GOVERNING, along with sponsoring companies and other organizations, is working to provide interactive online forums on issues affecting professionals in state and local government. We'll bring a diverse group of experts to you to discuss and present best practices, case studies and solutions on the issues that most affect state and local government today. Remember, it's interactive, so you'll be able to participate and ask questions.

Check back frequently for new online events!

Maximizing Web 2.0 Technology for Increased Citizen Engagement

Is your agency making the most of Web 2.0 technology?

Register and join a panel of experts to discuss how government is maximizing Web 2.0 technologies to increase citizen engagement on Thursday, July 16 at 2 p.m. ET. Government agencies are not dipping their toe into the Web 2.0 pool. Instead, they have decided that this is the future, and they are jumping in.

Blogs are popping up everywhere. Twitter and YouTube have become official channels. Buzzwords like engagement, transparency, participation, and collaboration dominate President Obama's Open Government Initiative and public discussions.

Unfortunately, government efforts are not getting the value they could from their Web 2.0. technology investments. This could result from the lack of a solid engagement base or the lack of knowledge about technology pros and cons -- or how to map it to their strategic vision.

Join Alan Webber and Loni Stark on July 16 as they discuss the government immersion into technology for citizen engagement, and what it means for health and human services programs. They will provide insights into:

• The factors that increase the likelihood of success
• Which new technologies work well for government programs and which don't
• How to align new media efforts with strategic initiatives
• How to prioritize efforts against other competing demands
• Where to find the resources in tough economic times
• Examples of where technology has induced participation and created transparency

Speakers:

• Alan Webber, Principal Research Analyst, Ronin Research
• Loni Kao Stark, Group Solutions Manager, Government Adobe Systems, Incorporated
• Fred Kuhn, Associate Publisher, GOVERNING (moderator)

Register

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Managing a Shrinking Public Workforce

A GOVERNING Online Forum

Join GOVERNING and senior executives in state and local government on Thursday, July 23 at 1 p.m. ET as they share experiences and best practices for top management tactics that work.

Layoffs, unfilled positions and furloughs are among the most difficult management challenges for government leaders. Fear and worry among employees make maintaining morale, increasing productivity and attracting talent much more complicated. Frank, open communication with staff is both more critical and more perilous, even for managers who have led the way through hard times in the past.

Speakers:

• Frank Fairbanks, City Manager, Phoenix, Arizona
• Dana Jefferson, Ph.D., SPHR, IPMA-CP Director, Delaware Human Resource Management
• Samuel L. Wilkins, Director, South Carolina Office of Human Resources
• Xavier D. Quenaudon Vice President, Public Sector & Worldwide Product Development CFI Group (Opening Remarks)
• Christopher Swope, Managing Editor, GOVERNING (Moderator)

Register

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Managing Through Tough Times

The Role of Shared and Managed Services

As state and local government leaders seek ways to effectively navigate today's tough economic times, they are looking for cost-effective strategies to create or retool information systems to comply with the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) transparency and accountability requirements.

ARRA presents a unique opportunity for governments to reassess everything--from legacy ERP systems and tax/revenue collections to IT operations in health/human services and transportation. At the same time, governments face an assortment of staffing issues that predate the economic downturn encompassing an ongoing shortage of qualified staff, the high cost of skilled labor, a dearth of legacy application and system expertise, and eroding trust in vendor stability. As a result, even with ARRA funding governments continue to struggle with allocating appropriate financial and human resource capabilities via traditional IT delivery models.

While not unique in an operational sense, governments recognize their challenges require creative solutions. The high degree of familiarity with--and endorsement of--managed and shared services and their benefits support increased adoption across the states and localities.

Join CGI Group and GOVERNING on Wednesday, July 29 at 1 p.m. ET for an in-depth look at:

• Current managed and shared service models and best practices
• Recent success stories
• Results from a new Frost & Sullivan survey of state and local government organizations

Speakers:

• Dan Colquhoun, Vice President, Customer Research, Frost and Sullivan
• Scott Dulman, Senior Director, Product Management, CGI Advantage Program
• Lawrence Honarvar, Vice President, CGI Managed Services Practice
• Fred Kuhn, Associate Publisher, GOVERNING (moderator)

Register

Discover and Collect What is Owed: Listen in as a panel of tax collection experts discuss the best practices in collecting revenue faster and more efficiently. At a time when economic situations are rapidly changing, governments are searching for new and better ways to streamline revenue recovery efforts that will result in increased collections. Get expert tips and tactics on how you can improve your agency's collection process, and learn how in today's economy you can maximize resources, solve cases faster, increase collections and enhance overall productivity for your agency.

Held June 17, 2009: Replay the Webinar

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Transparency and the Stimulus Package: Listen as our experts discuss the stimulus package and probe the critical issues impacting state and local government. The requirements for states and localities to precisely detail how they plan to spend federal stimulus dollars are far more clear than they were a few weeks ago. But despite a flood of federal guidance, many officials still have questions about what information they need to collect, and what it will take for them to connect the dots between their own agencies and the variety of administrative overseers in Washington.

Held May 19, 2009: Replay the Webinar

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Run for Your Lives: The Human Element in Managing Emergency Evacuations Listen in as local emergency management experts discuss the intricacies of disaster management. Hear from Amanda Ripley, author of GOVERNING's riveting March article "Run for Your Lives, Please." Take away lessons learned from emergency management experts that have first-hand insights on critical topics that include strategies officials can use for overcoming public resistance to evacuation orders; how age, health, income and other factors influence how certain citizens respond to emergency authorities; and how communication strategies are evolving given changes in local media across the country.

Held May 6, 2009: Replay the Webinar

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Open Books: Transparency, Accountability and the Economic Stimulus Package The federal money states and localities are receiving as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act comes with new requirements for keeping track of every dollar spent, every contract signed and every job produced. Recipients also are responsible for making sure that information is available to federal overseers and the public. Hear from a panel of experts as they share insights and discuss anticipated challenges associated with managing the money that will flow in from a variety of federal sources and through a host of state and local agencies, many of which do not currently track spending in ways that are necessarily compatible or easily shared.

Held April 2, 2009: Replay the webinar

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Does Going Green Compute? Listen in as state and local IT leaders and other industry experts discuss the challenges and rewards of going green. Our panel will share real-world examples that will help answer these questions and more:

• What are the essentials for implementing green IT?
• What kind of investments and policy changes are required, and do they pay off environmentally or economically?
• Are today's big challenges - going green and going lean - compatible or mutually exclusive?

Held March 12, 2009: Replay the Webinar

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Intake: Streamlining Social and Health Services Enrollment Listen in as senior executives from state and local government—and private-sector partners—to gain insights into ways in which states are streamlining social and health services enrollment. This in-depth, online forum will probe a host of issues and hot topics including:

• Where do "call centers" fit in the intake picture?
• How have states dealt with the so-called "technology gap"?
• Has any state truly achieved a "no wrong door" goal for intake?
• What is the role of third-party intermediaries in the new intake world?

Held February 24, 2009: Replay the Webcast

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Examples from the Field: Improving Benefits and Services Delivery by Engaging with Citizens As on-demand access to information and services becomes more crucial, citizens are seeking faster, easier, more responsive and transparent experiences when dealing with government agencies. At the same time, governments are faced with unprecedented budget constraints in the operation of vital programs and services. Listen to this webinar to find out how automation and collaboration technology can meet citizen demands for service delivery while reducing costs and increasing workforce productivity.

Held February 17, 2009: Replay the Webinar

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Fiscal Crisis: Smart Moves in Challenging Times Hear from the GOVERNING editorial team, as well as experts from leading state and local government organizations, who share insights on the current economic crisis and its impact on budget formulation and revenue forecasting. Find out how this crisis is playing out across multiple levels of government and how each is responding. In addition, learn what states and localities are currently doing to help provide stability during this challenging time.

Held January 27, 2009: Replay the webinar

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Justifying Your Data: The Mission Critical Experience of Florida Turnpike Enterprise Listen in as GOVERNING magazine, Cognos and Florida Turnpike Enterprise (FTE) discuss how the FTE -- the agency responsible for all operations, over 600 miles of roadways and 80 percent of all toll facilities in Florida -- are using business intelligence to:

• Better manage and understand its mountains of data to improve and speed decision-making
• Gain access and visibility into its mission-critical information to improve disaster readiness
• Save funds and increase efficiency by better tracking and aligning resources

Held December 19, 2008: Replay the webinar

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More Archived Webinars:

Nov. 19, 2008

Clinical Strategies to Help Increase Member Participation and Lower Costs (Archive Now Available)

Oct. 8, 2008	Worksite Wellness Programs: The Characteristics of Success (Archive Now Available)
Sept. 10, 2008	Asset Management: Maximizing State and Local Government Resources (Archive Now Available)
Jul. 9, 2008	Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Management (Archive Now Available)
Jun. 24, 2008	Using Auditors to Boost Government Performance (Archive Now Available)
Jun. 11, 2008	Achieving Collaborative and Structured Process Efficiency in the Public Sector (Archive Now Available)
Apr. 29, 2008	Making the Connection: Government Performance and the Quality of Life (Archive Now Available)
Mar. 27, 2008	Obtaining Total Visibility into Human Services Agencies with Performance Management (Archive Now Available)
Feb. 13, 2008	Competing for Retail and Winning (Archive Now Available)
Jan. 22, 2008	Governance Models for Large Scale IT Projects: Approaches by North Carolina and South Carolina (Archive Now Available)