Weekly Roundup: June 19-23, 2023

GAO Claims $600B of Savings, Points to Billions More Possible. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is helping Federal agencies to save taxpayer money on duplicative programs, offices, and initiatives, saving roughly $600 billion since GAO began this work in 2011 – with more cost-saving opportunities available. GAO issues annual reports highlighting these duplicative efforts, and this year’s report identifies 100 new recommendations in 35 new topic areas for Congress or Federal agencies to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government.

Need Bridgebuilding rather than Reorganization. Discover the significance of #Bridgebuilders in government, driving impactful change by breaking down barriers between agencies. Don F. Kettl challenges reorganization as insufficient for solving problems. 

A new prescription for effective government from a long-time observer. The nation seems to have both more problems and more government than ever. Federal Drive host Tom Temin’s interview guest makes the case in a new book, that more collaboration with what he calls bridge-builders will be more effective than the traditional approach.

Congratulations to @DonKettl, professor emeritus of the @TheLBJSchool for winning the 2023 H. George Fredrickson Award from the Public Management Research Association

What are APGs? Understanding Agency Priority Goals. What are Agency Priority Goals (APGs) and why are they so important? Welcome to APG 10.  Check out a new blog which covers everything you need to know about APGs and how they provide transparency & results-driven governance. Learn more.

NEW WHITE PAPER-Modernizing Public Benefits Delivery.  NAPA recently released a white paper, "Modernizing Public Benefits Delivery," that outlines a framework for practitioners at any level of gov't to take steps to improve program outcomes & effectiveness, process delivery and customer experience. 

NSF CIO Aronson on Opening ‘Hopper’ for Innovation. What’s it like to be the chief information officer (CIO) and chief data officer (CDO) at an agency whose core mission is supporting the advancement of science and engineering in just about every way possible that serves the national interest, and supporting a workforce that is among the most technologically sophisticated and curious imaginable in the public sector?

TMF Gets Cold Shoulder in House FY2024 FSGG Bill. The Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) is due to get no new funding in fiscal year 2024 under the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) appropriations bill approved today by the House Appropriations Committee’s Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee.

Cloud Exchange 2023: Energy CIO Ann Dunkin on taking advantage of ‘scale,’ security of cloud. The Energy Department continues to work with its components and private sector labs on a range of different cloud initiatives, with Energy’s chief information officer largely focused on “security” and “scalability” today. And Energy is also plotting out a major program to replace its legacy human resources IT system with a modern, cloud-based system.

DISA to pursue new talent management strategy emphasizing recruiting and education. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) plans changes to its talent management practices that include a more aggressive recruiting approach with help from outside consultants and time away from work for education. The roadmap will focus on finding the workers needed for specific jobs and a marketing campaign to bring more attention to the agency by building the brand and making it more recognizable to civilians outside of the Defense Department. DISA released the Workforce 2025 strategy June 1. It outlines four lines of effort across the DISA workforce: expanding the knowledge base, connecting to the mission, gaining an edge and recruiting the best.

What the wreck of the Titan portends for commercial spaceflight: Is private space prepared for a very public failure like the one we just witnessed? With the loss of the submersible Titan and her five passengers garnering round-the-clock media attention since it went missing June 18, those working in the emergent private space travel industry should pay close attention. The final assessment and adjudication of this mishap in regulatory and legal spheres will clearly impact the direction of how private space calamities will be handled.

"OIT Paves the Way for CBP's Cloud Future” by Sonny Bhagowalia highlighting CBP OIT's continuing progress into the cloud to support CBP's 24/7 mission "faster, better, more affordably, and more securely." CBP is already on track to migrate 70% of its portfolio to the cloud by FY 2023 and if given the required funding/resources, can complete its journey by CY 2025. This would be a major achievement for a Federal Agency with a large IT Portfolio to implement OMB’s “Cloud First/Cloud Smart" policy with real tangible results at scale.