Weekly Round Up - August 10, 2018
Submitted by MKeegan on Sat, 08/11/2018 - 09:51
Friday, August 10, 2018
Michael J. Keegan
Are agencies really ready for EIS? The telecom contract has the potential to reinvent IT infrastructure, but finding the bandwidth to take full advantage could prove difficult.
GAO urges DOD to share data about commercial satellite programs. Centralizing data related to the Defense Department's work with commercial satellites could be one of the first tasks for a “Space Force.”
Civic Digital Fellows showcase a second year's work in Washington. Thirty-six students from across the country spent the summer tackling tech challenges that ranged from data transparency to website redesign to machine learning.
NIST pushes on next version of Risk Management Framework. The National Institute of Standards and Technology looks to release the final version of RMF 2.0 early next year.
DIUx gets rebranded. The Defense Innovation Unit Experimental is no longer experimental, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan announced.
Social media use is booming in Congress. That has implications for the rest of government. With practically every member of Congress now on at least one social media platform, it’s easier than ever to reach legislators and influence their decision-making.
John Kamensky
Spending Spree. NextGov reports: “A government spending spree of potentially historic proportions will play out over the final seven weeks of fiscal 2018, as federal agencies look to spend $140 billion more than they thought they’d get before Congress passed and President Trump signed the omnibus spending bill.”
Faking the Data. Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene write in a column for Governing: “ . . . even though we’re still strong supporters of the move to make decisions based on measures, we’ve begun to get a little skeptical about the validity of some measures and concerned about the way government officials sometimes misuse the data -- inadvertently or, on occasion, intentionally.”
Reorg: Security Clearance Transfer. Federal News Radio reports: “Multiple sources say the administration is preparing an executive order to authorize and implement the transfer of the governmentwide security clearance program from the Office of Personnel Management and National Background Investigations Bureau (NBIB) to the Pentagon.
10-Year Vision for CFOs. Federal News Radio reports: “The Treasury Department issued a new 10-year vision for federal financial management focused on making improvements across four broad areas. . . . Kim McCoy, the commissioner of the Bureau of Fiscal Service in the Treasury Department, said more importantly, the 10-year vision will help transform the role of federal chief financial officers.”
Consent in Evidence-Building. The Bipartisan Policy Coalition releases a report on barriers to the use of administrative data: “Lack of clarity among program administrators regarding the relationship between evidence-building activities and program operations has created confusion about how administrative data can be used. The lack of clarity about the use of data is a major impediment to evidence building in government, and it means data are often inaccessible in practice, even when they are legally available for this purpose.” The report offers a set of recommendations.
Next Week on The Business of Government Hour: Interview with John Wagner, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). How is the mission of the CBP's Office of Field Operations? What are CBP's key strategic priorities? How is it pursuing innovative security strategies? Join host Michael Keegan next week as he explores these questions and more with John Wagner, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner, Office of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That's next week on The Business of Government Hour
Broadcast Schedule: The show airs Monday at 11 a.m., and Friday at 1 p.m. on Federal News Radio 1500AM WFED.
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