Tag Archives: DATA

Innovation at Work in Government

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Reading through the Federal IT media and even mainstream media we are seeing two words in close proximity fairly frequently - government and innovation. These two words once thought to be polar opposites are now enjoying a new relationship. On the whole, government agencies are being encouraged to step away from the, "this is how we've always done it" mentality and looking for ways to deliver government to the people in a more modern and efficient way. Much of this encouragement is in the form of mandates as well as out of necessity with aging legacy infrastructures.

So how is this innovation happening? First, there are organizations designed to help agencies make the shift from traditional government thinking to a more forward-leaning, private sector model of technology development and change management.[Tweet "How is innovation happening in #Government? #GovEventsBlog #Innovation"] Continue reading →

Going Big

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When it comes to booking big name speakers, Strata +Hadoop World scored what was probably the biggest win of the 2015 conference year. President Obama appeared via video to talk about the critical role open data should play in innovating government service to citizens.  The President also introduced DJ Patel, the new data scientist for the federal government. This appearance underlies that data is big (not just Big Data).

New positions are being created throughout government focused solely on data. The new Federal Chief Data Scientist and Chief Data Officer roles are being created in agencies across the government. The addition of data to c-suite roles shows that data is serious business.[Tweet "The addition of data to c-suite roles shows that data is serious business. #GovEventsBlog"]

According to the President and Patel, data science is a team sport - meaning that working together is key to utilizing all of the data that the government has opened to industry and the public.[Tweet "Data science is a team sport...Working together is key #GovEventsBlog"] We are being challenged by the administration to find ways to apply this data to everyday life. How can organizations and event professionals incorporate this call for collaboration into our everyday efforts? Perhaps we can look at adding a session or even just a talking point to all of our events or gatherings where attendees can brainstorm on what data exists that could be used to meet a challenge being faced within that community. This ad hoc collaboration around data could provide a unique experience for attendees and perhaps result in the next big (data) thing.

House Passes Bill Restricting Government Meetings, Travel

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Originally posted on Successful Meetings by Matt Alderton.

The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday [11/18] voted overwhelmingly in favor -- 388 to 1 -- of H.R. 2061, otherwise known as the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA).

Sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the bill is intended to increase transparency around government spending by increasing financial reporting requirements for federal agencies. It would expand the amount of data reported online at USASpending.gov, require federal inspectors general to regularly review spending data for accuracy, and mandate the creation of a website updating the public about activities to reduce waste, fraud and abuse in government spending.

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