People
New rule targets award fees
A new rule could discourage contractors from competing for award-fee contracts by raising their level of risk, experts say.
People
DOD widens access to collaboration program
According to the new policy, government employees with e-mail addresses sponsored by CAC holders may take advantage of Defense Connect Online tools.
People
Customer service tips from developing countries
Other countries appear less constrained when developing new ideas for getting feedback, writes columnist Steve Kelman.
People
Performance pay: We know it works
NGA, among others, has demonstrated that pay for performance works in government, writes consultant Howard Risher.
Acquisition
Gordon reiterates Obama's push for transparency
The clock is ticking while the Senate considers Daniel Gordon, President Barack Obama's nominee to be administrator for the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. While Obama took several months to choose Gordon and the confirmation process is still ongoing, the administration has been dealing with a range of acquisition challenges and reform efforts.
Acquisition
A new way to assess contractors
The Obama administration is giving agencies a new, standardized way to assess contractors’ work on award-fee or cost-reimbursement contracts.
Digital Government
Army Afghanistan Tele-Shrinks
The Army has added about 2,700 behavioral health specialists to treat combat stress during the past two years, with just under 300 deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.
Ideas
A Cold '11 Budget, But Warmth for IT
The Office of Management and Budget has <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091113_3188.php?oref=topnews">asked</a> civilian agencies to ready themselves for fiscal 2011 budgets to be frozen at fiscal 2010 levels or, even worse, to be cut by 5 percent because the Obama administration is facing record deficits, which could become a drag on Democrats in elections next year.
Digital Government
Profile of a Virtual Collaborator
Guided Insights has some <a href="http://www.guidedinsights.com/newsletter_detail.asp?PageID=9351">useful advice</a> on the characteristics that make for a successful virtual collaborator, and those that may cause problems for some remote workers. Virtual collaborators, for example, tend to be social butterflies in the office; have excellent organizational, time-management, listening and communication skills; show a willingness to use a variety of tech tools with ease; and have the ability to move ahead without a lot of direction or guidance, the article states.
Ideas
Social Media Rx for Drug Safety
An industry group representing pharmaceutical companies is proposing that the Food and Drug Administration require a FDA-certified emblem - akin to a Good Housekeeping seal - on Web content that contains medication information.
Cybersecurity
Is a legislative fix in FISMA's future?
Agencies can improve cybersecurity without an overhaul of the Federal Information Security Management Act by using continuous and targeted monitoring of systems, some experts say.
Cybersecurity
DHS considers contracts for collecting disaster-related imagery
The Homeland Security Department wants information from industry on collecting images to be used in a system to help with disaster response and recovery.
Digital Government
FDA mulls regulating online claims, discussions about pharmaceuticals
Drug manufacturers and health care professionals attend a two-day hearing to discuss responsibility for reducing misinformation on the Internet.
Cybersecurity
HHS seeking solutions to address FISMA compliance for health exchange
Federal Computer Week
Digital Government