This article was adapted from a blog post from the IBM Center of The Business of Government.
In the month of August, the East Coast was hit with two natural disasters, one foreseen, Hurricane Irene, and one without notice, the August 23rd earthquake. Though one primary form of established media failed-phone service during the earthquake was interrupted for many, if not most-both government agencies and individual citizens used social media to learn about what was happening and to communicate while each emergency progressed. Keep reading →
The General Services Administration launched its own town hall meeting online Monday to gather ideas from the public on how to improve federal websites.
In an effort to better serve the public through technology, the government is seeking ideas from the public on how to improve federal websites.
Thirty four public servants were honored for their distinguished service, including nine individuals who were awarded Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals for their high-impact contributions to the health, safety and well-being of Americans at a Washington, D.C. gala Sept. 15.
For us East Coasters, our recent experience with an earthquake was an unusual one. Of course, they’re comparatively rare here and not as strong as the ones that plague the West Coast, but it still makes you think about what would happen to your house (and you) if a really big one hit.
It used to be that most government organizations had a crisis communications plan that would be pulled out and reviewed maybe once a year, that was relatively static and standard in its contents.
As I sit here writing this, it’s raining. It’s been raining for days, as a result of the remnants of Hurricane Lee. Before that, we got rain from Hurricane Irene, although thankfully not what Vermont and Upstate New York received. Before that, innumerable August thunderstorms had dumped inches of precipitation on us. The forecast for the next few days? More rain.
President Obama’s recent Executive Order: “Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service,” is an excellent call to action to Defense and Civilian agencies to leverage self-service technologies to cut costs while also improving efficiencies.
Disasters happen. How quickly and appropriately those in authority respond to those disasters can make the difference between a frightening but manageable situation, versus an all-out catastrophe.