White House to get ideas from federal employees

Federal employees can submit ideas to the White House on how to improve agencies' performance and reduce spending through a contest started today by the Office of Management and Budget, OMB officials said.

The contest is named Securing Americans Value and Efficiency (SAVE), said Jeffrey Zients, chief performance officer and deputy director for management at OMB.

Federal employees can submit their idea through an online form at www.SaveAward.gov. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 14 and the winner will be announced in November, OMB officials said

On April 25, President Barack Obama called for “a process through which every government worker can submit their ideas for how their agency can save money and perform better.” In June, Obama said he supports using competition to drive innovation.

The winner will get to present his or her idea directly to Obama and also have that idea included in the fiscal 2011 budget, OMB officials said.