Government leaders offered testimony today at a Senate hearing on steps being taken to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in the federal workforce.
Several witnesses delivered remarks to the Subcommittee on the Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce and the District of Columbia about the most serious challenges facing federal workers. Keep reading →
Fueled by the widespread adoption of increasingly powerful mobile devices, we are in the midst of one of the most exciting technology eras ever. Half of American adults now own smartphones and over 20% are already using tablets. This pace of adoption is unprecedented as the first Apple iPhone was only introduced five years ago with the Apple iPad arriving in just the past two years.
The rapid emergence of this mass market has shattered the cost constraints for going mobile for every organization, including government agencies. For a technology geek like myself, what’s most exciting is the opportunity this creates to untether knowledge workers from the desktop so that they can be equally effective in the field. Keep reading →
This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA‘s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.
In 1995, after spending my entire life in the suburbs of New Orleans, La., we decided to move out of the city, settling 25 miles north of Stennis Space Center. At that time, I was a Special Projects Coordinator at an abstract firm which served law firms and real estate professionals in the New Orleans area. After commuting for a few years, it was time to find something closer to home, which is how I ended up at NASA as a Legal Technician in the Office of Chief Counsel. I have proudly been part of the NASA family since December 1998. I love it when someone asked where I work and when I say “NASA, more often than not they smile and say “Wow, that’s awesome.” Their expression reminds me of how privileged I am. Keep reading →
A new assessment of the American workforce contends that the nation’s prolonged unemployment problems are an outgrowth of outdated national policies that if not addressed, will prolong a growing shortage of essential talent and skills needed to keep America competitive.
Written by Bill Eggers, author of the The Public Innovators’s Playbook and Government 2.0 and John Hagel, author of Out of the Box, the new report is aimed primarily at the nation’s continuing debate on how to jumpstart job growth in America. But it also has lessons for federal executives who must compete with the private sector for top talent admidst underlying forces that continue foster a “significant and growing mismatch between the country’s demand for taklent and its current supply.”
Eggers, who now directs research for Deloitte Services, and Hagel, who co-chairs the consulting firm’s Center for the Edge, make the case that while Americans are becoming increasingly educated, “America’s talent pool is not poised to adapt to the new demands” of today’s knowledge economy. “The skills that graduates acquire after four years of college will soon have an expected shelf life of only five years, meaning that skills learned in school can become outdated long before the student loans are paid off,” they note.
Meanwhile, “a new class of free agents is revolutionizing the traditional 9 to 5” employment environment of the 20th century. Eggers and Hagel argue that national policy makers need to focus on six key drivers that affect America’s talent pool, recommending:
This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA‘s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.
As a child, I really did not think about or plan my life toward any particular career. We lived in Nashville, Tenn., and I was the oldest of five children. After my parents divorced, we moved to Huntsville. My mother would often work 16-hour days to take care of us. Being the oldest meant I was responsible for tending to my brothers and sisters while she was working. Unfortunately, this was not an easy task because they saw me as their equal and not someone with any authority. In spite of that, I believe being placed in this role at an early age taught me some lessons in responsibility. 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 Justice and law Enforcement medal Michael Hertz, who until his death in May was deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Division of the Department of Justice.
To many in the legal community, Michael Hertz was known as “Mr. False Claims Act” for his leading role during the past quarter century in using this important federal law to combat fraud against the federal government. Keep reading →
This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA‘s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.
In my capacity as a NASA employee and a Huntsville, Ala., community volunteer, I have dedicated myself to the Hispanic community. This motivation springs from my own heritage – devotion to family, history and culture – and from my professional NASA values, which include cultural diversity and awareness. It’s my passion to help Hispanic people in the state of Alabama and around the world; I feels it is most important to help open doors for children and young people, to let them see the opportunities they have to continue their education and develop rewarding careers and fulfilling lives. I believe we should start training and developing the minds of these students to their full potential at an early age, because all children, regardless of their race, deserve the opportunity to succeed. Keep reading →
This is one in a series of profileson 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 Management Excellence medal finalists from the Office of Personnel Management in Washington, D.C., Joseph Kennedy, deputy associate director, Ray Decker, assistant director and Hakeem Basheerud-Deen, deputy assistant director.
Declaring that the government has an obligation to those who have served and sacrificed in defense of our nation, President Obama in 2009 issued an executive order calling for federal agencies to step up efforts to recruit and hire qualified veterans. Keep reading →
Big data can mean a lot of things to different federal agencies. To the Department of Energy, big data not only means managing an information sharing network to promote big science, but also making the results of that research available to the public.
This information can be blended together in a variety of ways, depending on the end users’ needs, explained Robert Bectel, CTO and senior policy advisor at the DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). Speaking at a recent federal IT event, he explained that as one of the department’s technology evangelists, his goal is to make sure that taxpayers get the most out of their money by allowing federal workers to do the most on the job. 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 Homeland Security medal 
, director of Disaster Services for the Corporation for National and Community Service, and her AmeriCorps team.
Within hours after the nation’s deadliest tornado in nearly 60 years ripped through Joplin, Missouri, killing 161 people and destroying some 7,000 homes and businesses, the first team of AmeriCorps members arrived on the scene to lend a helping hand. Keep reading →