Weekly Roundup: August 5-9, 2024

How DoD and VA solved a huge UX problem: Three dozen clicks to send an email.  At DoD and VA’s first and only jointly-operated hospital, getting electronic health records to work well isn’t the only technical challenge. Until recently, basic things like email and file sharing were a huge headache too. DoD said it’s at least partly solved those problems at the James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center, thanks to a recent pilot aimed at improving customer experience, and Defense officials see that project as a solid test case for how they might eventually bring better user experiences to the rest of the department.

Federal remote work posture should not be one-size-fits-all, OPM says. Hybrid work arrangements are already in place at many federal agencies, but agency leaders are still looking to continuously evaluate their workplace posture and adjust as needed. To help them make those ongoing decisions, agencies have more advice from the Office of Personnel Management, which published new federal remote work guidance. Fully remote work is relatively uncommon for the federal workforce. Less than 6% of federal employees were working remotely during fiscal year 2022, according to the most recent publicly available data. OPM said it views federal remote work as an opportunity to broaden workforce recruitment and retention, but agencies should still carefully evaluate their use of the flexibility.

Smaller budgets, lower response rates: Report warns statistical agencies struggling to meet mission. More than a dozen federal statistical agencies are having a harder time producing quality data. Part of the problem is fewer individuals filling out the surveys that power this data. Add staffing and budget shortages, and the American Statistical Association says the mission of these agencies is at risk. Former Chief Statistician of the U.S.  Nancy Potok, the report’s co-author, said federal statistical data powers many key decisions across government and industry — but that the agencies responsible for that data are finding it harder to produce quality results.

The Energy Department infuses entrepreneurs in its national labs. A fresh round of thinkers has arrived at four of the Energy Department’s national laboratories. They’re known as lab-embedded entrepreneurs, and there are 33 of them. Now in its 10th year, it’s become what the Energy Department calls a cornerstone in its clean energy strategy. Undersecretary of Energy for Science and Innovation, Geri Richmond, joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to provide an update.

NHLBI Leveraging AI for Healthcare Screening and Analytics. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) – a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – is researching the use of artificial intelligence technologies in health care with the aim of improving screening and analytics capabilities.  Keyvan Farahani, the senior data science, imaging, and AI program director at NHLBI, said during a GovExec event on Aug. 7 that AI could be used to “improve prevention of disease or diagnosis and treatment” if data necessary to feel AI models is standardized and organized. 

DoD’s Hicks: Replicator on Track to Meet August 2025 Goal. One year after Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks first announced the Department of Defense’s Replicator initiative at the NDIA Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference, Hicks returned to the conference on Wednesday to say the initiative is “on track” to meet its initial goal. The Replicator initiative – which is overseen by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) – aims to field thousands of innovative systems across multiple domains and into the hands of warfighters by August 2025, as part of the Pentagon’s strategy to counter China’s rapid armed forces buildup.

ODNI Unveils Updated National Counterintelligence Strategy. The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), which operates within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), unveiled an updated National Counterintelligence Strategy last week. The strategy updates counterintelligence priorities based on current and anticipated threats and communicates these priorities to the counterintelligence community, Federal, state, and local partners, as well as Congress, industry, academia, foreign partners, and the public.

Commerce Unveils $450M CHIPS Deal for AI Supply Chain Security. The Department of Commerce (DoC) announced today it has reached a preliminary agreement with SK hynix for up to $450 million in proposed direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to build a high-bandwidth memory (HBM) packaging plant for AI products and an advanced packaging research and development (R&D) facility. The preliminary funding deal would support SK hynix’s investment of nearly $4 billion and 1,000 jobs provides full end-to-end advanced packaging for the world’s most advanced semiconductors to be used in high-performance computing, AI, communications, and more.

6 Ways to Bring Strategy into Your Work Every Day. Small decisions about where to focus and what to do throughout your day may feel inconsequential, but their impacts accumulate.

Inside the First Year as a CEO. Russell Reynolds Associates conducted a study to better understand this pivotal time in a CEO’s journey, looking closely at what new CEOs focus on, what surprises them during their transitions, and what regrets they have. CEOs who have gotten off to a good start offer plenty of lessons for successfully planning, executing, and navigating the transition.

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

RECENT BLOGS

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ICYMI – Navigating the Complex Landscape of Data. This week Michael Keegan welcomed Prof. Cristina Alaimo, co-author of DATA RULES: Reinventing the Market Economy delves into the intricate world of data and its profound implications for modern society. The interview spans a range of topics, from the historical evolution of data to its current role in artificial intelligence (AI) and data governance.