NewsBrief January 21, 2022

How agencies are actually using data and data science to evaluate programs

(Federal News Network) Program evaluation dates almost as far back as government programs. But the art and science of program evaluation is always changing. The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, passed back in 2018, aims to bring data and data science more deeply into evaluation. There’s even a foundation to support this work. Recently it surveyed agencies to see how they’re doing. Data Foundation president Nick Hart joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to discuss the findings. Read More

Air Force Research Lab pushes new Space Force tack on hybrid architecture

(C4ISRNET) WASHINGTON — The Air Force Research Laboratory’s new space-focused technology executive expects the science and technology community to play a key role in helping the Space Force accelerate its shift toward more hybrid, resilient architectures. The lab in November named Andrew Williams its deputy technology executive officer for space science and technology — a new job meant to improve integration across its air and space portfolios and to ensure the lab has a single point of contact for space S&T. Read More

Air Force Launches New Evaluation Systems

(FEDweek) The Air Force has implemented new officer and enlisted evaluation systems. Beginning this year, the myEvaluation (myEval) application should reduce administrative burdens, be easier for airmen and guardians to use, and provide leadership with the information they need in order to make effective decisions. The myEval program launched Jan. 4 for human resources personnel, and will be open for familiarization to all airmen and guardians by Jan. 18. It will be fully opened by Feb. 4. Read More

Air Force secretary talks acquisitions, JADC2

(FCW) For the Air Force, acquisitions for new technology on the battlefield can’t rely solely on “cute” experiments, according to the service’s secretary. Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he wants to focus on operational payoffs when it comes to the services programs, particularly the Air Force’s contribution to Joint All Domain Command and Control called the Advanced Battle Management System, to make sure “requirements are consistent with the urgency” and tempered with reasonable risk. Read More

CISA adapts to address cybersecurity threats

(Federal News Network) As ransomware attacks continue to plague IT teams across all sectors, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is working to counter them through a variety of means. With Log4J giving the cyber and IT community a scare with how easy it was to exploit, it became clear that a paradigm shift was necessary. “I think everyone needs to understand software supply chain, I think people also do need to understand how their systems work, what connects to the internet, what vectors exist, where you’re doing, mitigation efforts at your, your perimeter, we absolutely encourage everyone to start moving to a zero trust model,” CISA Chief Information Officer Robert Costello said on Federal Monthly Insights: Going Beyond Data Protection. “But we know that’s hard. It doesn’t happen overnight.” Read More

HHS adds health data classes and elements for nationwide sharing

(fedscoop) The Department of Health and Human Services continues to issue guidance furthering the nationwide interoperability of health IT with the release of new data classes and elements for electronic exchange Wednesday. A draft Version 3 of the U.S. Core Data for Interoperability (USCDI v3) adds the health insurance information and health status classes and 20 elements between them and the laboratory, patient demographics and procedures classes. Read More

DISA leans on training collaboration, academic partnerships to build future workforce

(FCW) The Defense Information Systems Agency wants to foster “collaborative environments” to bolster training and development of the future tech workforce. And key to that has been the agency’s relationship with Dreamport facilities run by U.S. Cyber Command. Jason Martin, the director for digital capabilities and security center at DISA, said during a Jan. 14 industry meeting that the collaboration started as the agency working with the National Security Agency and CYBERCOM to develop reference architectures for zero trust. Read More

How Data Analytics Can Help Advance DEI

(Knowledge @ Wharton) The Hershey Co. has created something even sweeter than its world-famous chocolate. The Pennsylvania-based confectioner has a female chief executive, 40% of its board members are women, and it offers equal pay for women in the U.S. Carolynn Johnson, CEO of DiversityInc, a data and media firm that promotes the business benefits of diversity, said Hershey is proof that companies can build more fair, equitable, and inclusive environments for their employees. “If you really want to do this work, there’s a roadmap. What there isn’t is an excuse any longer,” she said. Read More

Building Machines that Work for Everyone – How Diversity of Test Subjects Is a Technology Blind Spot, and What to Do about It

(Government Executive) People interact with machines in countless ways every day. In some cases, they actively control a device, like driving a car or using an app on a smartphone. Sometimes people passively interact with a device, like being imaged by an MRI machine. And sometimes they interact with machines without consent or even knowing about the interaction, like being scanned by a law enforcement facial recognition system. Read More

James Webb Space Telescope marks deployment of all mirrors

(Space.com) NASA’s massive new observatory has notched another milestone. After nearly a full month in space, the James Webb Space Telescope, also known as JWST or Webb, is nearly at the end of its deployment work. The complicated series of deployments has seen the telescope transform from its tightly-folded launch configuration to what looks like a real observatory, although science observations remain months away. Read More