Weekly Roundup: February 20-24, 2023

Mapping cloud to mission.  For more than a decade, the federal government has been exploring how cloud computing can help improve its operations, but a new report from the IBM Center for The Business of Government and the Partnership for Public Service is showcasing where agencies are gaining ground with the technology to produce tangible results. The report spotlights how agencies like the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Veterans Affairs and others use cloud applications to develop public-facing systems. 

White House mulls scaling up Login-dot-gov to reach every American. A draft of a long-awaited executive order covering digital identity includes a push to make government-owned Login-dot-gov an option for most federal benefits programs. Under the terms of the draft, GSA would be tasked with scaling up its homegrown Login-dot-gov identity verification and authentication services to reach the entire U.S. population. 

DARPA Spills the ‘Secret Sauce’ for Digital Transformation. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) just celebrated its 65th, and DARPA’s director of the Mission Services Office, Jason Preisser, explained this week that the agency has a unique model. He offered up some of the “secret sauce” to how DARPA has been a federal leader in digital transformation since 1958. “We have our own unique approach to digital transformation. For us, the key components for true success in digital transformation is a strong understanding of organizational culture and structure while retaining that laser focus on mission,” he said.

Justice, Commerce Security Leaders to Head New Tech Strike Force. The newly created Disruptive Technology Strike Force was created to combat growing cybersecurity threats by nation-state actors and other foreign entities who seek tactical advantage through the acquisition, use, and abuse of disruptive technology.

State Department CIO Outlines Key Priorities For 2023. Kelly Fletcher, chief information officer (CIO) at the U.S. State Department, outlined some of her key priorities for 2023 this year. One of those priorities, Fletcher said, is to reduce “administrative friction” that gets in the way of the State Department’s execution of its mission.

IRS Nominee Daniel Werfel Pledges Cybersecurity is a ‘Top Priority’.  President Biden’s nominee to serve as the commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Daniel Werfel, pledged his commitment today to members of Congress that cybersecurity will be a “top priority” of his if confirmed.

The Global Government Services Handbook 2023. This handbook was released at the 2023 World Government Summit. The handbook was produced to fill a gap by providing a best-practices and future foresight driven roadmap for government services excellence. Congrats to the IBM Center Executive Director @dchenok for contribution to its creation. 

Performance Management Pioneer Harry P. Hatry, dies at 92. Harry Hatry, a pioneer of great renown in the field of performance management died on February 20th from complications resulting from pneumonia. His career spanned over 60 years, during which time he worked with a wide range of local state and federal agencies – internationally and nationally – to help provided them with the capacity to measure the success and failure of their efforts. Harry authored several reports for the IBM Center on performance management and measurement. 

Congratulations to three outstanding authors of past @BusOfGovernment reports on this recognition for your work "Agile: A New Way of Governing" co-authors Ines Mergel, Andy Whitford, Sukumar Ganapati in @PAReview was among the top cited articles in 2021-2022 & as Wiley said, "generated immediate impact in your community"! Here is the link to the article: https://lnkd.in/ea4NWCHe