10 ways a Facebook page can help local governments Facebook presence can add personal touch to constituent service

A Facebook page can help a local government build a stronger social connection to the people it represents. The Web site InsideFacebook.com details 10 ways a Facebook presence can yield advantages for local government leaders seeking to understand the needs of the people they were elected or hired to serve...

Read more at FCW.com

http://fcw.com/articles/2009/11/09/facebook-helps-local-governments.aspx?s=fcwdaily_101109

Some IT projects may have $2 billion in overruns, GAO says Overspending likely to increase

The Homeland Security and Commerce departments along with NASA have the largest cost overruns among current major federal information technology projects, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Overall, GAO found $2 billion in cost overruns in 16 federal IT acquisition programs with overruns or schedule slippages, or both...

Read more at FCW.com

http://fcw.com/articles/2009/11/09/federal-agencies-see-2-billion-in-cost-overruns-on-16-projects-gao-says.aspx?s=fcwdaily_101109

New GAO Report Released on Government-wide Review of Earned Value Management

Below is a link to the following product, which is being released today:

GAO-10-2
Information Technology: Agencies Need to Improve the Implementation and Use of Earned Value Techniques to Help Manage Major System Acquisitions

http://www.gao.gov/Products/GAO-10-2

David A. Powner
Director, Information Technology

Extracts from the summary as follows....

"In fiscal year 2009, the federal government planned to spend about $71 billion on information technology (IT) investments. To more effectively manage such investments, in 2005 the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directed agencies to implement earned value management (EVM)."

"GAO was asked to assess selected agencies' EVM policies, determine whether they are adequately using earned value techniques to manage key system acquisitions, and evaluate selected investments' earned value data to determine their cost and schedule performances. To do so, GAO compared agency policies with best practices, performed case studies, and reviewed documentation from eight agencies and 16 major investments with the highest levels of IT development-related spending in fiscal year 2009."

"GAO's analysis of 16 investments shows that agencies are using EVM to manage their system acquisitions; however, the extent of implementation varies. Specifically, for 13 of the 16 investments, key practices necessary for sound EVM execution had not been implemented."

"This inconsistent application of EVM exists in part because of the weaknesses contained in agencies' policies, combined with a lack of enforcement of policies already in place. Until key EVM practices are fully implemented, these investments face an increased risk that managers cannot effectively optimize EVM as a management tool. Furthermore, earned value data trends of these investments indicate that most are currently experiencing shortfalls against cost and schedule targets."

Lots more money for Homeland Security's CIO office

The fiscal 2010 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act gave $338.4 million to the Office of the Chief Information Officer, 24 percent more than the $272.2 million the office got in fiscal 2009. While funds for salaries and expenses stayed roughly the same, money for data center development and the National Center for Critical Information Processing and Storage nearly doubled...

Read more at nexgov.com

http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20091029_9858.php?oref=rss

Officials commit to collaborate on performance-based budgeting

Members of a new Senate panel and the Obama administration's chief performance officer said on Thursday they are committed to ensuring that performance informs budget decisions on federal programs.

During the first meeting of the Senate Budget Committee Task Force, lawmakers and the Office of Management and Budget's Jeff Zients lamented how little performance has influenced previous federal budgets....

Read more at GovernmentExecutive.com...

http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=43920&sid=61

OMB director warns growing deficit a threat to American economy

White House Budget Director Peter Orszag warned Tuesday that large federal deficits will eventually imperil the U.S. economy because they will lead to higher interest rates and more borrowing from overseas.

Orszag, in a speech in New York, said that deficits, expected to add $9 trillion to the current national debt of $12 trillion over the next decade, are "serious and ultimately unsustainable."

Read More at TheHill.com..

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/66085-omb-director-warns-growing-deficit-a-threat-to-us-economy