Weekly Round-up: June 06, 2014

Gadi Ben-Yehuda

• People as peripherals. Government Technology reports on "The Role of Citizens in Smart Cities" Author Tod Newcombe offers that citizens will become part of the Smart City's sensor network, which seems right to me, as I wrote about this in 2012:
  "Perhaps one of the most sophisticated sensors that can be connected to the internet–especially through a mobile device -uses only millivolts of electricity and has two opposable thumbs. Indeed, humans interact with online sensors so seamlessly, they can be considered as a kind of sensor themselves. "
• Related: All that open data that sensor generate can activate a more participatory citizenry, reports State Tech.  Bonus: and what if people engage with their government through sarcasm? The Secret Service thinks they can ferret that nuance out of social meia posts. 
• No walk in the park.  Colby Hochmuth, from her new perch at FCW, reviews the new CIO Survey, "CIO/CISO Insights: Achieving Results and Confronting Obstacles."  She provides a great precis of the reports findings.

Dan Chenok

• Federal CIOs discuss challenges and opportunities.  
• How agencies can prepare to address continuous checks for cybersecurity issues -- NIST issues new guidance. 
• Agencies prepare for the mobile future. 

John Kamensky

• New Open Government Plan.  The Office of Science and Technology Policy, at the White House, announces its 2014 Open Government Plan, highlighting three flagship efforts.  This is not to be confused with the federal government’s National Action Plan for Open Government, released in December 2013.
• Fixing the VA Bureaucracy. Charlie Clark, Government Executive, interviews two past VA executives for their ideas on ways to address the culture problems uncovered during the recent scandal over VA hospital wait times.   They offer several recommendations that do not require legislation, such as the bills currently under consideration.  Jason Miller, Federal News Radio, likewise interviewed a former VA Secretary who offered his fix-it prescription. Philip Carter, with Slate, also offers a series of how-to-fix-it recommendations.
• The Cost of Compliance.  Colby Hochmuth, Federal Computer Week, sums up a new report by Dell and Market Connections that examines the costs associated with complying with various federal IT requirements, such as FISMA and HIPPA, noting it learned that: “the cost of compliance as $222 per employee and noncompliance as about $820 per employee.”

Michael Keegan

No Easy Cure for VA’s Ailing Bureaucracy
The department has repeatedly struggled (and failed) to balance central control with field authority. In interviews with Government Executive, two former top VA executives and a longtime observer shared their views on what ails the agency and laid out some suggestions on how the department’s fresh-eyed leaders should manage.

How to fix the crisis at the VA
Former Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi offers his views on potential long-term solutions for the agency.

Intel community's fight against terrorism moves beyond connecting the dots 
The Data Aggregation Working Group is creating a data aggregation reference architecture to give law enforcement and intelligence agencies a better approach to sharing information more securely and more quickly.

DoD drills down on service contracting; a controversial decision on contractor pay
In this edition of "Inside the DoD Reporter's Notebook," the military plans a focus on more efficient services, contractors get a retroactive pay cap and IT fixes are in store for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sequestration forced agencies elsewhere for program funding, GAO says
The Government Accountability Office says the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services relied on state funds to complete health-care facility inspections.

How VA's $24 million move to the cloud evaporated 
The Department of Veterans Affairs IT shop scuttled a long-planned cloud deal because of worries about email retention and security concerns.

NSA employs ever-improving facial-recognition technology
The National Security Agency's revelation highlights the growing sophistication of facial-recognition tools available to government. 

Dealing with the FedRAMP deadline
At GSA's deadline for cloud service providers to be certified, both government and vendors say they have seen an evolution in attitudes and strategies. 

The Business of Government Radio Show: Larry Sampler

The Business of Government Hour features a conversation about management with a government executive who is changing the way government.

Donald “Larry” Sampler serves as Assistant to the Administrator in the Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs (OAPA) leading USAID’s efforts for the agency’s two largest missions. Mr. Sampler brings his considerable experience in the private sector, the military, and in post and intra-conflict missions of both the Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations.

How has USAID sought to promote stability and order in Afghanistan? What is USAID’s three-fold transition strategy? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Larry Sampler, Assistant to the Administrator & Director, Office of Afghanistan and Pakistan Affairs, USAID.

Broadcast Schedule: The show airs Monday at 11 a.m., and Wednesday at noon, on Federal News Radio 1500AM WFED

If you can't wait, though, you can listen to (or download) this week's program and all our previous interviews at businessofgovernment.org and by searching our audio archives.