Jason Miller’s report Kundra says government’s approach to consolidation has been ill-suited includes this statement by Vivek Kundra, Federal Chief Information Officer:
All in eGovernment
That’s one of the reasons I’m concerned about how President Obama’s proposed changes to Federal procurement rules might tip the scales even more in favor of the issuance of fixed price contracts in situations where insufficient detail on requirements and available budget aren’t readily available to potential bidders.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has established a Transparency Task Force. One of its first public facing activities is the creation of the FDA Transparency Blog.
I’m almost finished building my list of state government stimulus reporting web pages. Soon I’ll circle back and do a more detailed state by state assessment of what these pages reveal about how “open and transparent” states are being about how they use the money coming from the ARRA.
Government Use of Social Media and the Management of Control
Over on GovLoop, David Tallan posted a thoughtful piece titled Barriers to Gov 2.0. Here’s one of his paragraphs:
I’m building a simple database to track addresses of web sites in the U.S. that report how stimulus funds are being spent.
How Will U.S. Government Procurement Processes Handle the Stimulus Spending Surge?
The Obama Administration has made it official: spending Federal stimulus money will be scrutinized and reported on very carefully and in great detail.
Vivek Kundra, Washington DC’s own CIO, has been appointed Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO).
Take Some Social Media for Stress and Call Me In The Morning
I certainly don’t think the current Administration will try to use media either way, based on what I’ve seen so far. Plus, there’s a limit to the number of online videos President Obama can produce that can be distributed directly to the public; I would characterize his mediated social pronouncements so far as somberly constructive and realistic and neither pollyana-ish nor imperialistic.
The report Six Practical Steps to Improve Contracting by Dr. Allan V. Burman, Adjunct Professor, George Mason University, is based on a series of discussions co-sponsored by The IBM Center for the Business of Government and George Mason University concerning government procurement practices.
ARRA's Oversight and Information Technology Initiatives
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 (ARRA), passed by Congress and signed by the President, is now available online. The text below is an attempt to summarize sections of the law that do the following:
Challenges Facing Recovery.gov and the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
There’s a strong possibility that how the public sees and experiences the programs reported through Recovery.gov will have just as much potential for driving economic improvement as the programs themselves.
Chris Cizilla’s White House Cheat Sheet: Bypassing the Media Filter is an oversimplification of the shifting role of social media in politics. He makes the usual “Obama is using social media to bypass the mainstream media to go directly to voters” comment, which I think misses the point.
The following is a slide deck that displays the eight points made in Eight Reality Checkpoints for Using “New Social Media” In Government:
A Panel Discussion, "Internet Technology in the Obama Age"
The main question addressed was, given the Obama campaign’s successful use of modern web and social technologies online, what will now be done with these technologies to actually improve government?
The Best Part of Obama's Inaugural Speech
This was my favorite part of President Obama’s inaugural speech; I’ve emphasized what I think is the best phrase:
Analog to Digital Converter Box Coupons Are No Longer Available
I’m investigating ways to give up cable television due to the expense and lack of selectivity. This morning I applied for two coupons for analog to digital converter boxes, figuring I should be ready.
Comments on the Federal Web Managers Council's "Putting Citizens First" White Paper
The “white paper” published by the Federal Web Managers Council in November of 2008, Putting Citizens First: Transforming Online Government. A White Paper Written for the 2008 – 2009 Presidential Transition Team, contains a series of common-sense recommendations that are clearly stated — and deceptive in their simplicity:
