Weekly Roundup: August 24-28, 2015

John Kamensky IT Acquisition Gets “Killer Apps.” According to Federal News Radio, GSA has posted several “killer apps” that acquisition officers can use to speed IT-related purchases “An automated contract finder and cost calculator are just two of the tools GSA leadership touted as reasons why the government acquisition community should explore the online portal and provide feedback, said Laura Stanton, acting assistant commissioner for GSA’s Office of Strategy Management.” Predicting the Unpredictable. Federal Computer Week reports that the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is looking for methods for forecasting and modeling rare events kinds of events such as coups, pandemics, nuclear incidents, market crashes, natural disasters and breakthrough discoveries. Let them know if you’ve got ideas! IT Spending Patterns: Bad. The relatively new federal CIO, Tony Scott, is going through his first federal budget cycle and doesn’t like what he sees! According to FCW, Scott “spoke pessimistically of how much the government was spending to maintain old systems, instead of investing in new ones, and he also dinged common acquisition practice as part of the problem.” He hasn’t seen a sequester or a shutdown yet, either! B+ on FITARA Implementation. Actually, that’s a pretty good grade, given the state of things. According to Federal Times, federal CIO Tony Scott observed that: “Agencies have submitted action plans for implementing the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA)” and that, “while not perfect,” he is “generally pleased with the results.” 8 Cities Get Innovation Support. According to Government Computer News, “eight mid-sized cities will get expert help with their government innovation efforts, thanks to the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ What Works Cities program. . . . Running through 2017, What Works Cities will give a total of 100 cities support and peer-to-peer learning opportunities in an effort to make their governments more effective and use open data to engage citizens and improve services.” * * * * * The Business of Government Radio Show. What is Enterprise Risk Management? How can federal agencies successfully implement ERM? What are some of the key challenges implementing ERM? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Doug Webster and Tom Stanton, authors of Improving Government Decision Making through Enterprise Risk Management. 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.