Tag Archives: collaboration

Putting Work into Defining the Government Workforce

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The last year has brought about incredible change in the federal workforce, and it shows no sign of stopping. With a new Director for the Office of Personnel and Management (OPM) confirmed, the next several months will bring new energy and activity to formalizing and standardizing workplace policies, processes, and approaches for the "new normal" of a digital-first government.

The move to telework changed how many people view and even perform their jobs. Before the pandemic, telework was sporadically used throughout government and viewed pretty skeptically. Now that the genie is out of the bottle, it's clear that government can continue to function without people in office buildings from 9am-5pm. As in-person work starts to come back around, the new shift will be in defining and managing a hybrid workforce.

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Blockchain’s Role in Managing COVID

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Blockchain technology is a new way of passing information from point A to point B. The data passes through a "block" that gets validated by a network of unrelated computers, and democratizes the transfer of data. This creates a transparency for the path of the data and makes that path irreversible. It also allows for computational logic to be attached to data, enabling automation around actions associated with it.

 

Organizations across government have been experimenting with ways blockchain technology could make transactions more efficient, secure, and transparent. With the COVID-19 pandemic the ability to easily, securely, and transparently share data has never been more important. In the many areas of our lives affected by the pandemic, blockchain is proving to be a tool for meeting the quickly evolving demands of public health, financial markets, and even democracy itself.

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High Tech, Low Budget: Tech-ing Up Your Event

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The vast majority of events listed on GovEvents are technology related. However, the events themselves tend to be manual and paper-based. This reliance on the "old-school" way of doing things is often driven by time and money (or lack thereof).

Events as marketing tools are an expense so keeping spending in check is critical to producing a return on the investment. Often, these events are organized by a small staff with other job responsibilities beyond planning the event. Knowing this, it's understandable to default to the "way we've always done it." This "status quo" thinking might keep the expenses low but ROI will continue to fall as less people attend a show they see as stuck in the past.

We've pulled together some ideas on how to affordably add tech to your events to increase your relevance without increasing bottom line spending.[Tweet "Ideas on how to affordably add tech to your events. #GovEventsBlog #EventTech"] Continue reading →

The Show Without a Speaker

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It may seem revolutionary, but imagine an event without any big name speakers, no keynote, or any session led by a single speaker. What would attendees do? How would they learn? Likely, there would be a lot of collaboration among the attendees, as well as ad hoc discussions and demonstrations. While it's not realistic to cut out speakers completely, there is something to be said for limiting their place in the agenda, and we may be more ready for it than you'd think.[Tweet "The show without a speaker... What would attendees do? #GovEventsBlog"]

Today when we make a purchase online - anything from a car to a new pair of shoes to a new shampoo -  many of us scroll first to the comments and ratings of previous buyers. Peer review has become a powerful part of the decision making process. Incorporating this type of "experience sharing" into events is a great way to extend how we are making many decisions in life. Continue reading →

Be the Tortoise and Embrace Slower Meetings

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As spring comes into full bloom and the first days of summer are peeking around the corner, many of us are reminded to stop and smell the roses. What if we applied this slow concept to the way we conduct our meetings and events?

At most events you hear people describe how busy they were, making it to all of the sessions, meeting with colleagues, walking the show floor. You hear laments about aching feet and backs from all the rushing around. But what if this "pack it all in while we're here" mentality is not the best way to get the most value out of events? There is a movement in the industry called "slow meetings" that is looking to change the way we approach our days at in-person events.[Tweet "There is a movement in the industry called 'slow meetings'. #GovEventsBlog"] Continue reading →