Rock Creek Roundup (July 9 Edition)

Posted by: Meagen Ryan, Director of Strategy Jul 09, 2010 0 Comments

The White House requests public input on nanotechnology and federal employee input on saving money, LinkedIn is named the most popular social network, and San Ramon Valley introduces a unique iPhone app, all in this week’s edition of the Rock Creek Roundup.

—Earlier this week, the White House published a Request for Information (PDF) and a corresponding blog post asking for public feedback and input on the 2010 Strategic Plan for the National Nanotechnology Initiative. Nanotechnology—a science dealing with matter that is roughly the size of a single atom—has been lauded as the next frontier of scientific innovation, and potential nanotechnology applications range from clean, efficient energy sources to medical devices and drugs. Got an idea? Check out the RFI and then submit your response by August 15.

—The White House also announced this week the winner of the first annual SAVE contest. Nancy Fitchner’s idea to save money by changing the way that the Veterans Administration uses prescriptions was selected from more than 38,000 ideas submitted by federal employees. The President also announced the kickoff of the second annual SAVE Award and urged federal workers to share their insights and ideas at SaveAward.gov.

—If your government agency or government contracting business isn’t using social media, you’re well on your way to becoming a minority. Twenty-nine percent of federal employees and 55% of government contractors report using social media, according to the recently released Market Connections 2010 Federal Community Social Media Study. The study also shows LinkedIn as the number one social network, with 36% of respondents using it versus 26% of respondents using Facebook. If you’ve been waiting for the right time to jump on the social media bandwagon, now is it.

—When you see fire trucks rushing down your street or move to the side of the road so the ambulance can more quickly respond to an incident, it’s natural to wonder what was going on. For residents in San Ramon Valley, California, all they need to do to find out about emergency situations and 911 dispatches is turn on their iPhone and navigate to the FireDepartment.org app. Believed to be the first of its kind, the app will allow residents to use an interactive map to find active incidents, as well as provide a log of recent incidents and a photo gallery of major emergency events.

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Meagen Ryan

Director of Strategy

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