Fed Gov Today

The Thrift Savings Plan has seven recommendations from the Government Accountability Office about its two-year old record keeping system. Jennifer Franks of GAO told you about them on a recent edition of the Fed Gov Today podcast . Kim Weaver, Director of External Affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, tells you how the TSP is responding now, and has already responded, to the r...

Twelve recommendations to strengthen the inspector general community are part of a new book from the former IG at the Departments of Justice and Defense. Glenn Fine was Inspector General at Justice from 2000 to 2011, and the acting IG at DoD from 2016 to 2020. His book is titled “Watchdogs: Inspectors General and the Battle for Honest and Accountable Government.” In this conversation, he'll t...

The Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration has a unique opportunity to reshape itself, and that reshaping could happen through five ideas . That’s according to Larry Allen , President of Allen Federal Business Partners . He’s writing about those five ideas in his “Week Ahead” newsletter , and he explains his five ideas on today’s show. More than 35,000 professionals ins...

This podcast is sponsored by Presidio Federal and IBM. New guidance to overhaul FedRAMP is out from the Office of Management and Budget. OMB Director Shalanda Young writes the guidance “is responsive to developments in Federal cybersecurity and substantial changes to the commercial cloud marketplace that have occurred since the program was established.” One of the changes Director Young refers to...

Presented by Booz Allen Evan Carey, Acting Director at the National Artificial Intelligence Institute, Department of Veterans Affairs discusses the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and its efforts to integrate AI into its operations to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of medical documentation and community care records. The VA is focusing on using AI to streamline the creation of docume...

The Defense Department’s new Fulcrum IT Advancement Strategy includes four lines of effort. One of them is focused on customer experience. Savan Kong is Senior Advisor in the User Experience Portfolio Management Office in the Office of the CIO at DoD . At TechNet Cyber recently, he tells me his office is driving what customer experience looks like across the department. One of the jobs of the Defe...

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT inside the Department of Health and Human Services has prepared the draft “ 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan ”. At the ACT-IAC Health Innovation Summit recently, Peter Karras, Deputy Director for the Strategic Planning and Coordination Division at ONC , tells me the strategy is both a progression and an evolution. ACT-IAC Vision 2030:...

No matter who wins the presidential election this November, a new round of political appointees is likely to make its way to Capitol Hill to seek the approval of the Senate. Maj. Gen. Arnold Punaro (USMC ret.) will probably be involved in helping at least some of them prepare for confirmation. Arnold’s new book, " If Confirmed: An Insider’s View of the National Security Confirmation Process ,...

The new Chief Artificial Intelligence Officers Council just passed the six-month mark of its existence. The White House Executive Order on AI specifies that every agency should designate a Chief AI Officer. Two leaders who’ve led AI efforts at agencies are writing about what agencies should look for in those CAIOs. Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan (USAF ret.) was the first Director of the Algorithmic Warfar...

The Thrift Savings Plan is on a new glidepath. That path should help its members… that are investing for the long term. Kim Weaver, Director of External Affairs at the TSP, tells what the path is, and how it will work. The Central Intelligence Agency is building a chatbot to help its people verify open-source information quickly. The agency’s working with other members of the intelligence communit...

This Fed Gov Today podcast is sponsored by Microsoft. Today’s show is “Innovating on the Frontlines: Securing the Future with AI and Cybersecurity.” The evolving intersection of security and AI is the focus today. Leaders from the Department of Homeland Security, Microsoft, and the Department of Defense will tell you where their organizations are, and where they’re going on security and AI; and ho...

This Fed Gov Today podcast is sponsored by Verizon. Today’s show is titled “Bridging Horizons: Innovating Customer Experience in Federal Civilian Services. The President’s Management Agenda and a series of executive orders have pushed agencies to transform the way they deal with agency customers. Leaders from FDA, VA, and Verizon dig into the challenges, opportunities, and technological innovation...

NASA has a new technology leader to work in its digital transformation. Patrick Newbold is about five months into his tenure there, after joining the agency from the Social Security Administration. At the ACT-IAC Emerging Tech and Innovation Conference recently, he tells me digital transformation is about more than technology. The Defense Department is in year two of its latest Small Business Stra...

All the military services, and pretty much the whole federal government, says they’re looking for innovative solutions. The hang-up can be what “innovation” actually means to each organization. Lt. Col. David Brewer (USAF) is Total Force Integration Liaison in the Disruptive Technology Division at Air Force Futures Center 3 Integration and Innovation . At the Emerging Tech and Innovation Conferenc...

A new artificial intelligence tech sprint is under way at the Department of Veterans Affairs . 152 teams are competing in the sprint, on two tracks. Donna Hill, Deputy Director of Operations at the National Artificial Intelligence Institute at the VA and manager of the AI Tech Sprint, tells you how the sprint works, and what the agency is looking for. The Defense Department is working with five in...

Some records are falling in your Thrift Savings Plan. More federal employees are bringing money into the TSP than ever, and the Plan is breaking other records too. Kim Weaver, Director of External Affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, tells you about some of the other records the TSP is breaking, and why the Board thinks those records are falling. Federal agencies have new gui...

This show is sponsored by EY. The federal government is beginning month eight of work on the White House’s plan for “Delivering a Digital First Public Experience.” That work, and work tech leaders from other countries are doing around the world, was the focus of an event in Washington recently called Government DX. Dozens of US federal government leaders joined their peers from around the world, o...

The Department of Energy says it’s planning for technology that might not exist for ten years or more. Given the leaps in tech in the past ten years, leaders say that planning requires great flexibility. Brian Epley is Deputy Chief Information Officer at the Energy Department. At the ACT-IAC Climate Change Summit recently, he tells me about the partnerships he wants to help maximize that flexibili...

The federal government is missing a “prime opportunity” to cut the size and cost of its real estate footprint, according to the Public Buildings Reform Board . The board finds the government is missing modernization opportunities too. Dan Mathews, a member of the Public Buildings Reform Board and former commissioner of the Public Buildings Service at the General Services Administration, details wh...

Today, a special program. Monday I hosted the Chiefs Panel, the opening event of the Sea Air Space conference. My thanks to the Navy League of the United States, the hosts of Sea Air Space, for inviting me to moderate the Chiefs Panel. You’ll hear that event on the program today, with the Chief of Naval Operations… Admiral Lisa Franchetti; the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Chri...

The President’s Management Agenda doesn’t include an explicit mention of shared services. But one leader says there are plenty of references that imply agencies should use shared services. Chad Clifford is Executive Director of the Grants Quality Service Management Office at the Department of Health and Human Services . At ACT-IAC’s Shared Services Summit at the Carahsoft Conference Center in Rest...

Accenture Federal Services sponsors this edition of the Fed Gov Today podcast. The Defense Department says its Cyber Workforce Framework will be a key tool in developing the team that will implement the department’s cyber strategy. That framework comes out of a directive called 8140.01. Matthew Isnor is Program Lead for Cyberspace Workforce Development in the office of the Chief Information Office...

The Navy League sponsors this edition of the Fed Gov Today podcast. The Office of Naval Intelligence is delivering three new cloud-based capabilities that it says will “ revolutionize the delivery of critical ONI intelligence, data and development tools to the fleet. ” Zeke Maldonado is Chief Information Officer and Director of Technology and Innovation at the Office of Naval Intelligence. At West...

The Transportation Security Administration is testing touchless ID at several airports across the country . The goal is to make clearing security easier and faster for travelers. Kristin Ruiz is Deputy Chief Information Officer at TSA. At the ACT-IAC Digital Transformation Summit recently, she tells me why the project is a good example of TSA’s approach to digital transformation. The Office of Per...

Agency leaders tell me the digital transformation efforts they’re undertaking are focused on mission and not just better technology. One mission outcome that’s becoming - or already is - important to agencies is customer experience. Beth Martin is a digital services expert at the Office of Personnel Management . At the ACT-IAC Digital Transformation Summit recently, she tells me how OPM is merging...