Weekly Round-up: July 15, 2011

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

• Why, Yes, We Do Have a Web Site for That.  As one of his parting gifts, Vivek Kundra has given Americans a complete listing of all 1,759 federal government Web sites, including the site detailing the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, http://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov, which is pronounced pretty much exactly as it's spelled. Listen.
• Is It a Swan Song If No One Hears? While much of national attention was elsewhere, Kundra gave what is likely to be his last testimony as Federal CIO: “Transparency and Federal Management IT Systems”  Federal Computer Week captures Kundra's top-10 lessons learned.
• Are You a (Web) Wise Guy? As the federal government is trying to consolidate its Web sites, New York City is asking citizens to help 'reinvent' NYC.gov.  Do you think you can help overhaul Gotham's online empire?  Can you at least tell them what to avoid?

Dr. John Bordeaux

• The newest nation launches with style amidst trepidation.
• Less than a month following Pandora's IPO, Spotify lands on US shores.
• Todd Park leads HHS' Health Data Initiative, taking a platform approach and aiming to create the "NOAA of health data."

Dan Chenok

• OMB puts more detail behind plans to streamline Federal websites.
• Senate Armed Services Committee looks for reduction in DOD service contract spending.
• Van Hitch reflects on a successful, long tenure as DOJ CIO

John Kamensky

• Creating a Council to Coordinate Federal-State Priorities?  I attended a conference comparing international experiences in performance budgeting and one of the speakers from Australia talked about how his country’s federal and state governments have a Council for Federal Financial Relations.  In the US, there’s no national forum to talk about common federal and state outcomes.  In fact, some states want to sue the federal government over spending issues! This Council sounds like an intriguing idea! 
• Global Open Government Social Media Initiative.  In keeping with the international theme, Secretary Hillary Clinton has joined forces with other countries in sponsoring an Open Government Partnership.  According to Federal Computer Week’s Alice Lipowicz, the kickoff involved 90 officials from around the world and they also have their own Facebook and Twitter account! 
• GAO Report on Reorganizing Feds Around the World.  And finally, in the international theme this week, be sure to read GAO’s  Interagency Collaboration: Implications of a Common Alignment of World Regions among Select Federal Agencies.  This report reminds me of when the federal government, in President Nixon’s time, aligned all agencies’ field regions into 10 regions so they could be co-located in major cities.  Now, almost 40 years later, here’s a report hinting about the need to align federal agencies in various continents!

The Business of Government Radio Show: Stephen Goldsmith

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.

Stephen Goldsmith, the Deputy Mayor of New York City, is focused on creating a City government for the 21st Century that is smaller, more efficient, and more cost effective; uses fewer vehicles; consolidates back office functions and reduces redundancies across agencies; shares data, and uses technology to better serve the public.

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.