Author: govacq

Most of us don’t think twice before powering up navigation apps, weather apps and other nifty resources on our mobile devices. Apps such as Zillow and Trulia put housing market data at our fingertips, and the travel search engine KAYAK has made shopping for flights, hotels and rental cars that much easier.

Besides the ease of use that these apps provide, they share another common denominator: Each is powered by government data.

For far too long, the government’s data assets have been locked away in siloed systems, in less-than-ideal formats and with little incentive for agencies to share data across bureaus or with the public.

But that’s changing. The open data movement is driving government to make its data more accessible to the public in formats that people can use. As a result, entrepreneurs and everyday citizens are developing applications that benefit both the public and government.

Agencies are realizing that open data leads to better citizen engagement, increased transparency around government operations and better decision-making. Open data is empowering government officials and citizens to make informed decisions about health care, sustainability and transportation issues. Making data open and accessible to the public enables the government to tap into the knowledge and expertise that exists far beyond its walls. The benefits are endless.

Clearly, it’s more important than ever to understand how to implement and benefit from open data at your organization. That’s why GovLoop has created our latest guide, “The Open Data Playbook for Government.”

In this playbook, we offer helpful tips to solve some of your most pressing open data challenges, including measuring return on investment, boosting public engagement and much more. This playbook will help you:

•  Identify key tenets of an open data program.
• Show the impact of your program.
• Explain the benefits of open data.
• Increase public engagement with your data.
• Make data more accessible and easy to use.
• Identify key roles and responsibilities for your data team.
• Develop partnerships with the private sector.

In this playbook you’ll also find practical examples and lessons learned from government Chief Data Officers (CDOs) and open data enthusiasts who are embracing open data to improve transparency and make better decisions.

Government Acquisitions, Inc. (GAI) is pleased to announce that we have been awarded a NIH CIO-CS GWAC contract vehicle.

NIH CIO-CS is a 10-year, Government-Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) for IT commodities/solutions that can be used by any Federal civilian or DoD agency to fulfill mission critical requirements while meeting their socioeconomic goals.

Additional Information can be found here

Many news outlets declared 2014 to be “The Year of the Breach,” especially for government. The title seems appropriate. Last year, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the State Department, and even the White House fell victim to successful hacks that resulted in sensitive information being exposed to adversaries and the public.

And that’s just the beginning. Nearly every state experienced a government network breach during 2014, while simultaneously managing disruptions in commerce caused by hacks of companies such as Home Depot, Staples, and Target. Even localities were not exempt — Rapid City, N.D., and Napa, Calif., are just two cities whose websites were hacked.

Nevertheless, maybe we should reconsider that title and be a little more optimistic. Instead of “Year of the Breach,” can we consider 2014 to be the “Year of Lessons”? Maybe the “Year of Progress”? While government-at-large certainly faced setbacks in the cyber world, many agencies also took great steps toward security. At the federal level, commitments were made and plans drawn to better equip smaller entities with the resources and strategies necessary to protect their networks. Locally, many organizations created new partnerships and streamlined their internal systems to achieve greater security at less cost.

This guide explores how local, state, and federal governments have learned from successful attacks of the past to bolster their cybersecurity today. In this guide, we:

• Describe the level and impact of advanced cyberattacks on government agencies.
• Discuss five cybersecurity tactics that the public sector has deployed to mitigate risk.
• Provide two case studies from government to illustrate each tactic in action.
• Detail lessons learned from these government tactics.

The numerous cyber incidents of last year prove there is still more government must do to secure our nation’s networks. However, the case studies in this guide highlight that innovators in the public sector are already leading the way to enhanced cybersecurity.

Download the guide here.