8:00 a.m.
Continental Breakfast & Networking

8:30 a.m.

Chairperson's Opening of Day Two & Presentation:
How To Use Social Media To Improve Public Sector Performance By Enhancing Transparency, Engaging Citizens & Stakeholders, Eliminating Barriers

Congress and the President recently enacted the Government Performance and Results Act Modernization Act, which modernized Federal Executive Branch performance management and reporting requirements.  The bill puts an unmistakable emphasis on collaboration with stakeholders, because government agencies can’t achieve their ambitious goals alone -- they require input and active participation from citizens and stakeholders.

While some agencies are using social media to engage important stakeholders, like Congress, as well as the public at large, many still don’t do enough to engage their partners in the performance planning and monitoring process.

• Launch a partnership with program partners in the achievement of common goals
• Get feedback on your strategic planning
• Provide regular updates on progress toward important goals
• Share ideas on innovative ways to achieve breakthrough improvements in performance
• Learn how to identify and eliminate unnecessary barriers to improved performance

Robert Shea, Principal
GRANT THORNTON LLP
Conference Chairperson

9:30 a.m.

Benchmark, Measure, Report, Repeat: Four Steps To (Im)Prove The Performance Of Your Citizen Engagement Initiatives

While most government leaders recognize that citizen engagement is important, they are wise to ask: "Just how do we measure engagement?"

1. Take benchmarks of citizen engagement prior to a focused campaign
2. Incorporate metrics-gathering tactics into your engagement programs
3. Analyze the mountains of data coming from multiple sources and referrers
4. Use that analysis to inform future engagement initiatives

Gadi Ben-Yehuda, Social Media Director
IBM CENTER FOR THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT

10:30 a.m.

How To Effectively Engage Your Stakeholders For Improved Outcomes

Organizations continue to evolve with the incorporation of new media channels to communicate with stakeholders such as patients, caregivers, providers, payers, and policy makers. The Global Healthy Living Foundation convenes organizations regularly to discuss best practices and to nurture collaborative health advocacy, specifically around ways to mobilize and activate patients living with chronic illnesses.

This “living case study” will provide you with examples from past and current programming to demonstrate ways to effectively engage your own stakeholders for improved outcomes, including:

• Tactics for engaging stakeholders using social and new media
• How to achieve a scalable message
• Examples of how health advocacy organizations utilize social media and how to implement them in your own organization
• Ways to safeguard messaging through social media channels

Seth D. Ginsberg, President
GLOBAL HEALTHY LIVING FOUNDATION
@GHLForg

11:15 a.m.

Utilizing Social Media In A Crisis Situation As A Place For Planning, Strategy Implementation, Networking, And Recruiting

On January 26, 2011, the Baltimore and Washington metro areas were hit with the perfect storm -- a snow fall that started just at the beginning of the afternoon rush hour and dumped more snow than expected. From northern Virginia, to Hagerstown, to south central Pennsylvania, to the Susquehanna River and down to Annapolis, virtually every major commuter route experienced gridlock for hours. Some commuters claimed the ride home took upwards of 13 hours, and commutes of 6 to 8 hours were common. Reporters were doing live phone interviews from their cars for the 11 p.m. news -- when they should have been home in time for the 6 p.m. news. Cell phone cameras captured the mayhem and it spread through social media like wildfire.

This session will inform you on the techniques needed to successfully use social media and traditional media tools to effectively communicate during a chaotic situation, including:

• How to communicate properly with operations people out in the field -- in this case law enforcement, public works, and highways
• Techniques for small public information staffs to monitor social media, especially during major events
• Measuring the impact an event has on individuals when dealing with an incident that covers a relatively large geographic area and population

Ed McDonough, Public Information Officer
MARYLAND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Join a group of your colleagues for a themed lunch with an informal discussion surrounding a specific topic. Take this opportunity to join others in a small, interactive group setting to network and brainstorm solutions to your most pressing communication concerns.

1:30 p.m.

Group Exercise: Brainstorm Solutions And New Ideas You Can Use

You asked for it, you got it! Interact and discuss solutions to your communication challenges with your fellow attendees and our experienced speakers. You will leave with new tools and hands-on experience and ideas for more successfully applying best practices to your own citizen and stakeholder engagement initiatives.

2:15 p.m.

Afternoon Refreshment & Networking Break

2:30 p.m.

How To Make Your Social Media And Web Materials Compliant With Section 508

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) ensures that all its video, graphic, and text materials are Section 508 compliant (i.e., accessible to those with disabilities) before they are posted on the Web or sent out through social media outlets. With hundreds of publically posted videos through websites, YouTube, and DVDs – all must be closed captioned or open captioned. In addition, all FHWA Web photographs, graphs, and illustrations have ALT tags to aid visually impaired individuals who use screen reader software applications.

• ALT Tags versus photo captions; and screen reader software
• HTML vs. Word vs. Acrobat files
• Open captions vs. closed captions
• Time-code and text, and how it is used to caption a video
• Using YouTube to create a closed caption track, upload transcripts, and add time code
• Emerging 508 technologies, such as description services on Secondary Audio Programming (SAP) television channels

Tom White, Social Media and Web Content Coordinator
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

3:15 p.m.

Citizen Diplomacy: How To Enhance Youth Engagement Through The Use Of Virtual eInternships And Micro-volunteering

In just under two years, the State Department has institutionalized one of Secretary Clinton’s key programs for youth citizen engagement through the Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) program. U.S. college students can participate in academic year-long virtual eInternships and shorter online micro-volunteering tasks to assist State Department domestic offices and U.S. diplomatic posts overseas advance their diplomatic and developmental goals. VSFS provides citizens an opportunity to lend their hand in assisting their government while raising awareness of the State Department and helping employees be more efficient and effective while doing their jobs. This session will provide you with an understanding of how to use virtual programs to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your employees while raising awareness about your organization, including:

• The challenges and successes in setting up a virtual program
• Understanding the role of informed citizenry in the working of a government organization
• The importance of obtaining buy in and support from key players
• How to identify and leverage new technologies to facilitate engagement and build online communities

Bridget Roddy, Virtual Student Foreign Service Program Manager
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

4:00 p.m.
More "How To's" To Help You Get The Work Done: An Interactive Panel Discussion With The Conference Speakers

Need to dive deeper into specific topics? Want more details? Here’s your chance!
Available speakers from today’s sessions will answer your questions and help you renovate your own ccommunications plan. Digest what you’ve learned and apply it to your own initiatives to get feedback and ideas for improvement.

4:30 p.m.
Chairperson's Recap: Key Takeaways And What To Do When You Get Back To The Office

We’ll recap the highlights of the past two days and ask you to share key insights and next steps with the group.