While President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner continue to push ahead with negotiations over federal revenues and spending, federal workers have also been offering up ideas to curb government spending.
And the ideas of four federal employees are up for a public vote this week, the White House announced today. (The public has until noon, Dec. 21, to vote.) Keep reading →
This is the first in a series of articles about innovation at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
A collaborative effort to combine data previously scattered across multiple federal agencies has led to a single portal where veterans can access key benefits. Keep reading →
Nearly 169,000 federal employees are teleworking at least one day a week but there is a long way to go before the government’s entire workforce of 2.1 million can join the office of the 21st century, OPM said in a report to Congress.
The 2012 Status of Telework in the Federal Government report to Congress, released on July 6, is the first comprehensive look at the government’s telework world and the emerging changes in a culture that once required federal employees to physically be in the office at all times. Keep reading →
This is one in a series of profiles on the 2012 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal finalists. The awards, presented by the nonprofit Partnership for Public Service, recognize outstanding federal employees whose important, behind-the-scenes work is advancing the health, safety and well-being of Americans and are among the most prestigious honors given to civil servants. This profile features a finalist for the Call to Service Medal, Deborah Temkin, Research and Policy Coordinator for Bullying Prevention Initiatives at the Department of Education in Washington, D.C.
Lady Gaga may be a high-profile public face in the fight against bullying, but 26-year-old Deborah Temkin is playing an important parallel role in making it a topic for national action.
An expert on the subject at the Department of Education, Temkin delves into the research on bullying, and offers information and guidance to top leaders on what is relevant to policy and programs. She also provides advice on what federal, state and local governments can do to take action to prevent further victimization. Keep reading →
This is the fifth in a series of profiles of innovative leaders in government based on interviews for the book Paths to Making a Difference: Leading in Government by Paul R. Lawrence and Mark A. Abramson. The book highlights the management lessons of 24 political executives during their first two years in the Obama administration. Marc Andersen collaborated with them on this article.
Innovation is an important topic. All organizations want to do more of it, including the federal government. Like the proverbial elephant, everybody has a slightly different take on innovation and what it looks like. Keep reading →
The TechAmerica Foundation announced key recommendations on Friday for research initiatives and policies to enhance education across the nation through technology.
The recommendations came from a report compiled by the Recommendations for Education and Advancement of Learning (REAL) Agenda Commission, made up of leaders in science and technology in government and industry. Their intent is to advance the goals of Digital Promise, a national center founded to spur breakthrough technologies that aims to transform the way teachers teach and students learn. Keep reading →
This is the fourth in a series of profiles of innovative leaders in government based on interviews for the book “Paths to Making a Difference: Leading in Government” by Paul R. Lawrence and Mark A. Abramson. The book highlights the management lessons of 24 political executives during their first two years in the Obama administration.
Undertaking innovation in government is a challenge. Government leaders must work with their existing tool kit, primarily grants and contracts, to bring about their desired results. It is rare that Congress gives government new authorities and a new portfolio of tools. (One exception is the creation of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy in the Department of Energy). Keep reading →
Every time Education Secretary Arne Duncan and his department make a decision that affects local schools, he remembers that he once “lived on the other side of the law.”
That is, he served as superintendent and CEO of the Chicago Public Schools for eight years before coming to Washington to run the Department of Education, and he worked in education for more than a decade before that. He knows what life is like for educators who have to carry out policies developed in Washington. Keep reading →
Not long after Sheila Bair was appointed to chair the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 2006, senior officials at the FDIC sat down in a series of meetings to discuss what to do about a disturbing statistic.
“We couldn’t figure out why our agency was 25th in the rankings” of employee satisfaction, recalled Ira Kitmacher, manager for culture change and senior adviser at FDIC. Keep reading →
Last week, my organization and Deloitte released a snapshot of the Best Places to Launch a Career in the Federal Government.
The good news for government is that a majority of new federal employees under the age of 30 report high levels of overall satisfaction when it comes to their specific jobs and agencies. Keep reading →