While the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recently outlined key considerations for Federal agencies returning to work following the coronavirus pandemic, a GAO official said this week that the agency hasn’t yet seen a comprehensive and detailed plan from government that is comparable to some industry reopening plans. […]
While schools transitioned to online learning during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, over half of educators said, in a recent nationwide survey, that their students are not learning about cybersecurity. […]
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is tentatively scheduling a phase one reopening of its offices in the National Capital Region to start June 22, per a short video presentation for employees obtained by MeriTalk. […]
The Department of Defense (DoD) is beginning Phase One of reopening of the Pentagon today, under the Pentagon Reservation Plan for Resilience. […]
On June 10, the Department of Defense (DoD) announced five Defense Production Act Title 3 actions to help sustain workforce capabilities that were disrupted by COVID-19. The actions will include funding totaling $135 million. In a statement, Lt. Col. Mike Andrews said that the actions by DoD would “help sustain defense-critical workforce capabilities in body […]
The U.S. Army announced that it would be dividing the CIO/G-6 position into two separate positions: the CIO and the Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS) of the G-6. […]
Nearly three months since Federal agencies were directed to maximize telework, Federal CIOs at a June 11 ATARC virtual conference talked about what the telework experience may mean for the IT workforce of the future – and how agencies may balance newfound efficiencies with the need for human interaction in the workplace. […]
A May 2020 report from the Federal CIO Council on the future of the government IT workforce makes 10 new recommendations to improve the 21st century work environment, including better recognition for employees doing a good job and revamping the hiring process. […]
Just over two months after the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, officials at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) credit the legislation with expediating the acquisition process to ease the telework transition. […]
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) entered phase one of its reopening plans on June 1 for its offices in the National Capital Region – D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia – a spokesperson confirmed to MeriTalk. […]
Keith Bluestein is set to be appointed CIO at the Small Business Administration (SBA), knowledgeable sources confirmed today. […]
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is looking to hire its next chief statistician – a position that has been vacant since January. […]
Federal CIO Suzette Kent said today the rapid IT transformations that have taken place over the last two months of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic should serve as a proof point for what the Federal government is capable of going forward. […]
The CIOs of the Agriculture (USDA) and Transportation (DoT) Departments said today that workforce productivity trends have been stable or improved since both agencies turned to large-scale telework in March to combat spread of COVID-19. […]
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, was joined by a bipartisan group of senators to introduce legislation that would expedite staffing for the special pandemic recovery watchdog that oversees trillions in taxpayer funded pandemic relief. […]
The Professional Services Council (PSC) said in a press release that it applauds the inclusion of contractor-focused provisions with the House’s latest coronavirus response bill released yesterday. […]
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is advancing Federally-funded research on COVID-19 including research using supercomputers to run simulations. […]
General Services Administration (GSA) Deputy CIO Beth Killoran said at a May 7 GSA webinar that the agency is looking ahead to the “potential opportunity” to boost the Federal government’s IT workforce after the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. […]
Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., introduced legislation on May 5 to protect annual leave for Federal employees who have been working to aid the Federal response to COVID-19. […]
In 2013, the Cyber Peace Foundation was born, with Vineet Kumar as founder and president. Volunteers, called corps members, would make up the foundation’s Cyber Peace Corps. […]
Several senators from both parties are calling on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to use existing authorities to provide hazard pay to Federal government employees working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. That proposed hazard pay would total a 25% increase in those workers’ current salaries. […]
The Defense Department’s (DoD) Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) is looking to potentially enter into a FAR 13 Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) with no more than two companies for mission support. […]
Malicious cyber actors threaten the fate of the galaxy and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is searching for a new hope. […]
In accordance with recent White House initiatives, the Department of Defense (DoD) is developing plans for Washington, D.C.-area employees to return to the Pentagon and begin a “new normal,” Secretary Mark Esper said at a May 4 Brookings Institution webinar. […]
The geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) industry and workforce is undergoing a seismic shift driven by artificial intelligence (AI), with 91 percent of stakeholders believing AI has the potential to greatly improve GEOINT productivity, capacity, and capability. That potential impact, however, appears to be racing ahead of on-the-ground planning as just 33 percent of GEOINT stakeholders report having a clear AI workforce strategy. […]
Several members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs are criticizing the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for its lack of Senate briefings on the Federal workforce during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. […]
In an update on the defense industrial base (DIB), Under Secretary of Defense Ellen Lord detailed the decrease in DIB company closures that are tracked by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). […]
The Office of Management and Budget’s recent memo encouraging Federal agencies to maximize telework across the nation, has proven to cause some challenges for government workers making the shift, according to Kathleen Glow-Morgan, national transformational coach captain at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). […]
The Office of Personnel Management released guidance on April 22 to agencies on how to implement sections of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that involve emergency paid sick leave. […]
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is requesting that Federal government offices meet a list of preconditions before reopening to employees. […]