Weekly Roundup: August 12-16, 2024

Commerce Dept. Inks $1.6 Billion CHIPS Deal With Texas Instruments. The Commerce Department announced today it has signed another blockbuster funding deal under the CHIPS and Science Act for up to $1.6 billion in proposed direct funding for Texas Instruments (TI) to expand its production of semiconductors.

SpaceX Launches two US Military Payloads to Boost Arctic Connectivity. SpaceX launched two satellites into the Arctic region, ensuring the “Great White North” receives a much-needed connectivity boost. The two satellites, built by Northrop Grumman carry a range of payloads, including two U.S. military payloads designed to enable enhanced connectivity in the Arctic region. “There is a critical need for polar satellite communications, and that need has grown exponentially in the last few decades,” Space System Command’s EPS-R Branch Chief, USAF Maj. Michael Walsh, said in a press release.

DHS Seeks Tech Proposals in 23 Critical Areas. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is looking for members and organizations in the scientific and technical communities to propose research and development projects that support national security. The agency released a Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (LRBAA) on Aug. 13 as an “open invitation” to submit proposals for 23 research and development areas. The LRBAA is intended to advance the nation’s “scientific and technical knowledge” and advance “operational environments.” 

GAO: Coast Guard, IMO Developing Regulations for Autonomous Ships. The U.S. Coast Guard is working with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to develop regulations for autonomous vessels as they emerge domestically and abroad – which a recent GAO report says may change maritime environments.  Since 2023, the Coast Guard has been conducting a statutorily directed pilot program for autonomous at-sea rocket recovery – the one exception to U.S. crew minimums. The development and use of autonomous vessels would require changes to the U.S. legal framework.

TIGTA: IRS Needs a Plan to Retire Legacy Systems. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) isn’t adequately overseeing and managing the decommissioning of legacy systems, according to a recent report by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA). According to that report, the IRS lacks an overall program to identify and address legacy information technology systems that need to be updated, replaced, or retired. Spending on operations and the maintenance of IT infrastructure rose by 35 percent over the last four years, from $2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2019 to $2.7 billion in FY 2023, and the uptick will likely continue unless old systems are addressed, according to TIGTA.  

VA Leveraging AI to Empower Employees Helping Veterans. “We’re being more cautious on the directly veteran-facing applications of AI,” VA OCTO Data and AI Health Product Lead Kaeli Yuen said during Washington Technology and Nextgov/FCW’s 2024 Federal Health Summit in Reston, Va., today. “The way that we are impacting veterans with AI at this point is by empowering the employees that are answering their questions.”

OPM, OMB Issue Guidance to Improve Federal Hiring Experience. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued joint guidance to Federal agencies today that aims to improve the federal hiring experience for job applicants, managers, and human resources (HR) professionals.

PRAC Offers Policy Recs for Fraud Prevention. The Pandemic Responsibility and Accountability Committee (PRAC) has released a new report for policymakers that highlights recommendations to aid in preventing and detecting fraud and improper payments in government programs. The second chapter of PRAC’s Blueprint for Enhanced Program Integrity compiles lessons learned from reports issued by the federal oversight agencies between January 2020 and January 2024, as well as interviews with stakeholders. PRAC’s first chapter of the report, released in May, outlined a roadmap for Federal and state governments to prepare for the next emergency now.

What Leaders Can Learn from Training Like an Olympic Archer. The discipline of archery, with training that emphasizes purposeful practice, mindful focus, mental toughness, and adaptability, offers useful lessons for business leaders. Just as archers break the skill of using a bow and arrow to hit a target from distance into component parts, such as stance or aim, executives can break the task of “becoming a better leader” into specific, actionable, and manageable steps.

Why Leadership Teams Fail. In pursuit of strong performance, CEOs often overlook a critical factor in organizational success: the health of their leadership team. That’s a big problem, because a dysfunctional team can be a serious drag on strategy execution. The authors identified three main patterns of dysfunction: the shark tank, characterized by infighting and political maneuvering; the petting zoo, characterized by conflict avoidance and an overemphasis on collaboration; and the mediocracy, characterized by complacency, a lack of competence, and an unhealthy focus on past success. This article helps leadership teams diagnose their dynamic and find ways to improve it.

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

NEW REPORT - A Prepared Federal Government: Preventing Fraud and Improper Payments in Emergency Funding by Steve Goodrich & Bob Westbrooks. The IBM Center and NAPA release this new repor, which has its origin in a roundtable discussion of experts in government fraud and improper payments. This discussion generated insights on how the government can ensure integrity while meeting policy and programmatic goals in increasingly frequent emergency situations. This report documents the challenges that governments experience with fraud and improper payments, especially during a national emergency. It also profiles the many collaborative initiatives currently underway to create lasting solutions to reduce fraud and improper payments. In addition to these initiatives, this report recommends others to provide a holistic capacity for the next funding emergency. It includes 27 recommendations that Congress and federal agencies can use to ensure the integrity, efficacy, and protection of funds distributed in increasingly frequent emergency situations.

ICYMI – Accelerating Tech Procurement in DOD. This week Michael Keegan welcomed Bonnie Evangelista, acting deputy chief digital and artificial intelligence officer for acquisition within DoD’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office to discuss the mission of her office and the Tradewinds Marketplace, how Tradewinds acquisitions differ from traditional acquisitions, and what the future holds for the Tradewinds Marketplace at DOD.