citizen engagement

Using Dashboards in Government

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The use of dashboards in the federal government took off when President Obama released his Open Government initiative in early 2009. Here’s a snapshot of where they are today, and some lessons learned from the pioneers.

Vivek Kundra is leaving the federal government after having served as its first chief information officer. Probably one of his most visible initiatives was to create the IT Dashboard which he used to publicly track the performance of information technology investments across federal agencies. There’s even a picture of President Obama studying Vivek’s on-line IT Dashboard! Keep reading →

 /  Published August 2, 2011 at 10:12 AM

Social Media Protections Fall Short at Federal Agencies

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While 23 out of 24 major federal agencies now routinely use Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to interact with the public, a new report by the Government Accountability Office released Thursday warned that only seven of the 23 agencies had taken necessary safeguards to protect against malicious activities.

The new report highlighted what amounts to mixed progress in agencies’ effort to use social media to inform and engage the the public, citing concerns in managing and identifying federal records, protecting personal information, and ensuring the security of federal information and the systems that host that information. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 29, 2011 at 3:04 PM

@macon44: USA.gov hosts

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USA.gov hosts nationwide hackathon on URL shortener http://t.co/IPl8HvU via @govfesh @digiphile   macon44

 /  Published July 29, 2011 at 9:40 AM

DOD Launches New Cyber Strategy Website

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The Department of Defense today launched a new website to highlight DoD’s first unified strategy for announced on July 14.

The website is a being used as a tool to help explain and consolidate DoD’s cybersecurity accomplishments and describe the Department’s efforts to move forward for military, intelligence and business operations in cyberspace. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 25, 2011 at 5:04 PM

Seven Mobile Apps Put Government Data Into The Public’s Pocket

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Private sector developers aren’t the only ones introducing new and useful applications for mobile devices. Federal agencies are also introducing mobile apps aimed at providing specialized services to the public.

Here are just some of the more recent mobile apps that were presented at the just-concluded FOSE Exposition and Conference, the nation’s largest government information technology convention: Keep reading →

 /  Published July 25, 2011 at 8:00 AM

How Apps And Advanced Mobility Will Change Government

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In Pittsburgh, Pa., there is an interesting phenomenon that that happens when the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers come together to form the Ohio River. It is called a “confluence.”

Federal IT is headed the same way. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 22, 2011 at 3:01 PM

Vint Cerf: Essential Ingredients for Innovating in Government

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Internet co-creator Vint Cerf argues that discontent, the ability to fail, and the environment where managers can say “yes” are among the key ingredients for leaders to foster innovation in government.

Let me start by making an observation: Progress doesn’t happen unless somebody is discontented. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 14, 2011 at 7:05 AM

National Archives Heads Into The Digital Age Despite Cost Warnings

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The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is forging ahead with its plans to digitize billions of documents, a project that will take years to complete and that already has faced criticism over out-of-control costs.

At the helm of this digital effort is Pamela Wright, the chief Digital Access Strategist for the archives. She’s been in this job for just a year, overseeing NARA’s internal and external web pages, social media efforts and Online Public Access (OPA) prototype, the public face of its electronic records archives. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 13, 2011 at 8:02 PM

TooManyWebsites.gov

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White House Director of Digital Strategy Macon Phillips, on behalf of President Obama, makes the case in a blog that there are simply too many federal websites. The White House announced plans July 12 to reduce roughly 24,000 federal government website domains to fewer than 2,000 core domains.

As the President points out in this video, our government doesn’t need a website dedicated to foresters who play the fiddle. We also don’t need multiple sites dealing with invasive plants (here and here). And I’m pretty sure the website dedicated to the Centennial of Flight can come down… particularly since the Centennial was in 2003.s President Obama has said, we can’t win the future with a government of the past. How our government uses the internet to communicate and deliver services is an obvious and critical part of this modernization effort. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 13, 2011 at 10:02 AM

Adm. Thad Allen: Separating The Value of Public Service From The Politics

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During my four decades of public service I have worked with many amazing people – some heroes who have risked their lives to save others, some who have risen to the occasion during crises like the Gulf oil spill and Hurricane Katrina, and many who have quietly gone about the business of serving the public with great dedication day-in and day-out. I was born while my father was at sea on a Coast Guard cutter.

In the current political climate and discourse over the national debt, we have done a poor job of distinguishing between the need for fiscal responsibility and the value of public service, which is enduring. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 13, 2011 at 7:15 AM
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