Can anyone see and use this forum?
Most discussion forums on the site are open to the public. However, there are also "employees only" forums open only to employees of HUD. If you are a HUD employee, you can access these forums by signing in or creating a UserVoice account with your HUD.gov email address. No email addresses will be displayed on the site; users will only be identified by their usernames, which they select when creating an account.
To submit an idea as an employee to an internal forum, you must first register using your HUD email address. To register, simply click on the gray "Sign in" button on the right
side of the main page to the right of where it says "20 votes left." Enter your HUD email and the User Name of your choice. A confirmation email will be sent to you.
You need to confirm your email. Then on the main HUD Ideas in Action page, near the top right corner, you should see "Signed in as (your name)." Click on your name. You will be directed to your profile. Create and confirm your password. You have now been registered and can now access the internal forums.
How can I add my own idea to what's already here?
To add an idea, navigate to the right forum and simply begin typing a few key words of your idea into the search box near the top of the page. As you type, Ideas in Action will begin searching for similar ideas that been added by other users. If any of these ideas are similar to what yours, you may want to vote for that idea instead of creating your own--one idea with many votes will be more visible than two ideas with fewer votes each. If you determine that your idea is not a duplicate, click the Create New Idea! button and explain your idea a bit more comprehensively in the submission box that appears. Give 1, 2 or 3 of your own votes to your idea, then post it for others to see and vote on!
What makes an idea "good"?
A good idea is made up of three main parts: a statement of the
problem; a proposed,
specific solution to the problem; and the expected
benefits of the solution. Ideas submitted should help with HUD's
Strategic Plan, be efficient, safe, legal, and directly increase the effectiveness of government operations.
Remember, we can only act on an idea if it is clearly articulated. Here's a great example of an idea that fits the problem-solution-benefits format:
Delegate Initiation of Employee Service Awards to Field Office Directors
Recognition for some employees in the field is 3 to 5 years behind. In our current, highly out-stationed structure, remote Program Directors may not be aware of their staff's tenure status or the schedule for the award
ceremony in the field office. To solve this problem, initiation of employee service awards should be delegated to field office directors. The Field Office Director has the most day-to-day contact with out-stationed employees
and is responsible for maintaining positive employee morale and union relations. They have access to the appropriate personnel information to determine their employees' eligibility for service recognition by January 31st each
year. Concurrences and/or approvals could be obtained by the Regional Office and service pins and certificates ordered in time for Award Ceremonies in the field in a timely manner. This "feeding up" process would preclude the
current practice of the honoree, after being missed by the office compiling the annual list of eligible recipients, having to request their service recognition and to wait for their years of service to be determined credible The outcome would be improved employee morale, and assurance that similarly situated employees receive the same consideration for service recognition.
You have 20 votes in each forum to express your support for others' ideas, or for your own. You can give any idea 1, 2, or 3 votes, depending on how strongly you support it. The number of votes you have remaining will always be displayed in the green circle on the sidebar to the right. Votes are not permanent; you may reallocate votes away from one idea and towards another at any time as many times as you like. To do this, simply click the vote button next to an idea you've voted for, and reselect the number of votes you'd like to give to that idea. When an idea is completed, your votes for that idea will be automatically returned.
Why do I only have 20 votes per forum?
Ideas in Action's voting system is like having a "budget"--when people have a finite number of votes to "spend," they tend to think more carefully about what they really care about and how much they care about it. You should use your votes to support the ideas you think are most important, so that the overall best ideas and top priorities emerge.
Is every idea reviewed by HUD?
No. Although the Ideas in Action team encourages everyone to contribute as many good ideas as they come up with, not every idea will be selected for review and not every idea selected for review will be implemented. There are two main types of ideas that are selected for review: the ideas in each category that have received the most votes from other users on the site, and the ideas that are actionable and contribute to HUD's strategic goals. So to have your idea reviewed and possibly implemented, ensure that it's well-articulated and actionable in order to catch the interest of other voters and the Ideas in Action team.
What do the different statuses mean?
There are seven different statuses:
- under review: the idea has been accepted for review and will receive a response
- planned: idea will be implemented in the future
- started: idea is in the process of being implemented
- implemented: idea has already been implemented
- rejected: idea will not be reviewed because it was not a “good” idea
- declined: the idea was reviewed but will not be implemented
- completed: idea was reviewed and no further action by HIA team is required (for example, proposed idea was already implemented)
Why are some ideas moved to a different forum or merged together?
To make it easier for those who visit the site to find and add ideas, we have created forums that focus on specific issues or topics. Since votes are limited by forum, it also makes it possible for our users to better prioritize ideas by topic. So, if an idea is placed in a forum that does not relate to that forum's topic, it will be moved to the correct forum. If the idea deals with multiple topics or a topic outside the existing forums, it will be moved to the Miscellaneous Ideas forum. Ideas in this forum are still open for commenting and voting, and may still be selected for review.
If an idea is created that is very similar to an already existing idea, the idea and any associated votes and comments will be merged into the existing idea.
Are ideas or comments ever removed from the website?
HUD Ideas in Action is an open forum where employees and stakeholders can contribute and comment on ideas. However, ideas or comments that are clearly spam or make an imminent threat of violence are removed.
Why is some personal information redacted from ideas or comments?
To protect users' privacy and the privacy of others, personally identifiable information such as names, social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses, and e-mail addresses included with an idea or comment will be redacted. Please do not include this information when submitting ideas or comments..
HUD Ideas in Action, powered by
UserVoice, allows people to come together, share ideas in response to a question, discuss those ideas, and vote the best ones to the top for consideration by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The tool was initially used to gather ideas that further HUD's fiscal year 2010-2015 Strategic Plan and as a forum for HUD employees and stakeholders to share their ideas for improving HUD, and now solicits feedback on a number of external and internal matters.
HUD Ideas in Action consists of two main forums, along with a number of finite rotating forums. The
Public Feedback forum allows the public and HUD employees to share their ideas on any issue related to HUD operations. The
Internal Feedback forum is only open to HUD employees and allows those within HUD to submit ideas on how HUD can transform the way it does business. As additional forums open, they will made available through the HUD Ideas in Action sidebar.
For the HUD Ideas in Action privacy policy,
click here.
J Yablonski
shared this idea
