People
Acquisition training: The classroom vs. the real world
FCW readers agree with a recent blog post that questioned the quality of acquisition training available to federal employees.
Acquisition
DOD gets authority to limit contract competition
Defense Department officials today adopted a rule that grants DOD authority to limit competition for contracts when buying to support operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Digital Government
Groups urge FTC probe of new ad practices
Data and advertising exchanges are at issue.
Digital Government
Soundbytes: DISA, Google and the Henhouse
A weekly roundup of comments from Nextgov.com. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.
Digital Government
New social media rules lauded, but advocates note cookie policy omission
OMB says revisions were not required under the open government directive, but it is working to update how agencies can use the Web-tracking devices.
Modernization
Study: Much of cloud's savings would come from IT job losses
Cost reductions would depend on the number of positions executives would be willing to cut or transfer, but former federal IT officials counter that agencies must move their technology talent to understaffed functions that support their missions.
Digital Government
FCC assesses impact of Comcast ruling on National Broadband Plan
The net-neutrality ruling will affect the plan, which is intended to expand broadband access in the nation, and the FCC is trying to determine just how big a blow it is.
People
OPM’s latest workplace experiments
OPM’s Results-Only Work Environment is a good example of how to bring management innovation into government, writes blogger Steve Kelman.
Ideas
Coburn: The Law's the Law
In conjunction with the release of agency plans intended to ingrain transparency into departmental activities, the White House on Wednesday released several policies aimed at accelerating those efforts. The new policies and the open government plans were released on Wednesday pursuant to an open government directive issued in December.
Digital Government
OPM Releases OpenGov Plan
The Office of Personnel Management on Wednesday released its <a href="http://www.opm.gov/open/includes/OPM%20Open%20Government%20Plan_04062010.pdf">open government plan</a>, which leverages public input to enhance transparency and public participation as part of the Obama administration's open government initiative.
Digital Government
The Weakest Health IT Link, Inc.
A major failing of the government's plan to digitize paper medical records, assert some privacy advocates assert, is that you just can't trust pointy headed bureaucrats to keep that information safe. That sentiment isn't unfounded, says a CMS official, but it is misplaced.
People
Agencies release transparency roadmaps
The Obama administration and open-government groups are reviewing the open government plans that agencies released today.
Digital Government
Tech's Effect on Personnel Reform
Alyssa Rosenberg <a href="http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=44971&oref=todaysnews">writes</a> at Government Executive about a new Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government report that encourages federal officials to move forward on personnel reform while keeping in mind that technological and regulatory changes are not a cure-all for the government's hiring and recruiting challenges.
People