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10 suggestions for improving the USA.gov feedback process

Blogger John Klossner writes that nothing productive will come of the online suggestion process until we return to a world without anonymity, and offers 10 ideas to make the process more productive, as well as more entertaining.

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Navy plans social network for off-duty hours

The Navy plans to develop an internal social network that will track what service members want to do during their off-duty hours.

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Will telework gain traction after record snowfalls?

The heavy snows of the past week should put a greater commitment to telework on the government’s front burner, to judge from the comments posted to our coverage. But many seem to fear that entrenched opposition will cause any push toward telework to fade as quickly as the snow.

People

OPM's Berry discusses telework during government shutdowns

OPM Director John Berry fielded questions about telework during an online chat session today and said he was optimistic that the blizzard experience would drive home to agency leaders the importance of making telework possible.

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Common standards urged for public, private data exchanges

Gail Belles, health care security director for the Veterans Health Administration, addressed the challenges of securing health data exchanges between federal agencies and the private sector.

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TechStat: A new way of doing business in Washington?

There is a very tough balance to be sought in these "Stat" meetings between providing outside scrutiny to agency IT projects and the meetings' intended purpose as occasions for learning and improvement.

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Responsibility to telework?

One reader finds out that just because employees can telework doesn't mean they really will.

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Teleworkers get the job done with a BlackBerry and car charger

It's a worst-case scenario for teleworkers — being caught in a blizzard with no electricity — but they find a lifeline in the form of their smart phone and a car charger.

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Overheard on Twitter

Traffic and shopping aren't the only things that have ground to a standstill during Washington's blizzard of 2010. Add the federal Office of Personnel Management Web site to the list.

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Federal CIO pursues relentless efficiency via TechStat meetings

Vivek Kundra says the administration intends to leverage the power of technology to make the government run more efficiently.

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Crowdsourcing for social service

A social services-oriented program sponsored by Pepsi makes blogger Steve Kelman wonder about the potential role of crowdsourcing in government.

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Feds stay connected in aftermath of 2010 blizzard

Many federal employees say they are continuing to work even though they can't get into the office.

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In defense of teleworking

Blogger John Klossner writes that federal managers' worries about telework should be overcome by the fact that teleworkers are highly motivated professionals who don't take snow days, work through lunch and maximize the hour(s) they save each day by not commuting.

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GSA looks to crowdsourcing to fix e-gov travel services

The agency will offer a prize worth up to $25,000 for proposing a better approach to its troubled e-gov program.

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Meyerrose: Takai would be qualified for Defense CIO post

California CIO Teri Takai, the expected nominee as the Defense Department's chief information officer, has a proven track record in IT leadership, but the military poses a new set of challenges.

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Fresher data would improve Data.gov, watchdog groups say

The Data.gov transparency Web site could be improved if it had newer data, used better data formats and offered more options for searching, transparency advocates said in a letter to the White House.

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Navy Cyber Command sets sail

The Fleet Cyber Command is part of the recommissioned 10th fleet, which was originally established during World War II to combat U-boats.

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Senate confirms Martha Johnson as GSA administrator

The Senate voted to confirm Johnson after Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) overrode a hold placed on her nomination by Sen. Kit Bond (R-Mo.) that had stalled the nomination since June 2009.

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3 must-do's for agencies to improve citizen engagement

The proliferation of government Web sites and other means of contact does not always result in better service for people, so agencies need to try new approaches.

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Blog brief: The best of government bloggers

This week: Dispatch from Haiti, TSA and the nudity scam, and a public poll on postage stamps.