Government Matters

Priorities of the Chief Data Officers Council

Ted Kaouk, Chief Data Officer at the USDA, discusses his role as the chair of the Chief Data Officers Council and the agenda of the institution

Updates from the Small Business Administration during the pandemic

Allen Gutierrez, Associate Administrator for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development at the SBA, explains how the Small Business Administration is helping small businesses across the country during the pandemic

Implementing cybersecurity standards in a changing threat landscape

Donna Dodson, Chief Cybersecurity Advisor at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, talks about how agencies have used the cybersecurity risk management framework from NIST to be prepared during the pandemic

New GAO report on inspector general reform

Susan Sawtelle, Managing Associate General Counsel at the Government Accountability Office, goes over options that GAO presented to Congress for addressing concerns about IG independence

IT and cyber spending at the end of the fiscal year

Brig. Gen. Gregory Touhill, President of AppGate Federal Group, examines the factors impacting cybersecurity spending in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year

Sammies finalist works to intervene and prevent mass shootings

Lina Alathari, Chief of the National Threat Assessment Center at the Secret Service, explains how the National Threat Assessment Center is helping schools and other organizations prevent mass shootings

Prioritizing mental health in the military and among veterans

Chris Molaro, Chief Executive Officer of NeuroFlow, describes how the adoption of new technologies as a result of the coronavirus is improving mental health care in the military and among veterans

Potential for an arms control treaty with Russia

Sarah Bidgood, Director of the Eurasia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, discusses the possibility of an arms control treaty between the US and Russia and potential areas of cooperation

The War on Terror and wars about ideology

Col. Frank Sobchak (USA Ret.), Contributor at the MirYam Institute, explains the idea that warfare has fundamentally changed and how the US should prepare

Opportunities and challenges in reopening

Jonathan Alboum, Principal Data Strategist at ServiceNow, discusses opportunities and challenges for agencies to consider as they start to reopen offices

Problem-solving similarities in the public and private sector

Joseph Klimavicz, Managing Director of Consulting at KPMG, provides insights about some of the similarities and differences of working in the public and private sectors

Federal IT needs in government

Mike Hettinger, President of the Hettinger Strategy Group, discusses resources going to federal agencies for IT modernization and remote work during the pandemic

New Grant Recipient Digital Dossier at HHS

Michael Peckham, ReImagine HHS Grants Initiative Lead at the Department of Health & Human Services, describes how HHS is reinventing grants management by prioritizing user engagement

Multiple Award Contracts and whistleblowers

Larry Allen, President of Allen Federal Business Partners, explains how the increase in spending on Multiple Award Contracts will probably lead to increased whistleblower activity

Implementing agile methods in government

Ed DeSeve, Head of the Agile Government Center from NAPA, talks about the shift to agile software development in government agencies, challenges and important things for companies to focus on when implementing agile principles

Telework at the Pentagon during the pandemic

Essye Miller, Principal Deputy CIO at the Department of Defense, describes the telework effort that the Department of Defense undertook and how it will change the work environment moving forward

Addressing racial issues in the Air Force

Gen. Larry Spencer (Ret.), USAF, 37th Vice Chief of Staff of the USAF, and Michael Donley, 22nd Secretary of the Air Force, discuss the issue of racial disparities in the Air Force and the Department of Defense as a whole and what leaders should do to address it

A whole-of-enterprise approach to GEOINT

VADM Robert Sharp (USN), Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, discusses the whole-of-enterprise approach of the NGA and the effect that the pandemic has had on the agency

Deterrence by detection as an operational concept

Thomas Mahnken, President & CEO of the Center for Strategic & Budgetary Assessments, explains how deterrence by detection would be a cost-effective way to address opportunistic aggression

VA OIT’s coronavirus response

Jim Gfrerer, Chief Information Officer of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Information Technology, details how the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Information Technology has adapted to changes in the IT environment since the beginning of the pandemic

The coronavirus and federal retirees

Jeffrey Neal, Author of www.ChiefHRO.com, discusses the potential problem of federal employees choosing to retire out of safety concerns as agencies reopen

Prioritizing mental health during the coronavirus

COL David Benedek, M.D. (USA), Chief of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, discusses the impact of the coronavirus on mental health and how the military can plan for potential future issues despite uncertainty

New recommendations for review of Medical Treatment Facilities

Brenda Farrell, Director of Defense Capabilities and Management Issues at GAO, goes over recommendations of the GAO for the Defense Department to effectively assess healthcare needs when restructuring hospitals and clinics

Potential reform to the Overseas Contingency Operations account

Andrew Lautz, Policy and Government Affairs Manager for the National Taxpayers Union, explains why the Overseas Contingency Operations account is problematic and how it can be reformed

Firing of State Department IG Steve Linick

Amb. Ronald Neumann, President of the American Academy of Diplomacy, comments on the removal of State Department IG Steve Linick and reasons for concern

Reviewing agency procedures post-coronavirus

Lee Becker, Solutions Principal at Medallia, discusses how government agencies can focus on customer experience to prepare for a second wave of the coronavirus

New GAO report on fragmentation, overlap & duplication

Richard Spires, Principal at Richard A. Spires Consulting, presents some of the main takeaways from the new GAO report on fragmentation, overlap and duplication

Enterprise Risk Management in government

Cynthia Vitters, Managing Director of Risk and Financial Advisory at Deloitte, and Dave Mader, Civilian Sector Chief Strategy Officer at Deloitte, assess the progress agencies have made in using risk management principles and go over five steps for moving forward

Sammies finalist negotiates trade arrangement with Mexico and Canada

John Melle, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for the Western Hemisphere at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, discusses the process and significance of negotiating the new United States-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA)

Risks in implementing artificial intelligence

Dan Chenok, Executive Director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government, talks about the benefits and risks of adopting artificial intelligence in government agencies