John Kamensky The Federal Workforce of the Future.  The Partnership for Public Service has released a new report that provides: “a snapshot of what the government looks like now and recommendations on how agencies can prepare for the future.”

Blog Author: Sreeram Visvanathan, Global Managing Director, Government, IBM Change is everywhere. Every industry, including government, is facing digital disruption. The public expects the agility and efficiency found in the private sector while government must appeal to new workers with skills to meet these requirements. Advances in technology have accelerated the need for change in how governments operate.  

Michael J. Keegan

IT Reforms Create Breathing Room.  NextGov reports: “Obama-era technology modernization programs and legislation are beginning to have a substantial effect freeing up IT budget money, but there’s a long way left to go, industry executives said during a Professional Services Council market forecast Wednesday. . . .

John Kamensky

Post 1 (of 3):  A Blueprint Discussion on Identity By Guest Bloggers: Thomas Hardjono, MIT and Pete Teigen, IBM The blockchain transformation of the economy will require agreements on standards and processes across institutions around the world, as well as major social, legal and political change. -WSJ [1] Transformative scenarios, such as large-scale public identity systems, will deliver enormous value. -HBR [2]

We are pleased to announce our latest round of awards for new reports on key public sector challenges, which respond to priorities identified in the Center's research agenda. Our content is intended to stimulate and accelerate the production of practical research that benefits public sector leaders and managers. We expect the following reports to be published in early 2018. Short summaries of each report follow. Modernizing Government IT  by Dr. Gregory S. Dawson, Arizona State University

Simply put, Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger that can be likened to bookkeeping, where transactions are recorded as “blocks” and any modifications or related transactions are also recorded and linked creating a connected “chain”. This provides a unique opportunity to address pressing issues government organizations face, such as transparency, fraud detection, and efficient and improved services. Transparency

Remember when businesses all kept their own ledgers, which required updates as each new business transaction occurred? How about the added expenses that had to be paid to intermediaries adding margin for services?  And what about the inefficiencies as each business in the network (supplier, buyer, seller) all recorded the same transactions in their individual ledgers? While many businesses and industries, including healthcare, still operate this way, an emerging technology has great potential to advance Healthcare IT across the economy and in the government, namely “Blockchain.”

Why Care About Blockchain? Federal Computer News writes: “Blockchain, the public ledger system underpinning Bitcoin, provides a cryptographically secured record of transactions.” It goes on to note that it could be used to secure voting, identity management, and health records, but that no one really knows what its other potential uses in government could be.