Michael J. Keegan

John Kamensky Fix, Don’t Kill Telework. Eyebrows have been raised over perceived misuse of telework at the Patent and Trademark Office. But Jeffrey Neal, a former chief human capital officer at Homeland Security, tells Federal News Radio that “Rather than attempting to reverse telework programs, we should be working on fixing the problems. Nothing I have experienced, heard from people currently in government, or read tells me telework and other workplace flexibilities should be killed. . . .

John Kamensky

OMB Updates Performance.gov.  OMB posted third quarter performance progress updates for cross-agency and agency-specific priority goals on performance.gov.  In an accompanying blog post, OMB director Shawn Donovan highlights some specific accomplishments.

John Kamensky IRS’s Big Data and Analytics Go-To Guy. Jason Miller, Federal News Radio, reports that IRS’s Dean Silverman “s going beyond predictive analytics to improve its business outcomes.” Silverman joined IRS two years ago to create an analytic capability to detect fraud and improve compliance with tax laws. His pioneering efforts have drawn attention in other agencies, given his success in helping his colleagues save $2 billion with state-of-the-art approaches. IGs Overburdened by Congressional Mandates.

John Kamensky Much, Much Better Buying Power. According to Jared Surbu, Federal News Radio, “The Defense Department unveiled the latest version of its Better Buying Power initiative Friday [September 19], shifting the acquisition improvement spotlight this time onto the need to drive more advanced technologies into the products DoD buys.” DHS Secretary Makes Risk Management a Priority.

John Kamensky Procurement Reform Redux. Ann Rung, the new chief of procurement policy for the federal government, laid out her vision for reforming the government’s buying practices at a recent conference. According to Charlie Clark, Government Executive, her office “is focusing on ‘simplifying the contractor space to emphasize performance’ in achieving “world-class customer service and cost savings,’ Rung said. ‘The key to simplicity is greater collaboration and cooperation’ within agencies and between the acquisition workforce and industry,” Dan Tangerlini Speaks. Adam Mazmanian Reports.

John Kamensky Transforming Government Acquisition for the Future. An op-ed column by Kymme McCabe and Dan Chenok in Government Executive has sparked a lively on-line debate. They offer, on behalf of a grassroots “Acquisition of the Future” initiative, a roadmap forward, and say: “acquisition transformation, not just reform, is critical to enable the federal government to effectively lead in the Collaboration Age. Now it’s time to chart a course forward toward such transformation.” Their column has generated more than 40 comments! Customer Service is Bleak.

John Kamensky Slow Going in Hiring Process Improvements. According to Eric Katz, Government Executive, a survey shows that less than half of hiring managers are actively involved in the process: “While the administration has emphasized getting managers more directly involved in the hiring process, the latest quarterly reports show agencies are still falling well short of their targets.” Evidence-Based Programs Rock!

CMS head Tavenner announces resignation. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator Marilyn Tavenner has announced she will be leaving the agency in February. IOM Touts Clinical Data Sharing. The Institute of Medicine has released four recommendations for the sharing of clinical data from medical trials, which include creating new technology platforms. IOM's recommendations came the same day as an announcement from Johnson & Johnson to make certain clinical trial data available through the Yale School of Medicine's Open Data Access Project.

The Rise of Shadow IT. According to Government Computer News, “Nearly three-quarters of IT security professionals are unaware of the amount of “shadow IT” within their organizations, according to a recent survey by the Cloud Security Alliance. . . .

Show Me the Evidence. An Obama Administration initiative to fund social programs relies on one critical factor. Agencies had to use a data-driven and evidence-based approaches for planning and spending. Ron Haskins, senior fellow for economic studies at the Brookings Institution and author of "Show Me the Evidence," explains in an interview on “In Depth with Francis Rose” how the evidence-based funding approach works. Using the Evidence.