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 →
The Department of Labor has emerged as a leader in transforming crucial information buried in online PDF files or impenetrable government websites into new applications that widely distribute government data. Keep reading →
More federal managers view information technology as an opportunity than as a cost, according to a new survey released this week. But with so many other priorities on executives’ plates, and the sense that IT departments could be delivering more effectively than many are, technology leaders have their work cut out in demonstrating that IT can contribute to real cost savings or to better decision making.
More than two thirds of federal executives believe their IT departments understand their agency’s missions and grasp their agencies core challenges. Keep reading →
The U.S. Census Bureau is putting real-time economic statistics into the hands of Americans via a new mobile application called “America’s Economy.”
The new application, released today, will provide constantly updated statistics on the U.S. economy, including monthly economic indicators, trends, along with a schedule of upcoming announcements, according to Census officials. Keep reading →
Kathy Martinez may have been blind from birth, but she sees a lot. She sees the potential in all people, regardless of whether they have a disability. She recognizes the value of accessibility technology, and she’s a promoter of its adoption. She realizes that disabilities sometimes affect minorities more profoundly than others, and works to overcome that.
As the assistant secretary of Labor for the Office of Disability Employment Policy, Martinez has a power-perch from which to help advance the idea of inclusive hiring and technology to enable people to be fully productive. She’s traveled far from the production floor of a Kwikset door lock factory where she operated a punch press. Keep reading →
The Obama Administration has adopted a number of initiatives to promote smart, cost-justified regulation, according to a White House blog post today.
The president ordered an unprecedented government-review of existing rules in January, the post states, resulting in ambitious reform plans from more than two dozen agencies. The plans outline hundreds of cost-saving reforms, some of which will save more than $10 billion over the next five years, the post states. Keep reading →
Making federal government data more user-friendly and accessible to the public gives citizens an opportunity to ensure government accountability and encourages engagement and influence in the decision-making process.
According to the Mobile Gov Blog, Data.gov has been a tremendous asset in accomplishing this goal, allowing anyone to download government datasets, large and small, However, while experts on the data can extract a wealth of information and publish their findings for everyone else to consume, the same large datasets can pose a particular challenge for developers of mobile apps. Keep reading →