The Bixal Blog
SBAIC.org - Making It Easier to Find Small Businesses Working in International Development
Bixal is very pleased to announce the launch of the Small Business Association for International Contractors’ (SBAIC) new online presence!
SBAIC is a membership forum established to promote the meaningful utilization of small businesses for development assistance, particularly in support of USAID and with partner organizations. Members are for-profit small businesses with solid track records of providing services to Federal government agencies that oerate abroad. Bixal joined SBAIC earlier this year and currently provides leadership on the Communications Committee.
Bixal designed and developed the SBAIC website to provide information to prospective clients and partner organizations about small businesses that have the capabilities and experience to effectively design, implement and support development assistance initiatives worldwide. The site was built in Drupal 7, the most recent version of Drupal, an open-source content management system and framework that is becoming increasingly popular with government agencies and many other types of organizations around the world.
Comments 0 :: Subscribe via Email :: Posted under: Government | eGovernment | International Development | Market Research | Technologies | Drupal | Drupal 7 | USAID
Capital Camp DC - Highlighting Drupal Adoption by Government Agencies
This past Friday and Saturday, we had the opportunity to participate in Capital Camp DC, an event organized by a number of great people from the greater DC area. A good portion of the event and the sessions focused on the government's increased adoption of Drupal and a number of sessions looked at related considerations.
On Friday am, Tom Cochran from the White House and Jason Hoekstra from the Department of Education both talked about the benefits of using Drupal and collaborating with the large and growing Drupal community. Tom highlighted how using Drupal has allowed the White House to promote openness and transparency, and Jason cited the following reasons for choosing Drupal in particular: cost savings, technical capabilities, innovativeness and a passionate community.
Comments 0 :: Subscribe via Email :: Posted under: E-Commerce | Events | Government | Technologies | Drupal
Using the Huerta Index to Achieve the Goals of the Plain Writing Law in Spanish
I recently had the opportunity to meet with Fedora Braverman, who is responsible for the development and maintenance of MedlinePlus en español, a government website that provides the U.S. Hispanic community with high-quality, consumer-oriented health information in Spanish. In addition to talking about the details of a presentation Fedora will be doing at our Reaching Latinos Online Meetup in the fall and many other interesting topics, we talked about how Fedora uses the Huerta Index to ensure that the web content published on Medline Plus en español is readable, i.e. not too technical or complex for the specific segments of the audience they are trying to reach.
While Fedora's use of the Huerta Index predates the Plain Writing Law of 2010, this tool allows her to achieve the goals set out under the law, which requires that federal agencies use "clear Government communication that the public can understand and use."
Comments 0 :: Subscribe via Email :: Posted under: Government | US Hispanic
GobiernoUSA - Providing Greater Access through Mobile
Laura Godfrey, the Manager of GobiernoUSA.gov, was the featured speaker at our June Reaching Latinos Online event. Her presentation focused on the rationale for developing a mobile-optimized version of GobiernoUSA for the growing Hispanic community. Many thanks to Laura for providing us with the Powerpoint version of her presentation.
Portal to Spanish Language Government Resources
As the portal to government websites in Spanish, GobiernoUSA provides easy access to official and free government information. In carrying out this function, it not only fulfills the directives in Executive Order 13166 by reaching out to Limited English Proficient (LEP) audiences, but also helps its users to acculturate and assimilate.
Comments 0 :: Subscribe via Email :: Posted under: Events | Government | eGovernment | Mobile | US Hispanic