Operation Jump Start this week — Wednesday, Feb. 11

Operation Jump Start, a wonderful program that lets all of us give back to the troops — it helps them jump start their careers. The event was scheduled for January but postponed as a result of a DC snowstorm.

I have specific information after the break about how you can give. The event is Wednesday, Feb. 11  at the Army Navy Club in Arlington, VA. You can get all the information after the break… and you can register here…

If you are unable to unable to get items to Arlington by Wednesday — if you can get it by Federal News Radio 1500 AM in NW DC, I’ll make sure it gets into the right hands. The stations address is:
Federal News Radio 1500 AM
3400 Idaho Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20016

Again, get all the details about the event after the break…

Good government group merger: Partnership swallows Council for Excellence in Government

We’ve been watching the merger mania — among industry groups, publications… and now among “good government” groups.

The Partnership for Public Service has announced that it will absorb the financially Council for Excellence in Government.

The release is below…

PARTNERSHIP WELCOMES COUNCIL FOR EXCELLENCE IN GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS AND STAFF

Mission to Revitalize Federal Government Gathers Momentum As Americans Turn to Government for Solutions to National Challenges

WASHINGTON – The Partnership for Public Service today announced that it will absorb the majority of the Council for Excellence in Government’s programs and staff effective February 16. This new arrangement will consolidate government reform resources and expand the Partnership’s suite of offerings. Earlier today, the Council announced that it will cease operations after 25 years.

Read the full release after the break…

A government innovation oxymoron?: How to quash innovation

There is a video making the rounds on YouTube that a friend sent it along to me this morning — and it demonstrates how agencies (and most large organizations) quash innovation.

NPR also did a story about the piece this morning.

I don’t think this is unique to government — it happens in most large organizations. We’ve all be there — where you have somebody who doesn’t understand that there are no bad ideas. Instead, some ideas just need more crafting then others, but once you damage your idea factory, it is very difficult to rebuild.

So, I ask you — how realistic is this? (Comments always welcome.)

Happy birthday to… Dan Chenok

Dan Chenok

A very happy birthday to Dan Chenok, currently a senior vice president and general manager at Pragmatics and formerly the Office of Management and Budget’s branch chief for information policy and technology. Chenok has also been working with Team Obama as an advisor on IT issues — you can see him on the transition team video about technology … And there was a lot of buzz going around that he would join the administration. That seems to have calmed — at the moment.

Chenok shares his birthday with our ninth president, William Henry Harrison, born on this date in 1773… Journalist Roger Mudd (81), “The Color Purple” author Alice Walker (65), actress Mia Farrow (64), and Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) (63)…

Also born on this date… American secretary of state under Kennedy and Johnson Dean Rusk (2/9/1909 – 12/20/1994).

And some big events… in 1870, the U.S. Weather Bureau — now known as the National Weather Service — was established… in 1964. I’m a weather buff, so I found Wired.com’s more detailed history just fascinating. (The role the telegraph played… who knew!)… The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a “record-busting” audience of 73 million viewers… and in 1942, year-round daylight saving time is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources. More from Wikipedia …

And in 1971, pitcher Leroy “Satchel” Paige becomes the first Negro League veteran to be nominated for the Baseball Hall of Fame. More from The History Channel.

Happy birthday Dan.

The most read DorobekInsider posts for the first week of February 2009

The DorobekInsider.com hit another record week, helped along by breaking news about DC CTO Vivek Kundra’s appointment to be the OMB administrator of e-government and information technology. (Several posts drew links links from the popular and always worth reading Personal Democracy Forum’s TechPresident … here … here … and here.) But this week was also a personal milestone: My traffic passed my average traffic while I was the FCW Insider.

Anyway, thank you very much for coming back.

And… the most read items for the first week of February 2009:

1. The 02.03.2008 CTO update: Buzz about appointments
2. The Kundra appointment: What does it mean
3. The CRS report on the Obama CTO: The challenges
4. UK gov 2.0 lessons learned: Britian’s Power of Information Task Force (beta) [Just a reminder that the author of the UK report will be on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris on Monday as part of our regular “Meet the Innovator” series.]
5. Some must-reads from Killefer, Obama’s person – in her own words [Of course, Killefer this week decided to remove her name from consideration.]
6. What’s up with the CTO? Also the DOD CIO and Roger Baker to VA?
   
7. Speaking to HHS about government 2.0: The liner notes
   
8. Tonight on DC’s NewsChannel 8: Government 2.0 – revolution or evolution
   
9. Stand by for news: Obama’s performance czar pulls her nomination
   
10. NAPA’s Collaboration Project helps with government 2.0 policy and legal issues – highlighting the problems and starting the work on solutions
    
11. GCN Editor Wyatt Kash adds Defense Systems to his duties
    
12. Government media aren’t dodging the recession – 1105 Media decides not to publish this week’s GCN
    
13. Hear the Navy CIO talk about the Navy’s Web 2.0 policy
14. HUD CIO Lisa Schlosser to join to EPA
15. More buzz around the new acting GSA administrator
16. Godspeed John Gioia Nov. 11, 1932-Dec. 26, 2008
17. 02.08.2009 DorobekInsider newsbytes
18. Obama CTO this week? Maybe… or maybe not… and a WP Kundra profile
    
19. Hearing that Interior has named a new CIO
20. Welcome to 44 — President Barack Obama… and a new WhiteHouse.gov Web site
    
21. No CTO, but Team Obama a ‘director of citizen participation’
    
22. Prouty’s first message to GSA employees: Exciting times
23. Worth reading: NAPA’s Enabling Collaboration: Three priorities for a new administration [NOTE: We’ll be talking to NAPA’s Frank DiGiammarino about this report on Federal News Radio 1500 AM’s Daily Debrief with Chris Dorobek and Amy Morris on Tuesday.]
24. DorobekInsider.com: Interior’s Howell to move to OMB
    
25. Another coup for Cisco: Paul Brubaker?
26. Happy birthday to Frank DiGiammarino
27. VA CIO Bob Howard reportedly has a new gig
28. CQ for sale… if the price is right
29. Why blog? And welcome to another government CIO blogger: Casey Coleman
    
30. GSA gets a new acting acting administrator: Paul Prouty