Weekly Roundup July 18-22, 2022

Officials reorganize HHS to boost pandemic response: Plan would elevate ASPR, which plays key role in emergencies, to be an agency on par with CDC, FDA. The Biden administration is reorganizing the federal health department to create an independent division that would lead the nation’s pandemic response, amid frustrations with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The move elevates a roughly 1,000-person team — known as the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, or ASPR — into a separate division, charged with coordinating the nation’s response to health emergencies, according to seven people briefed on the plan who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment.

NSF Director Maps Path to Regaining Science Leadership. The United States is increasingly seen as one of the “important” leaders – rather than the uncontested leader – in science globally. But to reclaim the title of undisputed champion, the U.S. must bolster innovation by reigniting the nation’s interest in science, a top Federal science and technology official said today at the MerITocracy American Innovation Forum.

FY 2024 Agency-wide Capital Planning to Support the Future of Work. The administration released OMB Memo M-22-14 FY 2024 on Agency-wide Capital Planning to Support the Future of Work. This memorandum addresses agencies’ real property resource needs and agency efforts to define the amount and types of real property required to fully implement the future of work at each agency. Agencies have a December deadline for developing real property capital plans. The administration wants them to think about how their property needs might change after COVID-19.

VA delays go-live of new health record software at Boise medical center. The Department of Veterans Affairs scrubbed a scheduled go-live of its new commercial electronic medical record system in Boise, Idaho, that was set for this Saturday. The delay comes amid fallout from a highly critical watchdog report that identified a routing issue in the system in which improperly addressed orders vanished into an “unknown queue” that clinicians did not know about. “We made the decision that the system wasn’t in a place -- because of latencies as well as pieces that aren’t in place – that we could have a successful deployment,” said Terry Adirim, program executive director of VA’s Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office. 

Senators look to thwart future quantum hacks. The Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act would instruct the federal government to accelerate preparations for defending against future exploits powered by quantum computing.

USDS Chief Offers Insight on CX EO Progress. Mina Hsiang, administrator of the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), offered her latest insights into current work and progress underway in executing on the White House’s customer experience executive order (CX EO).

GSA’s Carnahan Says Feds Need to be Better Buyers, Collaborators. Robin Carnahan, administrator at the General Services Administration (GSA), said today that the Federal government needs to be a better buyer of technology services and a better collaborator with industry in order to be more successful in its mission and to help rebuild trust in government.

Disaggregating is King. #Data is frequently presented in the form of medians or averages. But it must be disaggregated to have real value, as recent @censusbureau breakdowns show. "Aggregate to communicate and disaggregate to manage." That's the message of the most recent B&G Report on @GreeneBarrett's website.

Federal Data Sharing Requires Cultural Shift, Experts Say. Federal agencies are increasingly sharing information with one another with both connected and disconnected applications, while trying to be more security conscious and reevaluating approaches to building software and other tech important for securing the homeland. Speaking at an ACT-IAC’s NextGen Security panel discussion, experts from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) spoke about the increased need for information sharing and mindset changes that need to come with that. “There’s a cultural shift that needs to occur – that maybe has been occurring a little bit – and that is making our developers more security minded and making smarter assessors,” said Shane Barney, CISO for the USCIS Office of IT/Management Directorate at DHS.

Addressing the New Era of Deterrence and Warfare: Visualizing the Information Domain. The Institute for the Study of War and the IBM Center for The Business of Government have launched a three-event series.  These expert roundtable discussions are convening global leaders from the military, government, academia, and technology sectors to consider conceptually what it means to visualize the information domain.

15 ways to cultivate inner peace as a leader. Leaders can create peace around them when they cultivate it inside themselves by practicing gratitude, creating relationships based on trust, taking responsibility and seeking the best for everyone, writes Frank Sonnenberg. "Seek areas of common interest, where everyone can benefit, rather than on optimizing your individual situation," Sonnenberg writes. Frank Sonnenberg Online

Key considerations to form innovation partnerships. Companies can effectively tap into the talent and potential of innovation ecosystems by following the proper framework, according to Philip Budden and Fiona Murray with the MIT Sloan School of Management. "To achieve their goals for innovation, companies need to take a systematic approach to identifying and securing competitive advantage from working with these innovation communities," they write. MIT Sloan Management Review (tiered subscription model)

This "magical question triangle" can spur curiosity. Asking questions can help leaders gather information, solve problems more effectively and create a sense of connection with those around them, writes Pia Lauritzen, co-founder of Qvest. Lauritzen outlines the six components of "the magical question triangle," which lies at the heart of an inquiry-driven culture. Strategy+Business

Are you fooling yourself about your leadership skills?  Leaders could be fooling themselves into thinking they're effective when they're not if they neglect to develop their self-awareness, integrity, listening skills and consistency, writes Steve Keating. "The greatest leadership 'myth' of all is that a position or title makes someone a leader," Keating writes. LeadToday

Why leaders should speak last and listen more. Leaders can make it safe for their team to bring concerns to them by regularly soliciting feedback, listening deeply even if they disagree and speaking last in meetings to allow others to be heard, writes Dina Smith, president of Cognitas. "Speaking last encourages your team to put their ideas and suggestions on the table, helps them feel listened to, and boosts ownership and team morale," Smith writes. Harvard Business Review (tiered subscription model)

15 ways to cultivate inner peace as a leader. Leaders can create peace around them when they cultivate it inside themselves by practicing gratitude, creating relationships based on trust, taking responsibility and seeking the best for everyone, writes Frank Sonnenberg. "Seek areas of common interest, where everyone can benefit, rather than on optimizing your individual situation," Sonnenberg writes. Frank Sonnenberg Online

Key considerations to form innovation partnerships. Companies can effectively tap into the talent and potential of innovation ecosystems by following the proper framework, according to Philip Budden and Fiona Murray with the MIT Sloan School of Management. "To achieve their goals for innovation, companies need to take a systematic approach to identifying and securing competitive advantage from working with these innovation communities," they write. MIT Sloan Management Review (tiered subscription model)

This "magical question triangle" can spur curiosity. Asking questions can help leaders gather information, solve problems more effectively and create a sense of connection with those around them, writes Pia Lauritzen, co-founder of Qvest. Lauritzen outlines the six components of "the magical question triangle," which lies at the heart of an inquiry-driven culture. Strategy+Business

Are you fooling yourself about your leadership skills?  Leaders could be fooling themselves into thinking they're effective when they're not if they neglect to develop their self-awareness, integrity, listening skills and consistency, writes Steve Keating. "The greatest leadership 'myth' of all is that a position or title makes someone a leader," Keating writes. LeadTodayWhy leaders should speak last and listen more. Leaders can make it safe for their team to bring concerns to them by regularly soliciting feedback, listening deeply even if they disagree and speaking last in meetings to allow others to be heard, writes Dina Smith, president of Cognitas. "Speaking last encourages your team to put their ideas and suggestions on the table, helps them feel listened to, and boosts ownership and team morale," Smith writes. Harvard Business Review (tiered subscription model)

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Next Week on The Business of Government Hour: Educating Public Leaders for the 21st Century: A Conversation with Diogo Costa, President, The National School of Public Administration (ENAP) in Brazil. What is the mission of the National School of Public Administration of Brazil? How does it work to shape, enhance, and educate Brazil’s public servants? What can we learn from their experiences? Join host Michael Keegan as he explores these questions and more with Diogo Costa, President of National School of Public Administration of Brazil?

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