Weekly Round-up - March 18, 2011

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

• Juice Your Blog! Federal Computer Week's Michael Hardy details how to write a great government blog.  He covers a lot of the points that I try to bring up! Coincidence?
• Is Bad Data Worse than No Data? Andrea Di Maio and the Center's Dan Chenok argue open government may have unleashed streams of irrelevant and/or inscrutible data, but rather than close the spigots, we should rather find ways of applying smarter filters.
• The Who, Where, and Why of Twitter. The Pew Research Center released a report "Twitter and Social Networking in the 2010 Midterm Elections" showing that more than a fifth of US voters connected with campaigns via social media.  Implications for government: will those people want to stay involved in governing through social media channels?  Related: Oh My Gov! reports on DCI's mapping of government social media, state by state.
• Meet Daniel Weitzner, New Deputy CIO for Internet Policy.  Alex Howard profiles the new Deputy CIO for Internet Policy.

John Kamensky

• First Senate Oversight Hearing on GPRA Implementation. The new GPRA Modernization Act is only two months old and OMB has yet to release guidance to agencies on implementation, but the Senate Taskforce on Government Performance held a hearing on March 16 to get insights on how it might oversee the choices OMB may pursue.
• President Obama Releases Reorganization Directions. President Obama released a memo to agency heads describing the initial goal of his State of the Union declaration to reorganize the federal government. According to Government Executive’s Robert Brodsky: “Zients will establish a Government Reform for Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative to conduct a comprehensive review of all agencies and programs involved in trade and global competitiveness. . . “
• OMB Convenes First Meeting of the Corporate CEO Advisory Board. Government Executive’s Robert Brodsky reports that the President’s Management Advisory Board announced by President Obama last April finally convened its first meeting. The Board was designed to have 17 members and be chaired by Deputy OMB Director for Management Jeff Zients. Ten members were convened, with the possibility that seven more members may be appointed. According to Brodsky, “The panel likely will focus on ways to better train and develop senior government leadership, recruit candidates from outside of government, improve the federal performance management system and reward high-performing employees.”
• President Obama Issues Flexibility Memo to Agencies. A recent presidential memorandum, “Administrative Flexibility, Lower Costs, and Better Results for State, Local, and Tribal Governments,” sets out a goal of cutting red tape in federal grants and regulations. In addition, agencies administering overlapping programs are directed to develop “efficient, low-cost mechanisms for collecting and reporting data that can support multiple programs and agencies.” 

Dan Chenok

• The administration's IT roadmap is helping agencies push forward toward their IT goals, according to leading government chief information officers.
• Private sector not adequately defending U.S. cyberspace? 

• Two looks at CIOs:

  1. Interesting review of key CIO success factors.
  2. Senate looking at potential updating of CIO law (Clinger Cohen).

Business of Government Radio Show: Randy Babbit

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.

Randy Babbit is a veteran pilot and internationally recognized expert in aviation and labor relations,and no stranger to the FAA; he has been a member of the agency’s Management Advisory Council since 2001. In that capacity, he provided guidance to the FAA Administrator on a variety of topics, ranging from air traffic modernization to regulatory policy. He was chairman of the council from 2004-06.

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.