Digital Government
Ability to access comments gathered by White House questioned
Much of the citizen input the transition team collected in online sessions to help form policy is no longer available, and critics fear the practice could be applied to other sites.
Digital Government
NASA awards $355 million IT contract for Marshall Space Flight Center
Dynetics Inc. will provide a range of services that include security, telecommunications, applications, computers and audio visual systems.
People
A silver lining in the federal retirement wave
First the bad news: In just four years, half of the permanent full-time federal workforce will be eligible to retire. What’s more, a majority of the retirees will be supervisors, according to the Merit Systems Protection Board in a new report. Now the good news: Think of the opportunity this gives federal agencies to put a new stamp on their entire workforce.
Digital Government
A Combat Robo Doc
Navy field corpsmen who serve with Marine units probably are the best on-the-scene trauma care specialists in the world, but there's only so much one corpsman can do on the battlefield or during a medevac.
Ideas
Idea: Unified Cybersecurity Committee
The government relations firm Livingston Group sent <a href="http://www.govexec.com/nextgov/1209/120309j1.pdf">letter</a> to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and minority leader John Boehner recommending Congress unify the plethora of committees that hold jurisdiction over cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity
New dashboard tracks cybersecurity programs
Software industry trade association's dashboard rates cybersecurity programs.
Digital Government
Online Tools for Open Season
The annual open season for selecting and/or changing your federal benefits ends Dec. 14. Federal employees who have put off investigating other health plan choices may want to consider some online tools to help make an informed decision before the deadline.
Cybersecurity
DHS procurement office eyes contract hybrids
The Homeland Security Department’s Office of Procurement Operations is looking at contracts that include some performance-based items as a way to meet governmentwide requirements to reduce spending on contracts considered to be high risk.
People
Program management meets Web 2.0
Program managers must take the time to choose the right social-media tools to improve how they communicate and collaborate with their teams.
Digital Government
CIOs Optimistic on IT Hiring
A new survey by Robert Half Technology suggests that government competition with the private sector for IT talent could show a slight increase in 2010. According to the first quarter of the IT Hiring Index and Skills report, 7 percent of technology executives at U.S. companies anticipate adding IT staff in the first quarter of 2010, while 4 percent plan workforce reductions. Eighty-nine percent of CIOs said they plan to maintain current personnel levels.
People
Changing the game: First DNA, now info sharing
The automation of information sharing in law enforcement is running into the same kind of resistance that DNA tests once encountered.
Cybersecurity
DHS making strides in acquisition management, IG says
The Homeland Security Department is sharpening its procurement management skills as it rates a "moderate progress" score for 2009 from its inspector general.
Modernization
Spelling out protections
Here are some key excerpts from the final draft of Los Angeles’ contract with Google and Computer Sciences Corp. for cloud computing services.
Acquisition
Agencies spending stimulus bucks through no-bid contracts, GAO finds
SBA, HUD and NASA awarded 35 percent or more of their stimulus law contracts noncompetitively, according to a new GAO report.
Modernization
5 must-haves for cloud computing contracts
Experts share their tips for negotiating cloud computing agreements that protect agencies' interests and data.
People
ITIL emerges as new sheriff of IT management
Agencies are turning to the Information Technology Infrastructure Library to bring order to IT management processes, but what will that mean for their enterprise architecture efforts?
Acquisition