Weekly Roundup: December 14 - 18, 2015

Holiday Cheers. The White House hosted a ceremony earlier this week that highlighted a number of good news stories in government. The ceremony included remarks by the White House chief of staff, the Director of OMB, and the Director of OPM. The event was well-covered in the media. Federal News Radio highlighted a new presidential executive order that includes new initiatives for recruiting and training new senior career executives. Government Executive highlighted the executive order’s raising of caps on how much agencies can spend on senior executive recognition awards. It also linked to the list of 2015 Presidential Rank Award recipients, announced at the event. The Washington Post focused on the first-ever presidential customer service awards presented at the ceremony. Acquisition Progress Reportcard. Anne Rung, Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget, sums up federal acquisition reform progress over the past year in a recent Bloomberg Government op-ed: “In December 2014, I laid out twenty-two strategic actions to create a new model for the federal marketplace – one that is more innovative, efficient and effective to support the needs of a 21st century government. As we complete the first year of our implementation efforts, I am pleased to share a progress report. While there is much left to be done, I’m proud that we’ve moved forward in 21 of the 22 actions, thanks to the incredible work of our federal acquisition workforce.” Behavioral Insights Can Provide the Right Nudge. In an op-ed in Federal Times, Julia Fetherston writes: “Policy and program design has been dominated for too long by assumptions that citizens are always rational in the decisions they make, even as a growing body of research shows that they often are anything but.” She goes on to say that a recent Executive Order on the use of behavioral science can take this into account when designing, implementing and managing government programs. Implementing GAO recommendations. The Comptroller General testified on the status of open recommendations made by GAO but not yet implemented by agencies. In his testimony, he noted: “GAO has made an average of 1,800 recommendations a year with an average of about 80 percent implemented between fiscal years 2010 and 2015. . . . As of November 12, 2015, about 4,800 of GAO's recommendations to executive branch agencies and the Office of Management and Budget remain open across the federal government.” Acting on them could save billions. CIA Reorganization. Federal News Radio reports: “Throughout the last nine months, the spy agency underwent a major modernization effort that focused on people, processes and integration. Kimberly Ofobike, the deputy chief of the CIA’s modernization team, said: “This isn’t just about reorganization. This isn’t just about the lines and boxes. This is about fundamentally shifting the way we work. It’s really about a culture change,” A New Security Clearance Agency? Federal News Radio also reports: “A former federal counterintelligence official says the White House is poised to stand up a new agency that will own the federal security clearance process. . . .The formation of a new organization, the National Investigative Service Agency, would move ownership of the security clearance process away from the Office of Personnel Management, which assumed oversight of the program from the Defense Department in 2004.” Change Is In the Air – IT Reform Becomes Sexy. NextGov reports that key IT players at a recent conference talked about the passage and opportunities being provided by the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA). One speaker, Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General, “believes FITARA can save the government billions of dollars annually through a combination of enhanced CIO authorities, more transparent spending and efficiency returns. However, he noted: ““Over the past six years, [GAO] has made over 800 recommendations for improvement to try to achieve these objectives in IT, . . . [b]ut only 32 percent have been implemented.” * * * * * The Business of Government Radio Show. From forging a unity of effort in homeland security to strategizing today how to field the U.S. Army of tomorrow; to pursuing affordable housing, eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse in healthcare, and securing cyberspace . . . Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these issues and more with various radio show guests featured in the latest issue of The Business of Government magazine. Broadcast Schedule: The show airs Monday at 11 a.m., and Wednesday at noon, on Federal News Radio 1500AM WFED If you can't wait, though, you can listen to (or download) this week's program and all our previous interviews at businessofgovernment.org.