Re-Thinking the CFO Act

I originally had my doubts about the statutory provision in the stimulus bill that created something called the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board.  I was concerned that it was going to be a huge “gotcha” machine.  But it looks like its chairman, Earl Devaney, has created the foundation for modernizing the CFO Act of 1990 in the way he created a website tracking Recovery Act spending, Recovery.gov.

Buying IT: Shorter is Better, But With the Right Checks

As previously blogged in this space, one of the most prominent of these studies came from the TechAmerica Foundation, entitled “Government Technology Opportunity in the 21st Century.”  A key commission recommendation is to expand the use of rapid, smaller steps to increase the agility in acquisition and program execution.  This helps make IT results earlier and more efficient.  It also helps identify and manage risk throughout the lifecycle of an IT project.  This can help make IT more effective.

Weekly Round-up: November 12, 2010

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

Improving Customer Service

In the 1990s, the Clinton-Gore Reinventing Government effort thought the answer was “yes.”  President Clinton issued a customer service executive order in 1993 followed up in 1995 with a memo to institutionalize the initiative.

Weekly Round-up: November 5, 2010

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

 

Is Open Gov 1950 Stymieing Open Gov 2010?

The Federal Records Act of 1950 creates a framework to manage agency records.  It puts the National Archives and Records Administration in charge of oversight of the system and NARA determines the historical value of federal records and operates Federal Records Centers around the country.

Back to the Future – With Stronger Results

Cloud computing, social networks, identity … the promise of new technologies to help Federal agencies reach their goals is stronger than ever.  At the same time, agencies and contractors who want innovation to bring change are often stymied by lengthy, complex government processes, including those for hiring or training good IT Program Managers, requesting funds though the Federal Budget (a 2-year cycle), and doing an acquisition once the funds are awarded.  Add to this an environment where government and industry see more reasons not to talk to reach other about risks and rewards than they

Weekly Round-up: October 29, 2010

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

Government Managers' Guide to Citizen 2.0

Over the past few weeks, I’ve written about the other half of Gov 2.0: Citizen 2.0.  My goal has been twofold: first, to help citizens understand that engaging government isn’t all-or-nothing.  Citizens can participate in meaningful ways both from home and outside it.  They can work in and for their community by themselves and as a team effort with their neighbors.  They can engage in civic activity by putting on work gloves, writing insightful comments on blogs (with links, please!), or writing code.

Federal Rulemaking of the Future

The federal government uses rulemaking to controls all sorts of things – the size and color of highway signs, coal plant emissions, dirt biking and snow mobiling on national lands, the grading of eggs, the nutrition information on food packages, and of course the tax code.

Pages