IBM Center for the Business of Government

Last week, I wrote about 3D Printing Plus and the creation of a market place that I call “Products-on-Demand” (hereafter, “PonD”.) This week, I’m going to write about what that market will look like in, say, five years when it’s much further along. Specifically, I’m going to explore what the technology will enable (with emphasis on some of the other trends I’ve detailed: always-on connected computers and networked sensors); how people and companies will use that technology for personal and professional ends; and government’s role in fostering and participating in the space.

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This is the fifth in a six-part series examining how innovation and social media are changing how agencies operate,
originally published by the IBM Center for the Business of Government. For more news and insights on innovations at work in government, please sign up for the AOL Gov newsletter. For the quickest updates, like us on Facebook.

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Governments at many levels have proven themselves to be instrumental in developing both a national and local software-developing community. Competitions like The Big App and Apps for Democracy have spread knowledge of government data sets as well as provided money and recognition to software-development firms. Forward-looking CIOs and CTOs realized that software-both its development and the finished product-could spur innovation and economic activity. They also realized that government could help the software-development community.
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This is the fourth in a six-part series examining how innovation and social media are changing how agencies operate, originally published by the IBM Center for the Business of Government. For more news and insights on innovations at work in government, please sign up for the AOL Gov newsletter. For the quickest updates, like us on Facebook.
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Though it might sound futuristic, consider: this weekend, you could print your own circuit board. And here’s how you could print a wrench, courtesy of ZCorp. If you to use or modify someone else’s circuits, just look here, and if you need 3D designs, here are a few. As a bonus, here’s a way to turn a $10 laser into a communications station and, related, the GSA repository on GitHub. Keep reading →

How networks of public and private sensors can change how the public sector operates during routine or emergency operations.

It’s 1991, and some computer science professors are tired of walking into their computer lab of the University of Cambridge only to find an empty pot of coffee. Their solution: install a camera and connect it to the server so they could ascertain the status of the coffee pot from their desks. The rest is internet history. Keep reading →

Chicken Little squawked about the sky falling. Pundits warn about the Fiscal Cliff. But federal agencies nearly every year hold up the sky while walking on the edge of a cliff. This is the world of Continuing Resolutions and Government Shutdowns.
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This article originally appeared on the IBM Center for the Business of Government’s blog.
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Social media and a renewed emphasis on innovation and DIY – exemplified by the Maker Movement and the rise of intrapreneurs – is transforming how government agencies operate and how they interact with citizens. Within the past four years, the number of networked computers that can connect to public or private sensors and feed into or draw from massive databases has exploded, both in terms of absolute numbers and relative to the population.

The effect of these converging factors is that governments at every level are finding new ways to improve three critical tasks: Keep reading →


“Our (cyber) adversaries are well equipped and agile. Our defenses must be equal to the
threat, and they are not.”

So concludes a new report from a group of former Office of Management and Budget officials and cybersecurity experts who argue OMB and the administration “have ample legal authority to adopt reforms that would materially reduce risk and enhance response” in protecting federal systems. The report urges OMB to take steps that would result in spending scarce taxpayer dollars on security programs that work. Keep reading →

How well are you doing and how do you know?

For many federal agencies, answering these questions can be intimidating, because, frankly, measuring mission impact is hard. Keep reading →

I ‘m in Seoul, South Korea, this week for a Global e-Government Forum. Seoul is 13 hours ahead of Washington, DC, so for more than half the day, it’s tomorrow. But that’s not the only way that Seoul is in the future. The smell of kimchi mixes with the omnipresent electronica of smartphone rings and tablet notifications.

The Samsung building is visible from my hotel room, and its logo appears on at a majority of devices I’ve seen in this city. I’ve learned that this country is home to nearly 50 million people and 30 million smartphones, about 10% higher than smartphone usage in the U.S. Keep reading →

The IRS, FEMA and a growing number of other federal agencies are turning the art of analytics into an increasingly powerful workplace discipline that is helping agencies and their employees improve their collective performance. Keep reading →


Big data can drive big capabilities. But it takes day-to-day practices that can help build and sustain an analytics culture.

A report released today by the Partnership for Public Service aims to educate federal managers on how agencies can do just that. The report, From Data to Decisions II: Building an Analytics Culture, examines how to best use data – not anecdotes – to base decisions. Keep reading →

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