Weekly Round-up: May 02, 2014

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

• A Typology of Digital Workers.  Are you (or your colleagues) digital natives? digital immigrants?  Perhaps digital holdouts?  Take a look The Five Categories of Digital Workers.
• Maybe the Holdouts Are on to Something. Alex Howard has not one, but two great articles this week.  One on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) discussion of new report on big data and privacy.  The other on the House's passage of DATA.
• Trust (a Tweet) but Verify.  A new Chrome extension allows people to see tweets' credibility.  Since it uses open voting, however, look for this tool to be gamed.
• Google+ Lead Leaves Google.  Vic Gundotra, the engineering lead of Google+, is leaving the company "to pursue new ventures." Fast Company and Shashi Bellamkonda share their persepctives.

Dan Chenok

• DOD research leader talks about applying R&D to the real world.
• DHS issues memo with new management memo, reflects Sec. Johnson's approach to "unity of effort" across the Department.
• Another attempt to revive the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (where I started my government career!) falls short.

John Kamensky

• Management Matters.  John Harwood, a political columnist for the New York Times, writes an op-ed highlighting three seasoned leaders in the Obama Administration who are the point people for implementing major initiatives.   Not often a political columnist extols the value of management!!
• Customer Service Improvement. The President’s FY 2015 budget highlights improved customer service as one of four management priorities.  Here is a YouTube video of corporate leaders who are members of the President’s Management Advisory Board offering their insights on approaches agencies might take.
• DATA Act Implementation.  Jason Miller, Federal News Radio, summarizes some of the key implementation challenges for a bill on the President’s desk awaiting signature.  The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act will require a high degree of standardized financial reporting around grants, contracts, and interagency funding transfers.
• IT Savings Left on Table.  Federal Times reports that a new study by MeriTalk and Brocade concludes:  “By making the most of consolidation, virtualization, cloud computing, remote access, and infrastructure diversification, federal network managers believe they could save about 24 percent of their IT budgets, or $19.7 billion annually. That’s more than double current savings estimates.
• Defense Health Agency Identifies Billions in Savings. Lauren Larson, Federal News Radio, reports: “The Defense Health Agency is predicting savings of more than $2.4 billion in the next five years by reducing duplication between the services through consolidation and common business practices.”
• New Award for Public Engagement.  An article in American City & County announces: “the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School is pleased to announce the Roy and Lila Ash Innovations Award for Public Engagement in Government, a special $100,000 award in public engagement and participation.”

Michael Keegan

DoD acquisition reform providing a few glimmers of progress 
Five years after Congress passed an attempt to fix the Defense Department's acquisition system, some signs indicate the reforms may be paying off. 

DATA Act victory sets stage for expected tough implementation 
Now that the three-year effort to get the DATA ACT passed is complete, the hard work begins to make it a reality. 

Top 2 Pentagon intelligence officials quitting 
The three-star Army general who has headed the Defense Intelligence Agency for less than two years is being nudged aside amid conflict within the agency and between the general and leaders elsewhere in the intelligence community, a senior defense official said Wednesday. Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn and the DIA's civilian deputy director, David Shedd, announced in a joint statement to the agency's workforce that they plan to retire by early fall. They made no reference to their reasons. 

White House ‘Big Data’ Report Calls for Updated Laws
Officials recommended turning Obama's "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights" into federal law, and creating a law requiring disclosure of security breaches. The White House on Thursday released a sweeping review of “big data” practices that calls for an update to privacy laws. Officials who conducted the review recommended that Congress enact legislation based on the “Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights” that President Obama first introduced in 2012.The report also calls for a law to create notification requirements for companies that suffer data breaches and urges an update to a decades-old statute that allows warrantless access to emails.

The Business of Government Radio Show: Chris Mihm

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

What are the fiscal, management, and performance challenges facing government executives? What is the goal of GAO's High Risk List and what are some of the key “high risk” areas? How can audit agencies change the way they do business to properly respond to 21st century governance challenges? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Chris Mihm, Managing Director, Strategic Issues, Government Accountability Office.

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.