The Business of Government Magazine - Fall/Winter 2012 Edition
From the Executive Director
The government and the nation face a significant period in modern history.
From the Managing Editor's Desk
We are in the midst of an exciting, engaging, yet trying period marked by uncertainty, significant challenges, undeniable opportunities, and indelible aspirations.
A Conversation with Francis Collins, MD, PhD Director, National Institutes of Health
Advances in biomedical research seek to enhance health and length of life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) plays a central role in making this happen.
A Conversation with Debbie Matz, Chairman, National Credit Union Administration
Since its inception, the country’s credit union system has expanded and grown to serve over 93 million Americans. Credit unions generally maintain traditional lending standards and risk portfolios.
A Conversation with Kshemendra Paul, Program Manager, Information Sharing Environment
It is critical to the safety and security of this country that federal, state, local, private-sector, and international partners improve their sharing of information about terrorism, homeland security, and weapons of mass destruction.
A Conversation with Danny Werfel, Controller Office of Federal Financial Management, Office of Management and Budget
Sound financial management is essential to the effective stewardship of taxpayer dollars and enables federal agency decision-makers to make tough choices on day-to-day and long-term management challenges.
A Conversation with Dr. Peter L. Levin, Senior Advisor to the Secretary and Chief Technology Officer, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs may be the second largest federal agency, but it runs the largest medical system in the United States, providing care to about six million veterans and their families who depend on it.
Richard Boly
Leading the Office of eDiplomacy within the U.S. Department of State
Kathy Conrad
Expanding the Use of Open Government and Innovative Technologies
Bernard Melekian
Advancing Public Safety Through Community Policing
Science, Service, and Stewardship: Insights from Joe Klimavicz, Chief Information Officer and Director, High Performance Computing and Communications, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, relies on information and technology to carry out its mission—to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts.
Introduction: Governing in the Next Four Years
A presidential election year provides an opportunity to step back and consider major issues and management challenges facing government executives.
Mission Support: Managing a Balancing Act
Senior executives leading agency mission support functions (chief financial, information, acquisition, and human capital officers) face a range of cross-pressures from different stakeholders.
Joined-Up Management: A Next Step in Cross-Agency Collaboration
Most government activities are managed through programs in agencies. The pace of technology and business change is causing leading organizations that have always collaborated to move to a new model of managing activities from a cross-program view.
Participation in an Age of Social Media
This article examines the role social media will play in citizen participation.
The Next Four Years: Intelligence Community Reform Refining, not Rebooting
In the next four years the executive and legislative branches will pick up the recurring question of additional intelligence community reform.
Fast Gov—An Upcoming Book by the IBM Center
What is the value of time? Is it measured in cost, in service levels, in quality?
A New Federal Performance Framework
Staff from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have been visiting agencies in recent weeks to explain a new performance framework they have developed for the federal government.
Road Hazards: Recognizing the Risks of Social Media
The advent of social media has opened up new roads on which digital brigands operate, but the methods that they use are decades (if not centuries) old.
Performance Budgeting in the States: An Assessment
This article examines the state of performance budgeting in the 50 American states.
Key Actions That Contribute to Successful Program Implementation: Lessons from the Recovery Act
Less than a month after taking office, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a $787 billion piece of legislation that provided temporary dollars to 28 agencies through more than 200 programs.
Challenge.gov: Using Competitions and Awards to Spur Innovation
Over the past three years, the Obama administration has been encouraging federal agencies to engage citizens in solving public problems by increasing the use of electronic participation platforms.
Five Methods for Measuring Unobserved Events: A Case Study of Federal Law Enforcement
Law enforcement can face tough measurement challenges, but the fields of statistics and econometrics have developed a framework for dealing with them and it is useful to begin with a brief overview of that framework.
Designing Open Projects: Lessons From Internet Pioneers
Using Open Project Design at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology