About the Dialogue
What is the National Dialogue on the Federal Mobility Strategy?
The National Dialogue on the Federal Mobility Strategy is sponsored by the Executive Office of the President and the U.S. General Services Administration. Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel has called for the development of a mobility strategy for the Federal government. The purpose of the Federal Mobility Strategy is to accelerate the Federal government’s adoption of mobile technologies and services to:
● Improve delivery of government information, products, and services through technologies, including those that are mobile
● Engage citizens more fully and meaningfully in their government
● Reduce the costs of government operations through technology-enabled efficiencies
● Increase Federal workforce productivity by liberating them from ineffective 20th century work practices.
With many disparate mobility efforts occurring across government, the strategy seeks to capture and leverage the good work that is already being done, identify and address policy and guidance gaps in the mobility space, reduce duplication of efforts, and increase collaboration and sharing of contracts, code, and lessons learned that can help us make exponential improvements in Federal mobility.
This Dialogue is a critical part of the Federal Mobility Strategy initiative. It’s an opportunity to bring together a diverse community of stakeholders such as mobile experts, policymakers, developers, industry and citizens to submit their ideas on how to accelerate Federal mobility. The Dialogue also enables stakeholders to comment and vote on others’ ideas. Stakeholders like yourself who participate in the Dialogue can share their knowledge and ideas with the Federal government, as well as each other.
What topics will be addressed?
Please contribute your best ideas for accomplishing the six core objectives of the Federal Mobility Strategy:
1. Incorporate the power and possibilities of mobility into Federal government efforts.
2. Build mobile technologies/services for reuse and share common services among agencies and public developers.
3. Efficiently manage mobile and wireless acquisition, inventory, and expenses.
4. Create a government-wide foundation to provide mobility services and functionality needed in all agencies.
5. Foster collaboration (among agencies, academia, industry, etc.) to accelerate mobility across government.
6. Establish governance structure for Federal mobility.
An example idea that you could submit is, “The Federal government should develop a central portal for government purchasing of mobile/wireless devices, hardware/software, and services.”
Also, you are encouraged to share use cases that have improved efficiencies, services or productivity, or reduced costs within an organization. How does mobility make your work easier, improve services to your customers, or reduce your cost of operations?
How long will the Dialogue be open?
The Dialogue will be open 24/7 and has been extended. It runs from January 11 to January 27, 2012. Because discussions and ideas will be added over time, we encourage you to return to the site frequently to see what new ideas and discussions are occurring. You can sign up to receive email alerts on any of the ideas you want to follow.
How will the input from the Dialogue be used?
The ideas submitted as part of the Dialogue will be one of several inputs (e.g. recommendations from the Federal Mobility Strategy Task Force) that the Federal Chief Information Officer will use to develop the first draft of the Federal Mobility Strategy.
Who’s participating?
The Dialogue is open to the public and anyone who is interested can register and participate. We have also explicitly invited attendees of the Consumer Electronics Show as well as participants in previous National Dialogues.
Can anyone in the general public see or use this forum?
Yes. The website is public. Anyone will be able to see all ideas and comments in the dialog. However, before you can submit any ideas, comments, or votes, you must create an account on the site.
How does the Dialogue platform work?
The Dialogue platform permits participants to do the following:
● Submit an Idea- Participants can submit their own ideas to the discussion by clicking the "Submit an Idea" button, which allows participants to explain their idea and its importance. These ideas can then be rated and tagged by others.
● Comment on Others' Ideas- Users can comment on others' ideas to more fully flesh out ideas and debate topics. Commenting is an important function and can help drive substantive discussion of emerging ideas.
● Rate Ideas- Users can rate an idea up or down, similar to rating functions on other websites. Over the course of the Dialogue, with many participants rating a lot of ideas, we will be able to assess ideas that resonate the most with Dialogue participants. This, in turn, helps us identify novel ideas, important best practices, and relative priorities.
● Tag Ideas- Participants can apply topic tags to their own submissions and the submissions of others. Tags are usually one or two-word phrases describing an idea's subject matter. Tags help participants find interesting and relevant ideas, and to search for all ideas that deal with that topic. Topic tags also make it possible to discern what broad themes and topics are being raised most frequently during the Dialogue. This happens primarily through the tag cloud, which displays a list of all topic tags; those used more frequently are displayed in a larger font.
Will my personal info be protected? Can other users find out who I am?
Participation in the Dialogue is anonymous, and you will not be identified by your ideas and comments unless you choose to use your real name as your username. When you register, you create a custom username that can be as anonymous as you would like (e.g. FunnyWoman123). Although registration does require you to submit an email address, this information will not be visible to any other user on the site.
If you are someone who has expertise in a particular area of web management, consider using your real name as your username, to add credibility to your ideas and comments.
Read more in our Terms of participation.
Will this dialogue be monitored to ensure no one is posting anything offensive or off topic?
GSA will moderate the Dialogue continuously according to the moderation policy posted on the site . Posts made to the site are done in real time (i.e. comments will be posted without prior moderator approval); however, any post that violates the terms of our Moderation Policy will be removed. We have employed a profanity filter to automatically screen out any posts that contain profanity.
In addition, all users will be able to easily "flag" other ideas and comments to the attention of the moderator that they feel are in violation of the moderation policy.
Who can I contact with additional questions?
For questions or assistance, contact GSA.