Michael J. Keegan

This nation stands on the verge of a new era in aviation.

The national airspace system is one of the largest and safest in the world. It’s also the busiest: in FY 2010, more than 700 million passengers flew on U.S. air carriers.

Throughout its history, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HUD, has sought to promote sustainable homeownership, support community development, and access to affordable housing. It has also become evident that government best serves the taxpayer when it is performing well and producing sound results. Over the last couple of years, HUD has taken many steps to improve its management and performance in fulfilling its mission.

The imperative to improve the business operations of the U.S. Department of Defense has never been greater. Secretary of Defense Gates and Deputy Secretary Lynn have clearly articulated the pressing need for reform, driving action across all business areas such as acquisition and logistics, finance, and personnel. Transforming these business processes and systems is motivated by the need to make better use of resources, improve stewardship, and provide the best support possible to the warfighters.

For a decade, The Business of Government Hour has brought you leading government executives who are changing the way government does business. Each week, our guests join us for an informative, insightful, and in-depth conversation about their careers, their agencies, agency accomplishments, as well as their vision of government in the 21st century.  Over last five years, we have interviewed more than 250 government executives. It is from this rich library that we have culled together their insights on important public management issues.

In 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued its first-ever Quadrennial Homeland Security Review (QHSR) that delineates a strategy focusing on five mission priority areas for the homeland security enterprise. “Mission one is preventing terrorism and enhancing the security of the country.

In 2013 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) embarked on an ambitious effort to modernize its information technology infrastructure, transforming from an agency with 207 different IT systems to one with a cloud-based common data platform that would play a signifi- cant role in creating a more dynamic and agile enterprise.

Michael J. Keegan

VA and VistA: Can they be fixed? The Department of Veterans Affairs is rushing to make changes to its IT infrastructure and systems before the next administration enters the White House. And skeptical lawmakers, oversight bodies and outside experts are cautiously optimistic about the eventual outcomes.

On his first full day in office, January 21, 2009, President Obama issued a call for increased openness in government.

Cutting edge technology and innovation is more important today than ever before, as NASA develops missions of increasing complexity to understand the Earth, our solar system, and the universe. We spoke with Dr. Bobby Braun, Chief Technologist at NASA, who was a guest on The Business of Government Hour about NASA’s space technology program, its focus on research and development, forging disruptive innovation, and making a difference for the future. I share with you some of his insights from our conversation.