People

The acquisition workforce and its money

The Federal Acquisition Institute's latest report shows a workforce in transition.

People

Be a hero, not a victim

A new book encourages employees to respond to adversity with creativity, not self-pity.

People

A call for action, not studies

Former OFPP Administrator Dee Lee argues that a well-trained workforce is the most important ingredient for acquisition success.

People

Klossner: “We’ve suffered an employee separation of the lower cubicle”

FCW cartoonist John Klossner suggests new phrases for employers and employees alike to use when talking about their parting of ways.

People

Get a Life!: Town hall meetings disturb August slumbers

The health care situation has not changed much since blogger Judy Welles worked on the issue at HHS 30 years ago -- but the debate is more heated.

People

VA tries new 'corporate' acquisition

The Veterans Affairs Department is struggling with a 26 percent vacancy rate in its acquisition staff, Deputy Secretary W. Scott Gould said today as he outlined a new "corporate" approach to the buying process.

People

Rising Stars a reminder of an earlier day

Trail Bosses and Rising Stars, though drawing from different generations, have much in common.

People

DISA director emphasizes contractor workforce importance

Lt. Gen. Carroll Pollett, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency, reiterated the importance of the contract workforce to DISA at an industry presentation Aug. 7, especially, he said, as the agency faces moving its staff to Fort Meade next year.

People

Dangerous liaisons: When agencies and contractors get too close

Are ethical breaches a common occurrence in government-industry partnerships? Some readers say that is definitely the case.

Cybersecurity

Virtual FOSE: Metrics, comparisons recommended for winning IT security support

Alan Paller, the director of research at the SANS Institute, recommends that IT security professionals without budget authority use reliable metrics, numbers and comparisons to win support from executives.

People

Insourcing and the politics of government job security

One big difference between the government and contractor workforces, as one reader sees it, is that when agencies cut jobs, they typically reassign personnel to new positions, but when contractors cut jobs, they cut staff.

Cybersecurity

Business groups want Congress to address E-Verify concerns

TechAmerica and others ask lawmakers to deal with their worries about E-Verify.

People

Insourcing fad misses the point (and misleads agencies)

Agencies that rush to bring contractor work back into the fold could be making a big mistake, according to several readers.

Cybersecurity

Murphy leads Treasury's HSPD-12 charge

Mary Beth Murphy shepherded Treasury's employee ID card effort.

Modernization

Rising Star Genen Soo-Hoo

Soo-Hoo gave a new face to NYPD's Crime Stopper program by developing a multimedia-enabled "Submit a Tip" Web site.

Modernization

Rising Star Vanessa Leigh Manchester

Manchester coordinated the efforts of more than 20 federal agencies as they link their existing health IT systems to the emerging Nationwide Health Information Network via the Connect gateway.

Modernization

Rising Star Maj. Samuel Abbott-McCune

Abbott-McCune revamped a network laboratory used in IT training, running more than 2 miles of cable, rack mounting 50 pieces of equipment, and creating several cable patch bays so that equipment could be interconnected without moving. He also supervises quality control of 500 classrooms at 15 different locations.

People

Rising Star Zhenia Klevitsky

Klevistsky contributed her time and expertise to numerous organizations in the federal IT community, including ACT-IAC, AFCEA and the Association of Proposal Management Professionals.

People

Rising Star Marwan Jamal

Jamal led the creation of the Crisis Management Center, a high-tech facility that can simulate crisis scenarios used to teach leadership and management competencies. He also manages the private-sector initiative for the IRM College, through which more than 30 IT companies loan equipment to the college for use in training.

People

Survey: Acquisition employees say they've improved

According to a workforce survey, nine of 17 contracting competencies increased when compared with the same survey done in 2007.