Challenge Grant Competition: Re-Thinking Government Management and Operations Given the Impact of COVID-19

The IBM Center for The Business of Government is pleased to announce a Challenge Grant competition to solicit essays describing how existing and emerging technologies will transform how government works and delivers services to the public in light of the impact of COVID-19. Topics to explore include:

The Road to Working With OMB: An Insiders’ Guide

Blog Co-Authors: Steve Redburn, Professorial Lecturer, The Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration, George Washington University and Barry Clendenin, Adjunct Faculty, Schar School of Policy and Government, George Mason University

Cybersecurity Risk Management – Resources for Agency Action

The proliferation in the use of technologies such as social media, the Internet of Things, mobility, and cloud computing by government agencies has increased the potential cyber risks facing those agencies.  Diverse agency data stores extend the source of risk throughout government organizations, bringing the need for new approaches that move beyond traditional security precautions.

Committing to Research and Content that Promotes a Diverse, Inclusive, and Effective Government

This week, the National Academy of Public Administration released an important statement committing to making social equity, diversity and inclusion, and the examination of systemic racism more prominent as key elements of the Academy’s agenda.  As one of nearly 200 Academy Fellows who signed this letter, I would like to share its content here.  Moreover, as the Executive Director of the IBM Center for The Business of Government, I would like to further support the Academy’s str

Lessons From Leaders of Government Innovation

The obstacles to implementing technological innovation in government often have less to do with hardware and software than people and processes. How can leaders recognize the need for new technology? How can innovators find funding and put the pieces in place to test a new idea? How does an agency define and measure success?

New Research Report Recipients

We are pleased to announce our latest round of stipends for new reports on key public sector challenges, which respond to the 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 in early 2021.

Creating Public Value with the Internet of Intelligent Things by Gwanhoo Lee, American University

Introducing the Center's New Fellow, Mark Newsome

Given the ever-increasing demand for health care services and health technology innovations that have only gained in import in addressing COVID-19, government plays a critical role in delivering services to a diverse population through a wide range of health-related programs.

Risk-Based Decisionmaking for Applying AI and Other Emerging Technologies: Findings from Recent Research

As economies and societies transform in response to COVID-19 and its aftermath, governments in the US and around the world seek innovations that enable them to interact with the public, industry, and each other -- addressing both immediate social and economic needs for services and longer-term imperatives for operational effectiveness.

How the Postal System Can Collaborate in New Ways to Weather COVID-19

Guest Blogger, Adam Houck, IBM Global Postal Practice Leader, Academy of Technology Leadership Team

COVID-19 has and will continue to have a devastating financial effect on the world’s postal services. At the same time, postal services have significant roles to play in the response and recovery effort. However, these efforts will not be enough to offset the financial impacts of COVID-19.

To respond to this global crisis, postal services must do three things:

The Evolution of Government Shared Services

“Shared Services” -- cross-agency approaches for delivering mission support services like human resources (HR) and financial management (FM) more effectively and efficiently, remains a key initiative for agencies.  In today’s environment, government programs must shift almost daily in response to unprecedented public health and economic stimulus priorities.  Shared services have become even more imperative as a means of enhancing reliability and outcomes in support operations and enabling agencies to focus on mission priorities.

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Executive Director
IBM Center for The Business of Government
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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.