Mission Critical: 1972 Mainframe Runs Florida Unemployment

Recalling what I said about failure in the public sector: Florida’s unemployment insurance program relies on a 1972 mainframe computer that costs the state tens of millions of dollars each year in payment errors and staff time. Overpayments last fiscal year reached $43.6 million; this year, with unemployment skyrocketing (9.4% now), overpayments could reach $105 million.

Barriers to Innovation in the Public Sector

This satire comes from a NASA employee: it’s a pretty good dramatization of how management styles can stifle innovation. Hang in there for the last scene and the words of the day: servant leadership.

Public Records Online: What Do Citizens Have a Right to Know?

Good questions in class today about the nature of public records and how open they should be. As a citizen, blogger, and occasional activist, I have a pretty liberal (in the classical sense of the word, meaning favoring maximum liberty for citizens) view on access to public records: the more access, the more records, the better.

But from a managerial point of view: suppose you’re in a managerial position in the public sector — city finance office, county equalization officer (does the property taxes), someone in charge of public records. How would you decide what records to put online? Are there specific public records that people can look at in the office in person but that shouldn’t be made available online?

First U.S. tech officer will have hands full

After President Obama said he would name the first U.S. CTO, there came many ideas, wishes, and hopes. “The chief technology officer is assigned to make sure federal computer networks are secure and agencies “use best-in-class technologies and share best practices.”  Thousands of people are prioritizing goals on…

E-Commerce, E-Government, and Adding Value

Order a sandwich, check what the Legislature is up to, and then chew over the things we talked about today:

1. E-commerce is all about using IT to add value.
2. In business, adding value always boils down to the bottom line, decreasing costs and increasing revenue… right?