Government Matters

Implementing risk management steps for DoD systems

Vijay D’Souza, director of information technology and cybersecurity at the Government Accountability Office, discusses what his office found when investigating cyber risk management in inventory systems at the Defense Logistics Agency

Focusing on emerging technology in GSA contract

Alan Thomas, former commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at GSA, discusses the STARS III contract from the General Services Administration and new options for vendors

Recommendations for building new centers at the VA

Greg Giddens, former chief acquisition officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs, discusses the new approach the Biden administration is taking to make changes to VA facilities to best serve veterans

The future of shipbuilding strategy in the Navy

Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) discusses the need for a strong global maritime strategy in order to respond to major adversarial threats

Evaluating the health IT policy at HHS

Lisa Lewis, deputy national coordinator of operations in the Office of National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at HHS, and Elise Sweeney Anthony, J.D., executive director of the Office of Policy at HHS, detail their efforts towards a new program to strengthen and train the public health informatics and technology workforce

Recommendations for the future of OPM

Janice Lachance, executive vice president of the American Geophysical Union and former Office of Personnel Management director, and Rafael Borras, president and chief executive officer of the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council and former under secretary for management at the Department of Homeland Security, discuss the administration’s new workforce strategy and challenges the new OPM director will have to tackle

IT success stories at SBA during the pandemic

Sanjay Gupta, chief technology officer at the Small Business Administration, looks back at how his organization implemented the Paycheck Protection Program during the pandemic

Analyzing data from NOAA climate reports

Deke Arndt, director of the Center for Weather & Climate at the National Centers for Environmental Information at NOAA, discusses the exponential growth in climate data volume and his organization’s process for analysis

Reviewing the White House supply chain plan

Christopher Yukins, professor at George Washington University Law School, discusses the recently developed plan for supply chain resiliency and the mechanisms in place to implement it

The future of shipbuilding plans in the Navy

Bryan Clark, former special assistant to the chief of naval operations and former director of the CNO’s Commander’s Action Group, discusses the Navy’s new shipbuilding plan and its implications for future strategies

Reviewing how climate change undermines global security

John Conger, director of the Center for Climate and Security, explains how climate is a part of every piece of the puzzle and how government leaders should incorporate it into their strategies

Evaluating officer career paths in the Navy

Cary Russell, director of defense capabilities and management issues at the Government Accountability Office, details the recent GAO report on retention disparities between Navy surface warfare officers and others

The future of CMMC standards in defense

Bob Bigman, founder of 2BSecure, talks about the naming of the first third-party assessor for the Defense Department’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification standards

The latest on the cyber hack reporting Senate bill

Tony Scott, former federal chief information officer, discusses a new Senate bill that would require organizations to report cyber hacks to the government within 24 hours

Recommendations for returning to the federal workplace

Tony Reardon, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, goes over major questions and topics agencies should address in their return-to-office plans

Using the Periodic Table of Acquisition Innovations

Tim Cooke, chief executive officer and owner of ASI Government, explains how using a periodic table framework helps educate government about solutions to acquisition problems

Takeaways from the defense budget hearings

Gen. Carter Ham (USA Ret.), president and chief executive officer of the Association of the United States Army and former commander of U.S. Africa Command, and Gen. Norton Schwartz (USAF Ret.), president of the Institute for Defense Analyses and former chief of staff of the United States Air Force, provide insight into military service hearings to congressional committees this week

The future of DHS recruiting, retaining and training

Clothilda Taylor, chief learning and engagement officer at DHS, reflects on employee retention efforts during the pandemic and looks forward to the future of learning and engagement at the department

The latest on funding deadlines for federal agencies

Kathleen Turco, director at CGI and former chief financial officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the General Services Administration, and Ariane Whittemore, managing director at Grant Thornton Public Sector and former assistant deputy commandant of the Marine Corps for programs and resources, discuss how financial managers can navigate the potential for a continuing resolution

Following the OPM rehiring pay grade regulation

Jeff Pon, former director of the Office of Personnel Management, discusses the new rule from OPM detailing processes agencies can follow for rehiring employees at higher grades

Closing the racial wealth gap through small business contracting

Liza V. Craig, Esq., counsel at Reed Smith LLP, talks about what agencies and companies can do to reach the Biden administration’s goal of doubling contracts for small and disadvantaged businesses

The latest on GPS and alternative technologies at DHS

Richard Mason, senior engineer at the RAND Corporation, provides an overview of a study assessing costs associated with threats to Global Positioning System technology

Responding to Defense Department cybersecurity vulnerabilities

Danelle Barrett, former deputy chief information officer of the U.S. Navy, discusses the growing importance of vulnerability disclosure programs to the cyber posture of the government

Reviewing the Pentagon’s OCONUS cloud strategy

Robert Slaughter, former director of the Platform One program in the U.S. Air Force, goes over the recently released Outside the Continental United States Cloud Strategy from the Defense Department

The latest on the White House Navy secretary nominee

Jerry Hendrix, former director of the Secretary of the Navy Advisory Panel, discusses challenges Carlos Del Toro will face if confirmed as Navy secretary

Recommendations for government digital customer experience

Nick Sinai, former deputy chief technology officer of the United States, talks about the importance of user experience on government websites and various ways organizations can improve their web presence

Reviewing the Federal Information Security Modernization Act

Karen Evans, former federal chief information officer, discusses some weaknesses of FISMA and strategies for shifting to a new model to mitigate and respond to security threats