Government 2025 – Sharing Wisdom From and For the World

Our Center recently collaborated with the IBM Institute for Business Value on work with thought leaders across government, industry, academic, and the nonprofit sectors to drive an online global conversation about the future of Government around the world, the “Gov2025 Jam.”  This dialogue explored five key issues representing some of the most pressing challenges facing governments and societies today.

Assessing Agility at the State and Local Government Level

The American Society for Public Administration hosted Center author Professor Sukumar Ganapati of Florida International University to speak on his report, “Adopting Agile in State and Local Governments.” Center Director Dan Chenok helped to launch the session as Professor Ganapati described Agile, Agile in government, and Agile beyond technocracy.   Read a summary here.

Driving Outcomes for Defense Agencies Through AI

(Contributors:  Adam Gilbride, Associate Partner, IBM United Kingdom and Matt Warshaw, Director, US Government Centers, IBM)

How Agencies can use Other Transaction Authorities to Meet Mission Goals

The term “Other Transaction Authority” (OTA) stems from statutory provisions that allow certain federal agencies to enter into transactions with commercial entities using nontraditional procurement methods and contract terms. While OTAs have been around in NASA since 1958 and within the Department of Defense since 1989, they have experienced significant growth in recent years following expansion under the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

How Governments can Emerge Stronger in the Aftermath of COVID-19: Preparing for The Future

Governments and societies continue to face the unforeseen and unprecedented challenges of responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiences of the last 18 months have pointed to the importance of well-managed actions at the local, national, and cross-border levels.

Implementing AI Across the Federal Government

Blog Co-Author: Tom Suder, Founder & President, Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC)

“Over the past two to five years we’ve really seen a migration of artificial intelligence from the lab out into operations.”

Securing borders with advanced technologies — insights from a dialogue with government leaders from Singapore, Australia and the U.S.

In a post-pandemic world, homeland security and border control agencies are being tasked with transforming how they respond and operate in a highly digitalized environment, while ensuring safety and prosperity of citizens and country. Critical challenges that agencies face include increasing volume of incidents and emergencies, overly complex trade processes, and threats to borders and customs.  Governments can leverage data, AI, and other emerging technologies to address these challenges.

New Research Report Recipients

We are pleased to announce our latest round of awards for new reports on key public sector challenges, which respond to priorities identified in the Center's research agenda. Our content is intended to stimulate and accelerate the production of practical research that benefits public sector leaders and managers.

We expect the following reports to be published starting in early 2022.  Short summaries of each report follow:

Enabling Government to Attract Innovation that Serves the Nation – The Case of “OTAs”

In the more than six decades since “Other Transactions Authority” (OTA) was authorized, OTAs have become a vital part of the Department of Defense (DOD) research process, and are now increasingly used by other agencies seeking to drive innovation through their programs and services. OTAs follow statutory provisions that allow certain federal agencies to enter into transactions with commercial entities using nontraditional procurement methods and contract terms.

The greater prevalence of OTAs has raised a number of questions about their use, including: 

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Executive Director
IBM Center for The Business of Government
600 14th Street, NW
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United States
(202) 551-9310

Dan Chenok is Executive Director of the IBM Center for The Business of Government. He oversees all of the Center's activities in connecting research to practice to benefit government, and has written and spoken extensively around government technology, cybersecurity, privacy, regulation, budget, acquisition, and Presidential transitions. Mr. Chenok previously led consulting services for Public Sector Technology Strategy, working with IBM government, healthcare, and education clients.

Mr. Chenok serves in numerous industry leadership positions. He is a CIO SAGE and member of the Research Advisory Council with the Partnership for Public Service, Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, Member of the Board of Directors for the Senior Executives Association, Member of the Government Accountability Office Polaris Advisory Council for Science and Technology, Member of the American University IT Executive Council, and Mentor with the Global Policy, Diplomacy, and Sustainability Fellowship.  Previously, he served as Chair of the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) for the government-led American Council for Technology (ACT), Chair of the Cyber Subcommittee of the DHS Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee, Chair of the NIST-sponsored Federal Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board, and two-time Cybersecurity commission member with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Mr. Chenok also generally advises public sector leaders on a wide range of management issues. Finally, Mr. Chenok serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor with the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin, teaching at the school's Washington, DC Center.  

Before joining IBM, Mr. Chenok was a Senior Vice President for Civilian Operations with Pragmatics, and prior to that was a Vice President for Business Solutions and Offerings with SRA International.

As a career Government executive, Mr. Chenok served as Branch Chief for Information Policy and Technology with the Office of Management and Budget, where he led a staff with oversight of federal information and IT policy, including electronic government, computer security, privacy and IT budgeting. Prior to that, he served as Assistant Branch Chief and Desk Officer for Education, Labor, HHS, and related agencies in OMB's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Mr. Chenok began his government service as an analyst with the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, and left government service at the end of 2003.

In 2008, Mr. Chenok served on President Barack Obama’s transition team as the Government lead for the Technology, Innovation, and Government Reform group, and as a member of the OMB Agency Review Team.

Mr. Chenok has won numerous honors and awards, including a 2010 Federal 100 winner for his work on the presidential transition, the 2016 Eagle Award for Industry Executive of the Year, and the 2002 Federal CIO Council Azimuth Award for Government Executive of the Year.

Mr. Chenok earned a BA from Columbia University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.