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Agency Instability: GSA begins to feel toll of not having permanent leader
Current and former officials say day-to-day operations are working well, but morale and long term strategy are suffering. Martha Johnson, the nominee to be GSA administrator, remains on hold in Senate. GSA names fourth acting administrator since 2008 and the parade of interim leaders is creating more uneasiness about the agency's future.
Tags: management , Stephen Leeds , Christopher Bond , Sahar Wali , GSA , OMB , Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs , Danielle Germain , Lurita Doan , Acting administrator , confirmation process
GSA, EPA to green government using IT schedules
Tags: green government , management , technology , IT , acquisition policy , acquisition , contracting , policy , EPA , GSA , National Strategy for Electronics Stewardship , Energy Star , EPEAT , electronic product environmental assessment tool , Lisa Jackson , Nancy Sutley , recycling , Ruben Gomez
A day of thank yous to federal employees
Senior administration officials encourage and promote federal service during Public Service Recognition Week. President Obama sends letter recognizing federal, state and local government employees.
Tags: P&B , Scott Gould , Steven Chu , John Berry , GSA , VA , Energy , OPM , Max Stier , Partnership for Public Service , Public Service Recognition Week
Three quick telework factoids
Numbers about telework have been popping up in the news.
Tags: technology , Telework Center , telework , Polycom , Suzanne Kubota , OPM , Microsoft , GSA , John Berry ,
GSA issues RFP for three cloud services
The blanket purchase agreement could be worth $2.5 billion over five years. GSA wants vendors to bid on email-as-a-service, office automation and records management.
Tags: contracting , technology , GSA , cloud computing , Email-as-a-service , office automation , records management , Jason Miller
House restores some e-gov funding in CR
Lawmakers included $17 million in the one-week bill to keep the government open. This is still short of the $35 million the administration requested, but it will help keep some of the open governments running.
Tags: technology , Jo Ann Emerson , Hal Rogers , House Appropriations Committee , GSA , OMB , E-Government Fund , open government , Jason Miller
More electric cars part of GSA's sustainability plans
GSA is focused on reducing waste as much as possible, while still allowing government to be effective. Sustainability was a focus of this year's IRMCO event.
Tags: green government , electric cars , GSA , IRMCO , Greening of Government: transportation , Nick Nigro , Pew Center , John Buckner , management
Telework breaks down workspace walls
A troubled economy and mobile technology are changing the workplace landscape. Literally.
Tags: technology , Telework Center , telework , Polycom , Suzanne Kubota , GSA , Gensler , International Facility Management Association , Cathy Kronopolus
DHS, GSA want feds to 'say something'
The Federal Protective Service is putting posters in 9,000 federal buildings this week, along with a special toll-free hotline, urging federal workers to report suspicious activity.
Tags: management , Janet Napolitano , Patterson , DHS, GSA, FPS , federal buildings , building security , Jared Serbu
Virtual meetings to help meet sustainability, cost-cutting goals.
Agencies can take a lesson from the General Services Administration's newly announced telepresence plan aimed at saving money and the earth.
GSA discussed recently their $18 million plan to build what they call virtual meeting centers within 11 of regional headquarters offices and four headquarters offices in the Washington-metro area.
Agencies with their own telepresence capabilities can interoperate with the new GSA virtual centers with the proper technical set up. Bob Lesino, GSA spokesman tells InformationWeek, agencies need to be able to deliver and receive 1080p video resolution and support H.323/H.264.
The idea behind telepresence moves video teleconferencing to another level. GSA touts the technology behind the centers, boasting "live, face-to-face, immersive meeting experiences." Each room is expected to have high-definition video and advanced audio equipment.
"You will feel like you are making eye contact [with the other person], [you will] feel like you are sitting across the table from them, almost as if you can pass the person a cup of coffee, " said Martha Johnson, GSA administrator. "As the federal government's workplace solutions expert, GSA is exploring new ways to create a more efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable government for the American people. This includes incorporating innovative and collaborative technologies like virtual meeting centers to create seamless connections around the world. Availability of virtual meeting technology will help launch our government to the next level of productivity."
The goal is for GSA to become a model for technologies that enable a mobile workforce, she added.
The whole point of telepresence is to make it easier to get the job done. And saving time and money is part of that equation.
"The cost of travel is not just the price of a plane ticket. You have to factor in the sheer wear and tear of travel on people, " said Johnson.
The centers will be available for use by all agencies at a fixed hourly rate. The network will let any subscribing agency meet with counterparts in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Fort Worth, Denver, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, as well as with counterparts in other telepresence networks nationally and internationally.
The centers will also be made available to stateside military families so that they can meet virtually with service members overseas.
AT&T will develop and manage the virtual network through a task order under GSA's Networx Enterprise contract. Once the network is operational, agencies will be able to order and schedule virtual meeting sessions through a secure Web portal as well as through a valet that will be available around the clock.
Johnson said the first of the virtual meeting centers will be operational in early 2011.
Tags: technology , Video Teleconferencing Center , telework , Cisco , TANDBERG , GSA , Bob Lesino ,
