5.1.4: Technology
Harness the power of technology to support collaboration to enhance efficiencies and reduce process redundancies Other Information:
USDA understands that it is not efficiently and effectively utilizing new capabilities that exist for improving collaboration.
That said, the Department is investigating how to best utilize new media and social technologies to improve collaboration.
USDA also is incorporating these tools into new collaboration efforts and creating new processes and policies to ensure their
effective use. The Apps for Healthy Kids is just one Department program that utilizes new technologies to encourage collaboration.
The program, which is a part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative, is offering $40,000 in prizes to create
innovative, fun and engaging software tools and games. These tools and games encourage children directly or through their
parents to make more nutritious food choices and be more physically active. Apps for Healthy Kids stimulate the public’s creativity
and encourages the use of USDA and other official data to address their needs. Lets move! Another example of new technologies
that encourage collaboration is Quick Stats. Quick Stats is USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) online
self-service tool to access complete results from the 1997, 2002 and 2007 Censuses of Agriculture and other annual surveys.
U.S., State and county agricultural information, published by NASS, is available in an online database via Data.Gov. under
the Tool Catalog. This new tool allows custom extracts based on commodity, year, State, and other selection criteria and produces
an output file compatible for updating databases and spreadsheets for selected commodities or geographic areas. The Department
is also exploring various ways to use technology to aid existing collaboration efforts. For example, USDA is discussing the
idea of establishing an electronic/virtual clearinghouse on the Department Web site. The clearinghouse would direct stakeholders
to provide feedback, comments, suggestions, or concerns on various agency projects, programs or policies. USDA also recognizes
the potential benefits that could come from hosting online webinars addressing Department programs, policies, and issues for
individuals nationwide. Webinars can bring USDA personnel and stakeholders together, regardless of geographic location. Similarly,
live webcasts or teleconferencing with stakeholders would enable real-time management of concerns and questions. They also
could feature guests and experts that increase the richness of engagement. For geospatial information specifically, USDA is
investigating the employment of geospatial tools. Such tools would better target public press announcements on funding opportunities
to hard-to-reach and traditionally underserved populations that can benefit from Rural Development (RD) programs and services.
RD could also use the tools to solicit feedback from local leaders and citizens to further improve communications. On an internal
level, USDA is exploring ways to maximize the use of social media tools and technologies to increase collaboration amongst
employees and across agencies. One idea pertaining to this is online self-service meeting space reservations. Such a tool
would employ Intranet resources to provide a list of all conference rooms available to employees for meetings, including their
locations, reservation contact point, size, communications resources, and any special rules on availability. Thus, meeting
planners could see, in real time, whether the room is available and reserve it online with an email confirmation and a copy
to the person with the key.
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