Fed Gov Today

The beginning of December will mark the one-year anniversary of Ann Lewis’s tenure as Deputy Commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration, and Director of GSA’s Technology Transformation Services. She followed Dave Zvenyach as TTS’s head; he left in August 2022. At ELC 2023, I ask Ann about her vision for TTS.The acquisition arm of the General Services Administration is doing a technology transformation like a lot of parts of the Federal government. Charlotte Phelan is Assistant Commissioner for Strategy and Innovation in the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration. She’s leading that transformation effort at FAS. At ELC 2023, I ask her how much of the transformation is similar to other organizations in government, and how much is unique to acquisition.The job of Chief Information Officer for the Office of the Secretary of Defense is a relatively new one inside the Pentagon. Danielle Metz took that job a little more than a year ago, and on the main stage at last year’s ELC, she told me about some of her objectives. At ELC 2023, she tells me what her office has accomplished in the past year.Appian Government event, November 29, 2023

The Air Force Research Laboratory has a new Chief Information Officer. Alexis Bonnell has served in government before, including as Chief Innovation Officer at the US Agency for International Development. At ELC 2023, I ask her about her priority list in her new job.The President’s Management Agenda includes a pillar on rebuilding the federal workforce. One element of that is a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Isaac Hernandez is Senior Risk Advisor at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. He spoke on a panel at ELC 2023 on “DEIA and the Employee Experience.” At the conference, I ask him what message he wants people to take away from that panel.The new artificial intelligence Executive Order and the new draft guidance on updating FedRAMP are two of the newest items that will impact the Federal Acquisition Service at the General Services Administration. The Commissioner of FAS, Sonny Hashmi, spoke about those items and many others on the main stage at ELC 2023. After his remarks on stage, I asked him what his main message was.ServiceNow “Modern Logistics & Maintenance” event, Nov 8th, 2023Appian Government event, November 29, 2023

The Navy is on the hunt for a new Principal Cyber Advisor. Chris Cleary’s tenure as PCA expires after three years. CDR Juliana Vida (USN), former Deputy Chief Information Officer of the Navy, details what makes a good PCA, and what makes a good relationship among the PCA, CIO, and CISO in a department.Chris Cleary on Fed Gov Today TVLeaders at the Office of Personnel Management say they’ll use data to drive decision making about the federal workforce. OPM’s working to give agencies data and tools to make workforce decisions, too. On the newest edition of Fed Gov Today TV, Robert Shea, Chief Executive Officer of GovNavigators, former Associate Director at the Office of Management and Budget, and former Commissioner on the Commission on Evidence-based Policymaking, explains why he thinks OPM is on a transformation journey.The Thrift Savings Plan is rolling out a new feature at TSP.gov. It’ll help you track loans from your account more easily. Kim Weaver, Director of External Affairs at the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, explains how the tracker works, and other features the TSP will debut in the future.ServiceNow “Modern Logistics & Maintenance” event, October 25, 2023Appian Government event, November 29, 2023

10/24/23: A 3-pronged approach to solving cyber at sea; financial managers get a new tool in the toolboxThe Navy is celebrating a cyber anniversary. The service’s Cyberspace Superiority Vision document turns one year old this month. Chris Cleary is the Principal Cyber Advisor of the Navy. On the newest Fed Gov Today TV, he says the Vision has gotten a lot of uptake in the department over the past year.Financial management practitioners all across the government are finding new ways to use AI to drive mission and to manage agency budgets better. One FM leader says AI is a change management issue, not a technology issue. Vinay Singh is the Chief Financial Officer at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Joe Baptiste is Senior Manager for Technology Consulting at EY. They both were guests on the new Fed Gov Today special show “AI In Depth”. In this highlight of that show, Vinay explains why he believes A-I is a change management issue.ServiceNow “Modern Logistics & Maintenance” event, October 25, 2023Appian Government event, November 29, 2023

Federal CIO Clare Martorana says AI will be an important part of the federal government’s Customer experience efforts. One of the agencies using AI to improve the experience of the people it serves is the Department of Veterans Affairs. Gil Alterovitz is Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer at the VA. Joe Boye is System Engineer for Palo Alto Networks. They both were guests on the new Fed Gov Today TV special, “AI In Depth”. In this highlight of that show, I ask them about success in serving agency customers, whether internal or external, with AI.A new task force is working on the generative AI challenge inside the Defense Department. Task Force Lima is part of the Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Office at the Pentagon. Lt. Col. Pedro Ortiz of Task Force Lima tells me about the mission of the task force, and his role in that mission.ServiceNow “Modern Logistics & Maintenance” event, October 25, 2023Appian Government event, November 29, 2023

Agencies across government are looking at use cases for artificial intelligence projects. Leaders say they’re trying to avoid forcing technology onto their challenges. Use cases for AI is only one of several topics you can learn about on the new Fed Gov Today special show “AI In Depth.” This highlight of that show features Dimitri Kusnezov, Under Secretary for Science and Technology at the Department of Homeland Security, and Dominic Delmolino, Vice President for Worldwide Public Sector Technology & Innovation at AWS.The Defense Department’s artificial intelligence efforts are coalescing around the DoD Data Strategy. Every part of the department is executing on that data strategy. Dan Folliard is the Chief Digital and AI Officer at U.S. Special Operations Command. In part two of this conversation, I ask him how much of the structure he’s building parallels the CDAO office at the Pentagon. Part one of this conversation is here.ServiceNow “Modern Logistics & Maintenance” event, October 25, 2023Appian Government event, November 29, 2023

Three agencies have As on the new FITARA scorecard. And eight agencies have better grades on this scorecard than they did on the last one. David Powner, Executive Director of the Center for Data-Driven Policy at MITRE and former Director of IT Issues at the Government Accountability Office, reviews the new grades and changes to the scorecard; compares those changes to the ones an ACT-IAC all-star team (including Dave) has proposed; and what he thinks should come next for the scorecard.Four components make up an “artificial intelligence accountability framework” from the Government Accountability Office. Those four components include data; governance; performance; and monitoring. Taka Ariga, Chief Data Scientist and Director of the Innovation Lab at GAO, tells you how his team identified those components, and how end users should use the framework.The Defense Department’s artificial intelligence efforts are coalescing around the DoD Data Strategy. Every part of the department is executing on that data strategy. Dan Folliard, Chief Digital and AI Officer at U.S. Special Operations Command, details what he’s doing at SOCOM, and how he’s doing it; and how SOCOM is a microcosm of the broader Department of Defense.ServiceNow “Modern Logistics & Maintenance” event, October 25, 2023Appian Government event, November 29, 2023

The continuing resolution Congress passed, and President Biden signed, puts the next shutdown deadline just before Thanksgiving. The current CR runs out November 17th. Margaret Weichert, former Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget, and Gordon Bitko, Executive Vice President for Public Sector at the Information Technology Industry Council and former Chief Information Officer at the FBI, discuss what federal government leaders should do between now and November 17th in case they’re in this spot again.The tax return backlog at the Internal Revenue Service cost more than $3 billion in interest taxpayers got because their refunds were late. That payment is just one consequence of the IRS’s transition to digital records. Bryce Kisler, Assistant Inspector General for Audit in the Office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, explains what those roadblocks are, and how the agency can fix them.ServiceNow “Modern Logistics & Maintenance” event, October 25, 2023Appian Government event, November 29, 2023

This edition of Fed Gov Today is sponsored by Leidos. Today, the second episode of conversations from the Department of Veterans Affairs National Artificial Intelligence Institute’s International Summit for AI in Health Care, September 6-8 in Washington. First episode from TuesdayThe VA says it’s working toward a concept of trustworthy AI throughout its health care system. At the VA AI Summit, Dr. Michael Kim, Chief of Staff of the NAII, tells me it’s important that both health providers and patients trust the AI applications those providers use.VA leaders at the Summit, and through this interview series, have used the term “trustworthy AI” to describe what they’re seeking, and what they want their end users and patients to understand about the technology. VA is also exploring the digital twins concept that A-I will enable. Narasa Susarla, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Lead, and Chief Architect and Chief Engineer of the Health Group, at Leidos, explains the intersection between trustworthy AI and digital twins, and how digital twins will help you do your job better.Experts in health care, and across the technology spectrum, say generative AI has huge potential. They also talk about the risks that it may bring. At the VA AI Summit, Dr. Shareef Elnahal, Undersecretary for Health at the VA, tells me he believes avoiding generative A-I solutions would be a huge mistake.Photo: sign from the National Artificial Intelligence Institute’s International Summit for AI in Health Care (Fed Gov Today)

This edition of Fed Gov Today is sponsored by Leidos.Today and Thursday, conversations from the Department of Veterans Affairs National Artificial Intelligence Institute’s International Summit for AI in Health Care, September 6-8 in Washington.The VA is optimistic about moving AI solutions from prototype and testing to deployment. Part of that transition is engaging end users in that deployment. Evan Carey is Deputy Director for AI Networks at the National Artificial Intelligence Institute. At the VA AI Summit, he tells me moving from testing to implementation isn’t a new challenge.One theme throughout the sessions at the VA AI Summit is the potential to address burnout among healthcare providers. You’ll hear more about that issue on today’s show, and Thursday’s podcast too. Ning Yu, Chief Natural Language Processing Research Scientist at Leidos, explains how AI can help with burnout and a number of other challenges health care providers and systems face.Making health care provision more efficient, more equitable, and more accessible are three goals the VA has for using AI in its healthcare system. Dr. Andrew Borkowski is Founding Chief of the Artificial Intelligence Service at the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, FL; and Facility Lead for the NAII. At the VA A-I Summit, he tells me how AI can help the VA achieve those goals.