People

What to look for in agency reorg plans

Will agency reorganization plans focus on management and program improvements, or are the efforts a front for budget cuts and workforce reductions?

Acquisition

Federal employees honored for tech, humanitarian work

At a time of generally low public trust in government, the Partnership for Public Service honored the work of civil servants at its annual awards gala.

Modernization

House Oversight leaders want answers on White House email

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wants answers on the reported use of private email accounts to conduct official business by White House advisor and presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Digital Government

A how-to software guide for federal managers

A guide from 18F aimed at federal managers without a software engineering background prioritizes continuous, incremental improvement and user-centered design.

People

Amid reorg, agency leaders push for SES reforms

Amid reorganization and downsizing, agency leaders want to ensure there's a healthy pipeline for the senior executive service to carry out its mission.

People

Agencies steer clear of RIFs in reorg plans

Agencies think they can fulfill White House reorganization goals and trim their workforces by relying on attrition and reclassifying employees.

Digital Government

Trump tech office looks to improve customer experience

A senior White House tech adviser said that administration's priorities include improving citizen-facing services, shared services and pushing open government legislation.

Digital Government

Census dinged by IG for canvassing error rate

A recent Department of Commerce inspector general report raises questions about the quality control procedures for an in-office component of the Census Bureau's address canvassing operation.

People

CIO Council to host governmentwide tech recruiting event

The Federal CIO Council is hosting a governmentwide hiring event to help bridge the government’s tech and cyber skills gap.

Acquisition

Census delays field IT contract award

As key field tests for the 2020 enumeration approaches, the Census Bureau announced it was going to be later than expected with a key contract award on field IT.

People

Senators gear up for government reorg

With agencies' draft reorganization plans due at the end of the month, senators want to focus on legislative solutions to the low-hanging fruit for improving agency efficiencies.

Digital Government

Number of veterans in federal workforce grew in 2016

The number of veterans employed by the federal government has crept steadily upward in recent years, and now represents nearly one-third of the entire executive branch workforce.

Cybersecurity

CBP's border wall plans integrate tech

Despite funding uncertainty, Customs and Border Protection is moving ahead with designs for a technological and physical barrier along the southern border.

People

USDA looks to cut CIOs as part of reorg

The Department of Agriculture is looking to cut down on the number of agency CIOs in the name of efficiency and better communication across mission areas.

Digital Government

Is low-tech the answer to election security?

Some experts say that given uneven IT security requirements for voting systems, the best protection against election hacking may be less technology.

People

How Congress can get better data and also increase privacy

A bipartisan panel of government management experts is pushing for the creation of a federal data service for collecting and distributing information to aid evidence-based policymaking, with an emphasis on ensuring privacy.

Digital Government

NARA's plan to help government pivot to digital

The National Archives explains how it's going to help agencies stay on track with the shift to all-digital records management.

People

A student-run solution to govtech skill shortages

A group of Harvard students just wrapped up the first year of a fellowship program they designed to create a tech skills pipeline for government.

People

White House announces expected federal pay bump

The White House's alternative payment plan raises civilian pay by 1.9 percent and military pay by 2.1 percent, but critics complain it's not enough.

Digital Government

Can the FEC pivot to protect election tech?

The agency charged with enforcing campaign finance rules faces a new high-tech threat that it's not equipped to handle, says a former federal elections official.