Weekly Round-up: April 8, 2011

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

• Tumblers: Not Just for Soda Anymore.  Alex Howard and Alice Lipowicz report that the GSA and State Deparment have each started Tumblr Blogs.  It will be interesting to see if other agencies follow suit, and if so, how they use the social features of the platform.
• Infographics for All! On GovLoop, Andrew Krzmarzick posted an infographic that visualizes all the open government projects currently operating.  (Blast from the past: 17 Public Administration Infographics Everyone Should See)
• Weigh in on FCC's Beta Site.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC to its friends) has launched a new site that's still in beta and is soliciting opinions about it.
• Thin Mints as Leading Indicators? This year, people jonesing for Samoas, Trefoils, or Thin Mints can purchase their goodies from smartphone-wielding girl scouts.  What might the implications be for government from the ever-expanding functionality of mobile computing?

John Kamensky

• Bill to Cut Number of Political Appointees Moves Forward. For years, good government advocates have said there are too many political appointees who require Senate confirmation. It often takes up to a year to get someone confirmed, and the position is left in the hands of an acting boss. According to Federal Times, bipartisan legislation will reduce about 200 positions (such as some CFOs and the director of the Mint), and another 3,000 positions that have been traditionally uncontroversial in the public health service and NOAA.
• Going Paperless Saves Money. Federal Times reports in “Agencies Move to Eliminate Paper Use, Boost Electronic Business” that the federal budget contains over $100 million a year in proposed savings by issuing electronic vs. paper documents (including checks).
• Key National Indicators report by GAO. Finally released (and I’ll probably blog on this more next week), GAO’s update to its 2004 report is out: “Key Indicator Systems: Experiences of Other National and Subnational Systems Offer Insights for the United States.” While it has no recommendations, GAO surveys 20 different indicators systems around the world and describes how they were developed and how they are being used.

Dan Chenok

• Funding for Open Government in 2011 looking up.
• Streamlining the process of procurement regulation.
• IT Program Managers -- the dawn of a new Federal job.

Business of Government Radio Show: Stephen Goldsmith

The Business of Government Hour features a conversation about management with a government executive who is changing the way government does business. The executives discuss their careers and the management challenges facing their organizations. Past government executives include Administrators, Chief Financial Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Commissioners, Controllers, Directors, and Undersecretaries.

Deputy Mayor Goldsmith is focused on creating a City government for the 21st Century that is smaller, more efficient, and more cost effective; uses fewer vehicles; consolidates back office functions and reduces redundancies across agencies; shares data, and uses technology to better serve the public.

 Each week, The Business of Government Hour interviews government executive who are changing the way government does business. The show airs four times a week on two radio stations in the DC Metro Area. If you can't wait, though, we also put it online. You can also search our audio archives for your favorite interview.