SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

In the department of AG in my state, many of the vehicles we drive are trucks. We have long distances to cover for field work, and the largest item we ever carry in those trucks are ATVs. In addition we have several 2-wheel drive pickup trucks, presumably to save on the cost of a 4-wheel drive. However, given that we can't take the 2-wheel drive pickup where we can take the 4-wheel drive, why have a pickup at all? Why... more »

The cost of training each and every employee is extremely high and I believe that there is a better, more cost efficient way of doing things. Currently, the Government sends each employee to their required training, paying for their flight, hotel and per diem. For a two week course, this can easily be $5000 per person. If there are 20 people in this class, then the cost is $100,000 plus the cost of the instructors... more »

Terminate the contract with GovTrip. It is an impossible website to navigate and probably costs millions of dollars in frustrated staff time. Switch to a simple, easy-to-use system.

Offices should purchase Metro farecards to be used by DC area employees for local travel such as for training. The way travel is processed now, it costs almost double the travel cost to reimburse the employee. My travel cost $44 to attend 3 days of training in DC, and it took 2 months, 4 employees, and cost fees of $8 or $28 to process the travel voucher through the GovTrip program.

With the tele-meeting and tele-conferencing that the government has at its convenience, why are we still having employees travel from all around the country to a meeting, when they could just have a tele-meeting that would accomplish the same thing and save money on airfare, hotels, and per diem.

Solar Panels on Every Federal Building. This will save lots of money and can make money by sending extra power to power companies and they would have to pay the government. May allow for charging of electric cars at a fee basis. Vote for this idea show that people care about our environment. Thank you!!

I recently went to a training session at a cost of several thousand dollars per person, and the training was still in the development stages. I believe huge efficiencies and savings (both personal and monetarily) could have been realized if the quick reference guide, or DVD, or another method was simply sent to me with no personal travel involved. In this solitary case, millions of dollars could have been saved.

Management spends far too much on travel to meetings and conferences. Meetings amongst managers can mostly be accomplished via teleconferencing and webinars.

 

PRESERVE travel funding for field staff who need to reach out to the communities in which they work.

Every year, thousands of dollars are wasted on travel for airfare, per diem, hotels, taxi fare, etc. for meetings, or training, consultation etc. The majority of the junkets are to resort areas. In this recession, we can not afford to send upper management officials to vacations under the guise of "training". Send the book or DVD. Do a free teleconference on Skype. If you need a vacation, use your own funds and leave,... more »

Encourage employees to choose the lowest hotel rate below the Per Diem by giving them 10% of the amount below the Per Diem. Example, if the Per Diem is $200 and the final hotel bill is $100, the traveler would receive 10% of the amount below the Per Diem - $10.

Allow applicants from anywhere to be able to interview from anywhere! Use the internet to connect interviewers and interviewees face to face with a simple webcam. This would allow for someone in Alaska to interview for a job in Washington DC. This would save travel costs and give us a wider applicant pool.

Here are a few ideas that could save the government money by eliminating unnecessary expenditures:

1. Travel:
a. Audits or “Site Visits” should be conducted remotely when possible.
b. We should eliminate all travel for training and conferences and conduct these utilizing available technology.
2. Paper Waste: Leave and Earning Statements should only be provided electronically.
3. Recycling in mass: This... more »

sxsw.com - Check it out, every March there is a cool conference in Austin where web 2.0 staff can learn about gov 2.0, and listen to the music festival and watch some cool films.

We do not need to send federal staff to this event. They can learn about web 2.0 or gov 2.0 in other ways - but sending federal employees to these types of events where you learn a bit but really its all about the social media hype and the... more »

Mostly all of the government owned vehicles that employees use to drive around in to conduct official govt. business are 6-8 cylinder vehicles. Most of them are only hauling around papers, pamphlets and some office supplies. Why do they need to sign out the Chevy S-10, Dodge Durango or the Suburban. Downsize and auction off all the 6-8 cylinder vehicles and give all govt. employees electric cars. That would wipe out... more »