Government Matters

Embracing diversity and inclusion in government

Shirley Jones, President of Blacks in Government, describes how agencies can successfully improve diversity and how her organization and others are helping

Getting ahead of cybersecurity risks in government

Bob Bigman, Founder of 2BSecure, discusses the first national cyber director nominee and the need for more specific government cybersecurity standards

Updates on President Biden’s topline budget request

Mackenzie Eaglen, Resident Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, discusses the defense budget and the timeline for appropriators and authorizers on the Hill

Artificial intelligence at the Department of Defense

Robert Work, Former Deputy Secretary of Defense, explains how mature artificial intelligence capabilities are in the United States and how that compares to China’s progress

Funding Overseas Contingency Operations

Todd Harrison, Director of Defense Budget Analysis and the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, provides updates on President Biden’s topline budget request, including changes to Overseas Contingency Operations funding

Ensuring readiness across different domains

Diana Maurer, Director of Defense Capabilities and Management Issues at the Government Accountability Office, goes over GAO’s report on Defense Department readiness in the air, ground, sea, space and cyber domains

OPM launches fed employee survey on skills and abilities

Mika Cross, Federal Workplace Expert, provides details on the new Federal Workforce Competency Initiative that will aid in job design, recruitment, performance management and training

Acquisition challenges for the next GSA administrator

Larry Allen, President of Allen Federal Business Partners, discusses what the next General Services Administration administrator should prioritize and focus on

“A national investment fund could save America via infrastructure, tech”

Harlan Ullman, Chair at the Killowen Group, explains how a national investment fund would address America’s need for modernized infrastructure

Collaboration on Office of Personnel Management reforms

Janice Lachance, Executive Vice President for Strategic Leadership and Global Outreach at the American Geophysical Union, discusses partnerships necessary for the Office of Personnel Management to successfully move forward

Developing reform initiatives for a new administration

Dan Chenok, Executive Director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government, discusses the successful continuation of reform efforts across decades as it relates to the Biden administration

Reforming the Federal Information Security Management Act

Richard Spires, Principal at Richard A. Spires Consulting, evaluates the state of cybersecurity across government and areas of necessary reform

Talent management in the Army

Gen. James McConville, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, discusses the upgrade to a new, “digital age” talent management system for the Army

Lessons learned from the FirstSource II contract at DHS

Soraya Correa, Chief Procurement Officer at the Department of Homeland Security, discusses what will be different about the FirstSource III solicitation, currently in the final stages of review

New Industry Advisory Council for CMMC

Karlton Johnson, Chairman of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Accreditation Body, discusses the hire of the CMMC Accreditation Body CEO, the Industry Advisory Council, the review from the deputy secretary’s office and other updates

Updating legacy systems in government

Horace Blackman, Senior Vice President of Consulting Services at CGI, discusses the point at which agencies decide to replace or augment legacy systems

New threat advisory from FBI and CISA

Brig. Gen. Gregory Touhill, President of AppGate Federal Group, discusses threats of VPN vulnerability exploitation and the necessity of patching devices

Tips for transforming HR in agencies

Loren Dejonge Schulman, Vice President of Research at the Partnership for Public Service, discusses questions organizations can ask to most effectively strengthen human resources

The fragility of the U.S. supply chain

Adm. Jamie Foggo (USN-ret.), Distinguished Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, discusses alliances and partnerships on the African continent and military implications of supply chain fragility

Tracking U.S. defense spending

Dov Zakheim, Senior Advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explains why he believes a statement from House members to the president on our defense spending is misleading

Paving a path forward for climate action at the Pentagon

Lachlan Carey, Associate Fellow for the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, details what the Department of Defense must do to convert climate change conversation to action

Upgrading technology for unemployment insurance systems

Jonathan Alboum, Federal Chief Technology Officer at ServiceNow, discusses steps the Labor Department should take to successfully implement modernized state unemployment insurance systems

Tracking the Biden administration’s budget request

David Hawkings, Editor-in-Chief of The Fulcrum, discusses the new discretionary guide for the fiscal 2022 budget, continuing resolutions and the atmosphere in Congress

Reshoring the Defense Department’s supply chain

Tara Murphy Dougherty, Chief Executive Officer at Govini, discusses nearshoring and the staggering increase in foreign suppliers in the defense supply chain

Information Technology trends during the pandemic

Robert McMullen, Deputy Chief Information Officer of Operations and Infrastructure at USCIS, discusses how Citizenship and Immigration Services pivoted to remote interviews using new technology

Addressing diversity and inclusion issues at the State Department

Harry Thomas, Senior Program Coordinator at Itility, goes over the message he wanted to convey at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on diversity and inclusion at the State Department

Tracking the return to work as federal employees get vaccinated

Jeffrey Neal, Author of www.ChiefHRO.com and Chairman of the Board of Directors at the National Academy of Public Administration, talks about what agencies and federal employees should consider as people start to return to the workplace

Addressing diversity and inclusion issues at the State Department

Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Diplomat in Residence at Oberlin College, discusses steps that must be taken to improve diplomacy through diversity and inclusion efforts

Updates on President Biden’s defense budget topline

Mark Cancian, Senior Advisor in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, discusses what he expects to see from the fiscal year 2022 defense budget and its potential impact on each branch of the military

DevSecOps at the Department of Veterans Affairs

Daniel McCune, Executive Director for the Enterprise Portfolio Management Division in the Office of Information and Technology at the Department of Veterans Affairs, describes the DevSecOps transformation at the VA and the success it has had in streamlining development and operations