Picking Up the Open-Gov Torch

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

Originally posted on FCW

In September, the White House announced a series of new initiatives as part of its second Open Government National Action Plan. Among them was a commitment to developing and implementing a governmentwide open-source software policy by the end of 2015.

But two of the leaders of that initiative -- Todd Park and Steven VanRoekel -- left the White House toward the end of the summer, raising questions about whether the program will stay on track.

Former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Park and former U.S. CIO VanRoekel were in their respective positions for more than two years and played a role in the launch of the Digital Government Strategy, the Presidential Innovation Fellows program and the U.S. Digital Service. They also had a hand in writing the second open-government plan, which set a Dec. 31, 2015, target for developing an open-source software policy that, with the Digital Services Playbook, "will support improved access to custom software code developed for the federal government." Continue reading →

Break from the Norm: Unconventional Event Spaces

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Last week we talked about when it is time to revisit the format of an annual event. If that post got you thinking, we're going to challenge you a bit to really make a dramatic change to your event by thinking of unconventional venues.

Earlier this year, we provided some ideas to get your events out of the ballroom. Then we read this article on the Event Manager blog and it got us thinking even more out of the box. While some of their suggestions may not be the best fit for the government-centric/professional development events (Food trucks in an urban parking lot, for example), it does provide some food for thought.

There is a certain well-known rotation of venues that the government community is used to. When your attendees know all of the secret parking areas, make a beeline for the beef wellington, and know the exact location of outlets for recharging phones and laptops you may be at a place that is overdone. If you're looking to make a change, simply thinking outside the box when it comes to a venue may provide the breath of fresh air your event needs to grow its attendee base. Continue reading →

DHS Sketches the Tech Future

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

Originally posted on FCW

Reginald Brothers will probably be out of his job in another two years or so. But he's making policy plans for the next three decades.

This week, Brothers -- Homeland Security undersecretary for science and technology -- laid out an ambitious, though very general, long-term agenda for DHS's tech-development arm that concentrates on developing a seamless cybersecurity infrastructure, networked threat detection technology, and speedier traveler and cargo security detection capabilities.

Brothers unveiled the goals for the Science and Technology Directorate after consultation with a number of stakeholders. Continue reading →

How Embracing the Slow Philosophy Could Enhance your Next Event

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From time to time GovEvents will come across information we feel our members and audience would benefit from. Here's something we wanted to share:

Originally posted on www.eventmanagerblog.com

As Event Managers we strive to ensure value and as a result we often try to cram every minute of the event schedule. But is this actually having a detrimental effect on our events? Should we actually seriously consider slowing down the pace to see the benefits?

A lot of thought and planning goes into any event programme. As an Event Manager I see it as my duty to create an efficient and flowing schedule strongly focused on the content with, dare I say it, almost perfunctory breaks throughout the day. Continue reading →

Ch..Ch…Ch…Changes: Changing Up Your Annual Event

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We're all comfortable with familiarity and routine, but when it comes to annual events, a measured amount of change is a good thing. In an age of decreased travel, training budgets, and time strapped attendees, freshening up your event is not just a good idea, it's necessary to build audience growth and profit.

This article from BizBash provided insight from leading event planners as to when and why to look at changing up annual events. Some comments that jumped out were: Continue reading →