In Depth interviews – July 20

On the In Depth show blog, you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

This is the In Depth show blog. Here you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

Today’s guests:

Dr. Annetta CheekChair of the Center for Plain Language

It’s been a year since the Plain Writing Act went into effect — requiring agencies to stop speaking bureaucrat-ese when they communicate with the public and draft their documents and websites in plain english.

The results have been mixed, to say the least. That’s according to the first annual scorecard from the leading advocacy group for plain english writing both inside and outside of government. Dr. Annetta Cheek, the chair of the Center for Plain Language, discusses the report card and

Click here for the full story


Tim McManusVice President for Education and Outreach, Partnership for Public Service

As summer winds down, many recent college graduates are likely to buckle down and start to search for their elusive first job.

If they look to federal government work, they may find inroads through the Pathways program. The final rules have taken effect.

Tim Mcmanus, the vice president for education and outreach at the Partnership for Public Service, discusses how the new program can help the federal government amp up its recruiting game.


J. David PattersonFormer Principal Deputy Undersecretary of Defense

It’s no secret the intricate federal acquisition process adds to the pricetag Uncle Sam pays for goods and services. Four researchers supported by the University of Tennessee and the Air Force surveyed dozens of government suppliers, and they found that 25 cents of every dollar the government spends on acquisition comes from the cost of the system itself — not designing or building the actual widgets.

David Patterson, a former principal deputy comptroller and CFO at DoD, and now the executive director of the National Defense Business Institute co-authored a summary of the research with three colleagues in a recent article in Contract Management magazine.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily DoD Report. For more defense news, click here.


Also on the show:

When the S (sequestration) hits the fan?

2012 Causey Awards Winner – Patricia Pointer

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