People

GSA names 'chief greening officer' for buildings

GSA has designated Eleni Reed to be Chief Greening Officer in charge of reducing the federal environmental footprint.

People

World Bank will start sweeping new disclosure policy

The World Bank has new policy of disclosing most documents.

Digital Government

VA offers $80M in industry contest

The Veterans Affairs Department announced the third round of innovation competitions, this time with $80 million available for contracts to the winners.

Modernization

Patent office teams with Google to put data online

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is handing over nearly 10 terabytes of its data to Google so that it can be made available for free online.

Modernization

Cooler data centers could save millions for IRS

Federal auditors today said the IRS could save $3 million over four years by improving energy efficiency at two data centers, but the service disagreed with that estimate.

Modernization

Microsoft offers cloud for politicians

Microsoft has teamed with ElectionMall.com to introduce Campaign Cloud, an array of cloud services for political campaigns.

Digital Government

HHS tailors EHRs for children

A federal advisory group today examined whether health information technology should be adapted to meet the needs of pediatric patients and other groups.

People

Data expertise needed to map out Medicare reform

Is the Obama administration equipped to arbitrate the dispute over geographic disparities in Medicare spending?

Digital Government

HHS awards $84M for community EHR systems

The Health and Human Services Department will spend $84 million for health IT systems at community health centers.

Digital Government

Industry team to monitor some VA IT programs

The Veterans Affairs Department has awarded a contract worth up to $115 million to HPTi and its team members to evaluate information technology programs.

People

OMB tells agencies to standardize electronic regulatory dockets

The White House tells agencies to increase transparency in their electronic regulatory dockets.

People

HHS starts sharing health care data

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced a program that makes raw health data from HHS available to the public to use in innovative applications.

People

GSA offers governmentwide platform for idea competitions

The General Services Administration seeks to make it easier for federal agencies to hold online competitions for innovative ideas.

Digital Government

Agencies to measure effects of science spending

The White House and two agencies will start collecting data on federal spending's effects on science.

People

GSA tests crowdsourcing wiki for acquisitions

The General Services Administration is using an online wiki to get public input about how to structure and price several upcoming cloud computing procurements.

Modernization

Government-only virtual world on the way

Federal agencies are building the vGov government-only virtual world that will be used for employee training, education, meetings and simulations. It's expected to go online in July.

People

Smithsonian boosts online sharing with Web 2.0

The Smithsonian Institution is promoting a number of Web 2.0 programs.

People

Australia, U.K. put government data online

Government 2.0 leaders from Australia and the United Kingdom are working to enhance transparency and put data online.

Acquisition

Total number of interagency/enterprisewide contracts is anyone's guess

Federal agencies spend about $60 billion a year on interagency and enterprisewide contracts, but there is limited evidence that they are being effectively used and managed, according to the Government Accountability Office.

People

Telework: Senate gives unanimous thumbs up

The Senate has unanimously approved the Telework Enhancement Act, which would give federal employees presumptive eligibility to telework and ensure that telework is part of continuity-of-operations planning.