Weekly Roundup: December 4-8, 2017

John Kamensky

Disaster Response: Brings Out the Best in Feds. Government Executive covered the SES Rank Awards ceremony.  Both SBA Administrator Linda McMahon and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Elaine Duke praised the dedication and response of thousands of career civil servants to the three major hurricanes in recent months.

Army Creates “Futures and Modernization Command.” According to FCW, “But in order for the new Futures and Modernization Command to be successful, it can't get bogged down in the Defense Department's traditional bureaucratic ways, says one military leader involved with the program.”

Reinventing Government – 25 Years Later.  FCW published an introspective commentary by Steve Kelman, where he explores: “which should be more important to an organization — goals or constraints?”

Best Places to Work. According to Federal News Radio: “A quick look at the 2017 Best Places to Work in the Federal Government Rankings shows a few familiar stories: NASA, once again, is number one, and the Homeland Security Department, once again, sits at the bottom. . . . But  . . . DHS was one of many agencies this year that, despite its low or last-place ranking, has momentum moving in its favor.”

HR IT systems. Federal News Radio reports: “A new effort under the Unified Shared Services Office and led by the Office of Personnel Management wants to bring an end to ‘Franksteined’ HR systems.” . . . OPM released a new human capital business reference model (HCBRM) in mid-November to simplify how agencies and vendors alike view the operational functions, policy ownership and common structures as part of a plan to better align HR operations, finance and acquisition.

SES Rank Awards. Government Executive reports: ““It is an honor to recognize this year’s Presidential Rank Award recipients,” SEA President Bill Valdez said. “These recipients have proven themselves to be exemplars of public service excellence and have demonstrated a consistent and lasting dedication to the service and leadership ideals of the federal government’s career civil service.” . . . There were 36 Distinguished Rank Awards and 115 Meritorious Rank Award recipients.

Michael Keegan

One cloud to rule them all at DOD? Acquisitions chief Ellen Lord hints that DOD is closing in on a solicitation for a single cloud to dramatically advance data interoperability at the Pentagon.

Why VA's Cerner deal will cost $10 billion. Senior officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed at a House hearing that the implementation of the Cerner electronic health record system and the phase-out of the homegrown Vista system would cost $10 billion and take 10 years. The figure, first reported by FCW in a Nov. 9 story, represents something of a discount over the $4.3 billion contract awarded by the Department of Defense to Cerner for a modernized electronic health record, when you take scale into account.

Former VA CIO joins Grant Thornton. LaVerne Council will focus on digital strategy and innovation and be based in the D.C. area.

What does the future of the SES look like? Members of the Senior Executive Service wonder what needs to be done to create a pipeline of future leaders. At the 2017 Presidential Rank Awards hosted by the Senior Executives Association Dec. 7, senior executives spoke to FCW about the challenges facing agency recruitment and retention, and what needs to be done to create a healthy future pipeline. Some of the challenges involve budgetary constraints, lingering effects of the hiring freeze and continued vacancies in agency leadership.

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This Week’s The Business of Government Radio Show.

Lieutenant General Charles Luckey, Chief of Army Reserve & Commanding General U.S. Army Reserve Command.
What are the US Army Reserve’s Strategic Priorities? What are the essential components of Force Readiness? How does the US Army Reserve Support Civil Authorities? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Lieutenant General Charles Luckey, Chief of Army Reserve & Commanding General U.S. Army Reserve Command.

Broadcast Schedule: The show airs Monday at 11 a.m., and Friday at 1 p.m. on Federal News Radio 1500AM WFED.

If you can't wait, though, you can listen to (or download) this week's program and all our previous interviews.