TECHNOLOGY AND THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT

Do you know a federal manager who recently took risks to push through a bold idea, policy or program that uses technology to make government work better or improve public services? If so, we'd like to hear your story by nominating your colleague for a Nextgov Award.

The Nextgov Award program, developed in partnership with O'Reilly Media Inc. and TechWeb, will recognize government executives who stepped outside their comfortable confines to think and manage differently. They acted boldly to push through an innovative program, policy or new management practice that relied on technology to move government in a new direction, to challenge employees to think and work differently, and that ultimately improved the lives of citizens.

We know there are many managers who have done just that, and we want you to tell us about them by nominating them for a Nextgov Award. The deadline is March 12, but we suggest you don't wait. Visit the nomination page and spend just a few minutes filling out the form. We'll tell the stories of the winners later this spring on Nextgov.

A panel of respected judges will make choose the winners, who will be honored at a luncheon on May 27 at the Gov 2.0 Expo at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. The expo is co-sponsored by O'Reilly Media Inc. and TechWeb, and Nextgov is the premier media sponsor.

Local governments already are starting to lobby Google for a spot along an experimental super-speed network the company announced Wednesday.

Axcess Ontario, a public-benefit corporation overseeing the development of Ontario County, N.Y.'s community fiber network, began the application process on behalf of the county government on Thursday.

Google plans to test "ultra -high-speed" networks, delivering 1 gigabit of data per second -- more than 100 times faster than typical access -- in a small number of locations. The company that started as a search firm has issued a request for information to identify interested locales.

Ontario County, a rural and suburban community near Rochester, has pledged $12 million for its own 180-mile endeavor. About 60 miles are complete and the rest is expected to be deployed by year's end.

"What Google seeks to accomplish is exactly what the Ontario County fiber optic ring was built for," Ed Hemminger, Axcess Ontario president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. "Ontario County should be at the top of Google's list of potential test sites -- we've been working on this project for seven years."

Currently, service providers including Verizon Wireless, are providing cost-effective telecommunications to businesses along the 60 miles, according to Axcess Ontario. "This means Ontario County actually has the infrastructure to do what Google wants to do -- and quickly," a company press release states.

Hemminger added, "The fiber ring ensures our community will never be left behind in the global economy, and this week we can see with the Google experiment that Ontario County, N.Y., may, in fact, have an opportunity to lead the way."

Nextgov has launched the Nextgov Awards, an inaugural program to recognize federal managers who have shepherded a program, policy or management practice that is not only innovative, but bold and brave.

Yes, we know, there are a lot of awards programs in government. But when we asked federal managers and industry executives what is missing, they told us unanimously: No awards recognize federal employees who took on risks -- personal, political and otherwise -- and boldly acted to see their idea to fruition. Or if their idea died, at least they took on entrenched bureaucratic interests in an attempt to make government better through the use of technology.

We invite you to visit our awards page to learn more and to nominate someone who fits the criteria. The technology isn't the reason for the award, but the bold idea must rely on it in some way. And we encourage you to tell us a story about the individuals you nominate. We want you to wow us because we know there are dozens of stories of federal employees trying to improve government and the lives of citizens, but they are up against big odds. Yet, they have acted bravely and with resolve to bring about change. We want to know about them, the drama they faced and the results they achieved. And, of course, the technology they used.

The winners of the Nextgov Awards will be honored at a luncheon at TechWeb's Gov 2.0 Expo in May. (Nextgov is a TechWeb partner for the event.) We'd love to see you there.

More to come.

Open source software vendor Red Hat launched a Web site on Monday to "explore what happens when the open source way is applied to the world" through five channels: business, education, government, law and life.

The company hopes that Opensource.com will "kickstart conversations and engage the larger community in learning the lessons of participation and open source," a Red Hat spokesperson said.

The Web site's government channel will share "successes, as well as challenges, so that all of us can hold our government leaders accountable for the choices they make," according to a posted welcome message, and look at the "latest in the intersection of open source and government, with a special focus on the ways government can encourage and cultivate open source communities."

Visitors can create an account, log in, and comment and post to participate in the conversation. Currently on the channel are video conversations about government open source mandates between Venky Hariharan, director of corporate affairs for Red Hat-India, and Gunnar Hellekson, lead architect for Red Hat Government.