Modernization
Group gives most open government plans mediocre marks
Some agencies such as NASA and Housing and Urban Development receive high grades for going beyond White House requirements for transparency, but most others fall short of meeting presidential directive.
Digital Government
Corporate execs tell White House about benefits of contests
The Obama administration wants federal agencies to learn from the private sector how online competitions for the public and organizations can help solve some of the nation's problems.
Digital Government
House transparency caucus vows to regain public's trust in government
One of the group's first actions will be to ensure that information posted on the Web from every branch of government is consistent, searchable and downloadable.
Digital Government
Financial regulatory agencies seek to upgrade IT systems
The Commodities Future Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission request enough money to meet potential responsibilities under new reform bill.
Ideas
Top 10 Satisfying E-Gov Services
Agency websites have adjusted well over the past year to new leadership, showing a significant increase in satisfaction between the first quarter of 2009 and 2010, according to the latest quarterly report from the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
Digital Government
Many Americans surfing for hard facts about government
Pew researchers were surprised that 40 percent of the public have used the Internet to find raw government data, spending statistics, policy statements and campaign contributions.
Digital Government
Agencies issue self-evaluations for open government plans
Health and Human Services, Transportation and NASA receive green flags, all others have not fulfilled the directive's requirements.
Ideas
A Dashboard For Metro
Dashboards are all the rage in government. The online scorecards are in use at the Veterans Affairs Department to <a href="http://www.oit.va.gov/docs/dashboard/OMB_Product_Delivery_Dashboard_123109_01_21_2010.pdf">measure</a> tech project performance and inside the White House to <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/open/around">grade</a> agencies' transparency efforts. Now, the nation's capital is developing a dashboard to monitor the subway system's accidents.
Modernization
Feds to cut greenhouse gases through the cloud
Vivek Kundra says shifting computer work from massive data centers to the Internet will conserve power and fuel.
Cybersecurity
White House tells agencies to use same framework to exchange information
OMB says joint Justice-Homeland Security program should be basis for federal information-sharing.
Digital Government
In ironic twist, Adobe takes on Apple for not being open government friendly
The creator of the PDF claims a strategy to block widely used programs on the iPad and iPhone conflicts with President Obama's transparency goals and undermines Internet-era innovation.
Cybersecurity
Federal cybersecurity monitoring goes real-time and digital
New rules call for agencies to continuously collect data about security status and stream it to OMB monthly, rather than report quarterly by paper.
Ideas
Adobe: Apple Bad For Open Government
Apple's recent decision to block Adobe's video player on the iPad is an affront to open government, officials at the software company claimed on Monday.
Ideas
Agencies Struggle To Count Secrets
In the past, many agencies undercounted the amount of information they classified each year because departments did not include classification decisions made while communicating online. The fact that most agencies underreported the secrets they created last year may lead one to assume that number of secrets generated this year would go up. But the opposite happened.
Modernization
Consultants: Government is thirsty for foreign tech expertise
One caveat is small businesses based overseas must set up U.S. branches to qualify for such perks as set-aside contracts.
Digital Government
Failure to produce results puts IT projects on the chopping block
The Obama administration has cut funding for the modernization of some programs, based on performance.
Ideas
IRS E-file Overhaul Triggers Errors
A $574 million program to overhaul the IRS' existing method for electronically collecting tax returns is supposed to provide instant processing capabilities and improved error detection, but the system is erroneously rejecting returns, according to report released Thursday, tax day, by a Treasury watchdog.
Modernization
Cloud raises diplomatic issues, top Clinton aide says
Collectively hosting applications and hardware off-site promotes the exchange of ideas, but it also raises the question about who owns the information, says State Department's senior adviser Alec Ross.
Ideas
Chatting with Public Officials
A White House official this month has been <a href="http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100412_6003.php">taking heat</a> for doing something many of us do almost reflexively on a daily basis - chatter with friends, coworkers and bosses online. Andrew McLaughlin, the White House deputy chief technology officer for Internet policy, reportedly used Web-based e-mail to communicate with administration colleagues and lobbyists at Google, his former employer. According to images posted on the Internet, a list of his contacts showed he used his Gmail account to converse with Aneesh Chopra, the White House chief technology officer, and Katie Stanton, another Google veteran who now works at the State Department.
Ideas