Good to Know…Week of May 16, 2011

TECHNOLOGY
Open Government Initiatives Evaluated by New Assessment Tool
A new Microsoft Excel-based software tool is enabling federal, state and local agencies to quickly assess the public value of their open government initiatives. Called the Open Government Portfolio Public Value Assessment Tool (PVAT), the evaluation system was created by the Center for Technology in Government at the University of Albany. Released on May 9, the tool provides a series of questions that take agencies through a review of their existing and proposed open government plans to ensure that resources are being used on those initiatives with the greatest promise.

To read this article, go to: Govtech.com

How Navy SEALs Extract Data in the Field
The raid on Osama Bin Laden’s compound had a primary goal: to capture or kill the terrorist responsible for the attacks of Sep. 11, 2001. But there were other goals that in the long run might prove even more important. The Navy SEALs who conducted the raid were looking for information and records that could shed light on ongoing plots of other attacks.

To read this article, go to: GCN.com

INNOVATION

4 Things The U.S. Can Learn From Innovative Foreign Countries
If the U.S. is to remain competitive, it must take a close look at
what’s happening abroad. We tend to assume that innovation happens in
the same way, everywhere. But countries grow in different ways, and they
also create intellectual capital in different ways. As varying
innovation models blossom in Asia and the Middle East, we’d be wise to
watch and learn.

To read this article, go to: FastCompany.com

DISASTER PREPARATION
Guarding Against Murphy’s Law
Anyone who has ever planned an emergency drill or practiced a community-wide disaster scenario knows that Murphy’s Law resides in a planner’s nightmares, and if given the chance, will once again prove why an “error free” event is a difficult task to accomplish. Knowing that “anything that can go wrong will go wrong” challenges a planner to carefully think through the majority of circumstances, to factor-out the worse of possible issues, and plan for the most desirable results given the conditions in each event.

To read this article, go to: Riskinstitute.org

WORLD FOOD SUPPLY
World Wastes 1 Billion Tons of Food a Year
NEW YORK (CNNMoney)–The United Nations said Wednesday that about 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted every year, which amounts to roughly one third of all the food produced for human consumption.

To read this article, go to: CNNMoney.com

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