People

OPM: Treat telework as an asset, not a perk

Federal agencies may need some cultural change to begin viewing telework as an asset, an Office of Personnel Management official said at a seminar.

People

Agencies need help on public participation standards, report says

Although a few agencies are doing well at getting the public to participate in a meaningful way, most are falling short, according to a new industry report.

Digital Government

Rare 5.9 earthquake shakes up D.C. federal buildings

"Did you feel it?" was the question that boomeranged around Twitter in thousands of tweets after an unusually strong earthquake hit Virginia about 90 miles from Washington, D.C.

People

How VA missed $213M in overpayments

The Veterans Affairs Department did an incomplete job of tallying its overpayments in 2010 because it did not fully follow White House guidance, according to VA's Office of Inspector General.

Digital Government

White House memo puts COOs on the hot seat

Chief operating officers are expected to take the lead on cutting wasteful spending and enhancing performance.

People

Customer service in government: not like selling burgers

Federal agencies are being told to improve customer service, but it's not always a straight path forward.

Modernization

Explained: How OPM identified job applicants affected by data loss

Faced with nearly 70,000 applications it couldn't process, OPM was able to invite those affected to send in new materials.

Digital Government

Agencies should plan for 10 percent budget cuts, OMB says

"Difficult year" ahead due to mandatory budget cuts, administration warns.

Modernization

VanRoekel details plans for website inventories

The White House plan for streamlining federal sites and domains brings with it requirements for federal CIOs to get busy on several surveys and plans.

Modernization

70,000 job applications lost or damaged by system outage

Applicants whose documents were lost or otherwise compromised have been notified, OPM says.

Digital Government

Navy issues online guide to Google+

Google+ has attracted more than 10 million users since its recent introduction. Now the Navy has released an introduction to the new social tagging service.

Digital Government

VA policy seeks to increase use of social media

The Veterans Affairs Department has issued a policy statement encouraging social media use and laying out the rules.

Cybersecurity

Protective Services risk assessment system fails, GAO says

The Federal Protective Service's costs for developing a new risk assessment system have tripled and the system is two years behind schedule, a new report says.

People

Some USAJobs.gov job applications may be missing

Thousands of job applications may have been lost when a system that connects to USAJobs.gov went down for unscheduled maintenance.

Modernization

VA adds tablets to contracting vehicle

The Veterans Affairs Department has added amendments to an upcoming major procurement vehicle to specify several types of tablets and light laptop computers it may want to buy.

People

Agency venues popular on Foursquare despite no sponsorship

With 11 million users on Foursquare, many federal venues are being created on the application without official sponsorship by the federal agency managers of those venues.

Modernization

Recovery.gov IT staffers talk about agility, mobility

The Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board as a new and independent agency has emphasized agility, speed and mobility in its IT operations, staff members said.

Digital Government

HHS wants app to turn Facebook friends into disaster lifelines

The Health and Human Services Department has started its Lifeline Facebook App Challenge, which seeks to turn social media friends into "lifelines" during a disaster.

Digital Government

NYC police form social media unit to track criminals

The New York City Police Department has started a unit to track leads on criminal activity disclosed on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

People

HHS publishes guidelines for agency podcasting

The Health and Human Services Department has published some tips to help agencies with podcasting, even though there are some indications the technology is losing popularity.