Contents tagged with Federal
US Falling Behind in Race Toward Open Government
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.Here’s an interesting article in Bloomberg about open government initiatives around the world and how the US is falling behind.
From the article: (emphasis added)
When Brazil’s government buys anything from fighter jets to a fancy villa, details are available online within 24 hours. Such disclosures are a powerful way to combat corruption, and are a model for official openness that could inspire other nations.
Brazil’s online portal started in 2004. Among its contents: information about Brazilian outlays in advance of hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. The site includes an online channel for whistleblower complaints.
Because corruption is a major problem in Brazil, timely release of spending data, including daily information about the use of government credit cards, is designed to help the media and opposition politicians in Brazil reveal crooked behavior. If a minister buys a truckload of wine with her government card, or pays off a cousin, someone will notice.
And it’s not just in Brazil, the open government movement is gaining steam around the world:
Enthusiasm for open government is taking hold not just in Brazil, but in countries such as Kenya, India and the U.K. Kenya last month became the first sub-Saharan African country to launch a government-data portal. India is a beehive of activity; it has initiated ambitious plans for providing public services with the help of mobile phones in rural areas and for electronic citizen engagement in government generally.
Later this month, President Obama is set to address the UN General Assembly meeting to praise open government and announce an Open Government Partnership led by Brazil and the U.S.
This sounds like a great opportunity for IT developers to take a closer look at open government. As pressure mounts to make spending more accountable, there is sure to be demand for solutions that enable transparency.
A Cloud Based Model for the Federal Workforce
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.Federal News Radio has an interesting article on FedCloud: a staffing model for Federal employees based on cloud computing concepts.
From the article:
Imagine a future federal workforce that includes a group of "free agents" — feds who are ready at a moment's notice to help across government agencies on special projects.
That's the idea behind Deloitte's Fed Cloud workforce model, drawing on the concept of cloud computing. Instead of information, humans make up the cloud, giving agencies the flexibility to select from a range of knowledge and skillsets.
"If you think about how fast the world is changing right now...government can't move fast enough in changing those skill sets," said Bill Eggers, Global Director for Public Sector Research at Deloitte, in an interview with In Depth with Francis Rose.
Check out the video Deloitte put together explaining it through the lens of middle school students from late 90s. In other words, the same generation entering the workforce now. (Don’t you feel old.
)It’s a compelling idea. I wonder if it will catch on.
Free GSA Webinar Mobile Apps vs. Mobile Web
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.The GSA (General Services Administration) will host a free webinar on December 8 at 11AM EST debating the merits of mobile apps or mobile web.
Should be a fun debate between two different agency representatives with two different points of view.
Details below:
The Transportation Security Administration’s Neil Bonner will argue for mobile websites while the Department of Labor’s Mike Pulsifer will argue the value of mobile apps.
The “Mobile Apps vs. Mobile Websites” webinar will be held from 11 a.m. to noon EST. Register.
[found via FedScoop]
Federal SharePoint User Group Meeting Tonight
Parts.Common.Body.Summary.cshtml – The template for summary of a content item's body.Tonight, the Federal SharePoint User Group is meeting in DC at 1200 18th St NW Suite #LL-100, Washington, DC.
Tom Ferro will talk about Event Receivers in SharePoint 2010.
From the MeetUp.com page:
Thursday, January 5, 2012, 7:00 PM
Zenith Technology Institute/VETS Group1200 18th St., NW Suite #LL-100, Washington, DC (map)
Suite #LL-100Webcast Info for this session
DCO Uusers https://connect.dco.dod.mil/fedspug
Non DCO Users https://join.me/FEDERALSPSUGPresentation Description:This presentation titled SharePoint 2010 Event Receivers, is a beginning to intermediate look at Event Receivers and Event Handlers in SharePoint 2010. We will discus the different types of event receivers but focus on those related to list item events. Some basic C# code will be shown and explained followed by a demo. Throughout the presentation real world examples and stories will be used in order to show the ease of use and power of list item event receiver features in SharePoint 2010.
Bio: Tim Ferro is an energetic developer/architect/consultant that provides SharePoint 2010 and MOSS 2007 solutions on high impact government projects. He is currently working with SharePoint 2010, WSS 3.0, and MOSS 2007, architecting enterprise solutions and environments. He provides expertise in both out-of-the-box and custom SharePoint solutions as well as user interface enhancements. Twitter: @timferro
Transportation Info: Our new location is one block from the Farragut North Metro station and 3 blocks from the Farragut West Metro station. Address: 1200 18th St., NW Suite #LL-100, Washington, DC