Digital Government

Congress guts Army's tactical radio program funding for fiscal 2010

Senate and House conferees alarmed that the service has not developed a disciplined acquisition strategy to buy the communications equipment.

Digital Government

Recovery board grants stimulus reporting extension

Panel pushes back deadline 10 days, but says posting of data on Recovery.gov will remain on schedule.

Digital Government

No More 'i' This and '2.0' That

In Australia, Vegemite, a dark brown sandwich spread with a salty and bitter taste made from used brewers yeast extract, has an iconic status and brand recognition that any company would lust after. It's loved by Aussies with the kind of passion they have for rugby.

Ideas

Whose Voice Will We Hear?

In my story today on the State Department's grant program to increase the availability of social media and online learning tools in the Middle East, George Washington University professor Henry Farrell calls the program a "sophisticated and interesting approach" to 21st century diplomacy and democracy-building. Given how the events following the Iranian election in June captured the world's attention online, I think most can agree that there is a great deal of untapped potential in social networking tools like Twitter and Facebook, particularly when it comes to increasing citizen engagement.

Digital Government

Honoring the Few Laborers

Four federal information security workers were honored on Wednesday with Government Information Security Leadership Awards. The annual awards program, which is run by consulting firm (ISC)2, recognize individuals who have significantly enhanced the information security workforce by demonstrating a leadership role in any information security workforce improvement initiative, program or project on either a government-wide or agency-specific basis.

Digital Government

Army shows Air Force the way on unmanned aerial safety

A series of mishaps involving unmanned aerial systems operating in Southwest Asia has Army and Air Force officials revisiting key operational procedures.

People

Many purchase agreements lack competition, GAO says

Agencies awarded 60 percent of 336 blanket purchase agreements to a single vendor, GAO says.

Digital Government

Death of pay-for-performance: For better or worse?

Some feds say NSPS was a bad idea from the start, but others say it was a good idea gone sour.

Modernization

CGI gets $29 million financial services hosting contract from GSA

CGI Federal will transition the General Services Administration to a new financial management system under a $29 million contract.

Cybersecurity

DHS Web sites vulnerable to hackers, IG says

The DHS inspector general has found vulnerabilities related to uneven security patch management in the department's nine most popular Web sites.

Digital Government

Report: Identity theft is more prevalent than IRS data shows

GAO recommends stronger performance measures to assess whether fraud-detection initiatives are effective.

Digital Government

GAO: Treasury improves financial bailout program communications

But critics say the department doesn't show more important data such as how recipients have used the funds and how much the investments are worth.

Digital Government

State to award social networking grants in Middle East, Africa

New project attempts to build democracies in a less confrontational way and support a long-term movement for more representative government in those regions, scholar says.