NextGov, reports that HHS has appointed a CEO to be in charge of the implementation of the federal insurance marketplace, healthcare.gov.  Kevin Counihan, who led the successful implementation of Connecticut’s version of the website last year, will be responsible for the federal site.

Unlocking Talent.  Katherine Archuleta, OPM Director, in a column for Government Executive, announces: “a new data tool to the agencies called UnlockTalent.gov {Note: requires a user account]. I am excited about this powerful new interactive dashboard because I think it will help federal leaders foster a culture of excellence and high performance at each and every agency.”

The Business of Government Radio Show: Conversations with Authors - Professor Harry Lambright on Leaders and Leadership - Lessons from Robert Gates, Francis Collins, and NASA Administrators

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