Take a Seat, But Which One?

Posted on by

Organizing seating at events has traditionally been a pretty straight forward endeavor. It seems the biggest challenge has been to get people to sit up front as opposed to hiding in the back. Generally speaking, planners have had to decide if they want event seating in one of the following arrangement styles:

  • Classroom - Tables in front of chairs arranged in rows. Optimal for events that require note taking.
  • Table rounds - Round tables, generally seating 6 - 12 people based on the table size. Rounds are ideal for events with food service, but often cause half the attendees to have to turn their seats around to see speakers.
  • Theater - Rows of chairs.

Today, as events are looking to be more interactive and inclusive, many organizers are looking beyond basic seating arrangements, and finding news ways for people to inhabit traditional meeting spaces.

Knowing one size does not fit all, the Corporate Event Marketing Association set up seating zones at their recent conference. These zones included: Continue reading →

The Next Frontier of Citizen Experience

Posted on by

Citizen Experience is a focus of the President's Management Agenda and the resulting IT Modernization Centers of Excellence. This focal point is a result of government receiving poor customer service marks (ranking them on par or below cable companies) year after year. Agencies have evolved from requiring citizens to visit a government office to fill out sheets of paperwork to online portals that provide much of that same paperwork online. It quickly became clear, however, that simply moving paperwork online was not the answer to improving citizen experience with government. Today the technology exists to take that online interaction to the next level.

Social media, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), video chat, text, and chatbots are being used throughout government to give citizens a more direct and personalized digital line to the agencies that serve them. Cities are using IoT to better communicate the whereabouts and schedule of public transport as well as air quality levels. AI is powering website chatbots and search functions allowing for more self-service of citizens looking to conduct business with the government 24/7.

But technology alone will not improve the government's customer service scores. The culture and morale of the government workforce also plays a huge role in the service that is delivered to citizens. Service representatives in government should be trained on new systems and shown how technologies will enhance, rather than replace, their jobs. Continue reading →

Mapping out Geospatial Uses

Posted on by

Geospatial, as a strict term, means data that is related to a location. In the government space, Geospatial has been used interchangeably with GIS - or Geographic Information Systems - which refers to technology that uses geospatial data. GIS has long been a key technology for the military and intelligence communities to help map out and gain visibility into areas for combat or missions. But as the availability of geographic data grows through the use of GPS applications, drones, and IoT technologies, the use of GIS is expanding across government.

GIS is a key tool in disaster response helping overlay available resources and assets onto maps of areas impacted by floods or fires. It can also be used to map in real time the location of hazards such as downed power lines.

GIS is also being used by law enforcement. In one case, a boy had gone missing, suspected to be abducted. The boy posted a photo to Instagram and the image, taken from what seemed to be an apartment window, included a sign on a bank across the street. An analyst looked up branch locations and cross-referenced the addresses with online maps, but could not get a location that seemed to be a possible match. When they took that data and loaded it into a GIS system that took a top-down look at locations they were able to pinpoint the location of the child.

Urban sprawl and growth is also being managed with GIS. The city of Durham, NC uses aerial imagery to get a better look at changes being done to properties that impact land use, water runoff, and drainage.

There are several upcoming events focused on GIS as well as others that include discussion of the application of geospatial technology. Continue reading →

Government Gets Social

Posted on by

Social media management platform, Hootsuite, recently released "The Social Government Benchmark Report 2018" that looked at how agencies are using and viewing social media use in connection with their mission. The report examined the value of social media for government organizations as well as explored best practices for enterprise-level social media management for government.

The survey of public sector employees found that about half of respondents rated their agency's use of social media as good or excellent. The top use cases for social media cited were:

  • Citizen engagement (77%) - social media allows for a better understanding of citizen needs and they've seen an increase in positive sentiment.
  • Customer care/service delivery (48%) - teams are able to have faster response times.
  • Critical response communications (47%) - agencies found that citizens are better informed about critical issues and rumors are quickly addressed via social channels.
  • Employer branding and recruitment (45%) - respondents say they are getting a higher volume of candidates as a result of social outreach.

Based on these successes, it's no surprise public servants want to do more with social. 87% of respondents said there is room for improvement. Luckily, there are several events in the coming months that can provide guidance on how public sector organizations can better use social media. Continue reading →

CDM Hits Phase Three: Determining What is Happening on the Network

Posted on by

The Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) program, led by the Department of Homeland Security, was designed to fortify the cybersecurity of government networks and systems with capabilities and tools that identify risks on an ongoing basis, prioritize these risks based on potential impacts, and enable personnel to mitigate the most significant problems first. The program was rolled out in phases with phases one and two pretty much complete across government.

Now that agencies know what and who is on their network, they need to move onto phase three - what is happening on the network. This involves installing and managing the network and perimeter security measures. Given that the perimeter now includes mobile devices, securing those devices and the way they access the network is critical to meeting CDM goals. Currently,agencies are mapping out mobile connections at the agency level, and the networks with which agencies are regularly interacting.

Continue reading →