Government Matters

Exit interview with Federal Chief Information Officer Suzette Kent

Suzette Kent, U.S. Chief Information Officer, reflects on accomplishments as well as priorities to focus on in federal IT moving forward, after announcing she is leaving OMB next month

Updates from the Technology Transformation Services

Anil Cheriyan, Director of Technology Transformation Services at GSA, discusses top priorities of the GSA’s Centers of Excellence, including IT modernization

Updates on the Coast Guard coronavirus response

RADM Paul Thomas (USCG), Deputy Commandant for Mission Support’s Deputy for Personnel Readiness for the U.S. Coast Guard, describes how the Coast Guard continues to respond to the coronavirus as it prepares for a potentially worse than average hurricane season

The psychological impact of the coronavirus

Dr. Nicholas Polizzi, inTransition Program and Real Warriors Campaign Lead at the Defense Health Agency, discusses the increase in mental health problems from the coronavirus pandemic and what the DHA is doing to normalize mental health care

Benefits of digital training in government

Kathy Pham, Co-Founder and Mentor at Mozilla Builders Fix the Internet Incubator, describes how agencies can develop effective digital training by using human-centered design

Sammies finalist develops system to track opioid prescriptions

Dr. Vikram Krishnasamy, Medical Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses how he is working to combat the opioid epidemic by helping coordinate healthcare professionals and law enforcement

Identifying racial disparities in the military

Brenda Farrell, Director of Defense Capabilities and Management Issues at GAO, discusses the GAO’s recommendation for more comprehensive studies to determine what is causing racial disparities in the military

Defense Industrial Base provisions in the NDAA drafts

Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle (USAF, Ret.), President of the National Defense Industrial Association, discusses new provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act that would impact the Defense Industrial Base

Priorities of the Defense Space Strategy

Todd Harrison, Director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, explains the new Defense Space Strategy from the Pentagon that emphasizes having a military advantage in space

Upcoming changes to the L Fund

Kim Weaver, Director of External Affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, explains the new L Funds that the FRTIB will roll out at the end of the month

Top trends in the space industry

Tom Zelibor, Chief Executive Officer of the Space Foundation, presents some of the major areas of growth in the space industry as well as potential roadblocks to innovation

Revamping digital training in government

Kelly O’Connor, Principal at Boston Consulting Group, discusses how government agencies can more effectively provide digital learning to employees to improve training in a telework environment

Modernizing IT at the Department of Veterans Affairs

Mike Bowman, Director of Information Technology and Security Audits at the Department of Veterans Affairs OIG, details recommendations to address the issue of the VA CIO not approving some acquisitions

Updating the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program

Michael McLaughlin, Research Analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, goes over recommendations for improving the FedRAMP to address areas of concern regarding authorization

Revamping digital training in government

Andrea Ippolito, Lecturer in the Engineering Management Program at Cornell University, discusses the role of digital training at federal agencies as some employees could continue to telework

Updates on GSA’s Multiple Award Schedules consolidation

Stephanie Shutt, Director of the Multiple Award Schedule Program at GSA, provides updates on the three phases of Multiple Award Schedules consolidation at GSA

Balancing hurricane and pandemic preparations

Jeh Johnson, Partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, discusses the challenges agencies face of preparing for the upcoming hurricane season in the midst of the pandemic

Recruiting and retaining the IT workforce

Tom Soderstrom, IT Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at the Jet Propulsion Lab at NASA, discusses ways of bringing in and retaining a skilled workforce to stay ahead of current technology

New GAO report tracks Pentagon acquisition spending

Frank Kendall, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, discusses a report from the GAO on defense acquisition spending and whether or not changes to acquisitions have taken effect

Top cybersecurity issues to pay more attention to

Bob Bigman, Founder of 2BSecure, talks about major cybersecurity risks and how the remote work environment is creating opportunities for vulnerabilities

Sammies finalist develops new drug for rare form of leukemia

Dr. Ira Pastan, Distinguished Investigator at the National Cancer Institute at NIH, discusses a drug he developed for a rare type of leukemia and its potential to treat other cancers

Lessons learned from previous emergency relief efforts

Theresa Hull, Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Acquisition, Contracting and Sustainment at the DoD OIG, highlights what the DoD OIG found in its new report looking at past emergency responses to help the defense contracting community respond to the current pandemic

The National Defense Strategy and defense budgets

Bill Greenwalt, Senior Fellow at the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council, discusses a new report about the impact of the National Defense Strategy on the defense budget, and the likelihood of budget increases

New NDAA draft doesn’t include Space Force procurement changes

Kaitlyn Johnson, Associate Director of the Aerospace Security Project at CSIS, explains the status of including space acquisition reforms in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act

Updates on the Technology Modernization Fund

Tony Scott, Managing Partner at Ridge-Lane, provides updates on the Technology Modernization Fund and suggestions for what could be changed

Planning for both a hurricane and a pandemic

Mark McNulty, VP and General Manager of U.S. Federal Government Markets at Motorola Solutions, discusses how the coronavirus complicates hurricane preparation and how agencies should coordinate hurricane and pandemic plans

CIO Council’s recommendations for the IT workforce

Nick Sinai, Senior Advisor at Insight Partners, goes over new recommendations from the CIO Council for making federal IT career paths more attractive to the workforce of the future

Federal retirement and the coronavirus

Tammy Flanagan, Senior Benefits Director at the National Institute of Transition Planning, discusses the possibility of a higher number of federal employees retiring this year because of the coronavirus

Working together across agencies on data

Victoria Velkoff, Associate Director for Demographic Programs at the U.S. Census Bureau, details how the Census Bureau has collaborated with five other agencies to quickly provide data to the government and private sector

Workforce needs during the pandemic

Kristine Simmons, Vice President of Government Affairs at the Partnership for Public Service, describes challenges and unexpected positive changes that agencies have seen because of the pandemic