Contractors Hold Onto Their Desks as Sequestration Looms
July 31, 2012
Monica Mayk Parham, Marketing Director, Market Connections, Inc. The Professional Services Council (PSC) recently hosted an event on the topic of sequestration and, for many, it was a sobering reminder that challenging times lay ahead – even if sequestration never comes to light. So what are contractors doing to prepare for these new budget realities? Are they moving forward with staff reductions or are they staying the course? It turns out to be a mixed bag. According to a recent Washington Post article, many smaller contractors are riding out the storm and avoiding preemptive layoffs for now, simply because no one really ... Read moreMonday Morning News Kick Off: Sequestration Makes a Senator “Sick” with 89,000 DoD Civilian Job Cuts Expected; OMB Predicts Economic Improvement; and Fed CTO Looks to Industry for Innovation
July 30, 2012
Welcome to the Monday morning news kick off post from the FedPulse blog. It seems that the topic of sequestration is still looming with both Senators deriding the Obama administration on this controversial topic and the OMB warning against it. Though it’s not all about sequestration. We have plenty of other government-related news you need to kick-start the workweek. Happy Monday. Senator Ayotte: Using Defense Cuts as Bargaining Chip ‘Makes Me Sick’ Sen. Kelly Ayotte blasted President Barack Obama and Senate Democrats on Sunday for refusing to budge on looming defense cuts. OMB Predicts Economic Improvement, Warns Against Sequestration Bad news about the U.S. ... Read moreFederal Government Needs to Overcome Barriers to Mobility
July 26, 2012
The federal government needs to catch up to the private sector when it comes to embracing mobile solutions, according to both industry and government experts. In addition, one-third of federal executives involved with mobile technologies say their agencies are now “walking” or “running” when it comes to mobility. That’s according to a new government-wide research study about to be released by AOL Government and Market Connections, Inc., from a survey of 300 executives from 48 federal agencies. The study also found that government executives have serious concerns that current investments in mobility are inadequate for it to achieve its full potential. Don’t miss ... Read moreMobility Push Intensifies for E-Government
July 25, 2012
Mobility push intensifies for e-government (via FCW) The public has gone mobile, and experts say the government should redouble its efforts to become mobile-friendly. “There is so much innovation happening in the private sector around mobile, and the federal government is playing catch up,” said Dave Lewan, vice president of public sector business… Read moreNIST Mobile Security Guidelines: Next Step in Meeting Federal Workers’ Mobile Needs
July 25, 2012
Recently, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its draft recommendation for securing mobile devices for government agencies, which focuses on the development of centralized management technologies for both agency-owned and personal mobile devices. This comes on the heels of the new Digital Government Strategy — launched earlier this summer by Steven VanRoekel, the Federal Chief Information Officer — which focused on building government solutions that deliver better digital services to U.S. citizens. On top of this, the Department of Defense also released its mobile device strategy, which outlines key priorities for speeding secure adoption of government-issued and employee-owned ... Read moreQ&A: Kevin Arsham, VP, Account Director at TargetCast tcm, Brings Targeted Media Approach to the Business-to-Government Industry
July 24, 2012
Many government contractors rely on their outside marketing and advertising agencies not only to develop smart creative, but also to place influential advertising, media coverage and thought leadership content in front of government decision makers. While many marketing professionals selling to government often have a broad understanding of the media outlets and platforms for reaching these federal leaders, it can be difficult to precisely target the right government executives. In addition, with ever-tightening budgets and a push for higher ROI, contractors cannot afford to waste precious marketing dollars on best guesses. FedPulse recently spoke with Kevin Arsham, VP/Account Director at TargetCast tcm. ... Read moreMonday Morning News Kick Off: Sequestration a Big Job Killer; Mobility is Key to DoD Future; and L-3 Receives Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award
July 23, 2012
Welcome to the Monday morning news kick off post from the FedPulse blog. The topic of sequestration was top-of-mind last week with a well-covered hearing on Hill and plenty of politicizing around it. As such, we have compiled all the sequestration news you need, as well as other actionable government news to help you kick start the workweek. Happy Monday. Sequester Blues: Congress Faces Buyer’s Remorse on Defense Cuts Lawmakers are pointing their fingers at each other when it comes to sequestration. Execs: Sequester is a Big Jobs Killer Defense-industry executives warned a House panel on Wednesday the nation will lose hundreds of thousands ... Read moreFree Webcast: How Federal Agencies Can Overcome the Barriers to Mobility — And Engage Citizens More Effectively
July 20, 2012
One-third of federal executives involved with mobile technology say their agencies are now “walking” or “running” with mobile technology. That’s according to a new government-wide research study about to be released by AOL Government, from a survey of 300 executives from 48 federal agencies. But a number of barriers remain. And while government managers believe that mobile technology can contribute significantly toward improved productivity and savings, the need to invest in new business processes as well as the technology is critical to seeing the full potential of mobile technology in government. Join AOL Government Editorial Director Wyatt Kash and guests for a FREE ... Read moreNot Going Anywhere Soon: Social Media for State and Local Government
July 19, 2012
Cynthia Poole, Director of Research Services, and Melissa Burgess, Research Analyst, at Market Connections were recently asked to provide a guest post for GovWin on the topic of state and local government’s advanced usage of social media. Deltek and Market Connections recently collaborated on data sharing and analysis for our recent social media in a GovWin state and local government report. Following is their GovWin post. According to Malcolm Gladwell, key trends in society reach a “tipping point” when ideas, behaviors, messages and products behave just like outbreaks of infectious diseases. When these societal epidemics take hold, these concepts can reach ... Read moreLearning to Fly: Don’t Let Your Government Programs Collect Dust
July 18, 2012
Dave Glantz, Director Research Services, Market Connections, Inc. NASA recently issued a report about how it failed to utilize a lessons–learned system to assess the outcomes of a program, which was also highlighted on GovLoop in the form of a pretty dynamic conversation. Reading this piece, and being a research professional in the government space, I was reminded of the vital role research plays in government program performance. Agencies need the right tools and insights for both assessing performance and taking the actionable steps toward improvement. These tools exist in the form of research that delivers actionable recommendations. Without actionable program performance ... Read more