People

Failed $3B helicopter program shows dangers of poor planning

A program needs good planning from its earliest stages — and a good reason why it’s needed in the first place.

People

Employee swap: OFPP contemplates exchange program

Trading employees for short-term projects may broaden workers' careers while providing their expertise to a department in need.

Digital Government

DOD reconsiders the insourcing question

Officials look more strategically at the acquisition workforce, but there are concerns about who DOD sees as part of that group.

Cybersecurity

Senators start talks on larger cybersecurity bill

Senior Senate staff members are working on cybersecurity legislation.

Digital Government

An addition to the federal dialect

Government officials have one more word to add to their repertoire of government-only language.

Acquisition

Officials change tone on insourcing

Officials say they never intended for massive insourcing, and the administration has not let it happen.

Digital Government

GSA leader's zero footprint

Administrator Martha Johnson hit a unique mark of making little, or maybe no, impact on her environment.

People

Telework puts managers in tight spot, officials say

Most federal work doesn’t lend itself to measuring direct output from an employee, which makes it hard to directly measure performance, officials say.

People

How to get permission to fail

Agencies can undertake risky projects, but they should expect Congress to be watching closely and demanding accountability.

Acquisition

Too much training still leaves interns inexperienced

Managers are dealing with highly certified employees who still need supervision and intervention from more experienced contracting officers, officials say.

People

Proving value of open government falls to agencies

A panel at IRMCO describes the hazards of opening government data to the public.

Digital Government

Transparency can't shine without context

The Obama administration, Congress and watchdog groups want more transparency, but transparency can still leave much of the public blind.

People

DOD hurt by speed, agility to access info, official says

Senators are warning about reverting to the pre-Sept. 11 days of hoarding information, and say instead that agencies need to balance security concerns with needs.