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Cost Estimating NewsBrief: November 1, 2024
DHS touts AI work and pilots a year after executive order
(FedScoop) The Army wants to reduce the contract awarding process from the nearly two-year cycle — a notorious bottleneck for deploying technology to the field — to less than six months, said an Army contracting official. One of the ways the service is trying to achieve this is by moving away from overly prescriptive contract requirements to a more flexible approach that focuses on providing “characteristics of need” early during its experimentation phases under Army Futures Command and allowing contractors to propose innovative solutions in return. Read More
Making AI work inside and out at SSA
(NextGov/FCW) Brian Peltier’s role at the Social Security Administration spans more than just the chief artificial intelligence officer. He is also the deputy CIO for strategy, with oversight of the agency’s enterprise architecture, innovation, financial and talent management arms. But the CAIO position has become a significant part of his work, with all of the governance and attention artificial intelligence has garnered at SSA. Peltier sat down with Nextgov/FCW to discuss that focus and what the technology could hold for the agency. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Read More
AI can improve how federal employees do their jobs, but training and resources need to be a priority
(Government Executive) If federal employees are going to have the skills necessary to tackle increasingly-prevalent challenges, particularly utilizing artificial intelligence, then Congress needs to fund agencies’ workforce development programs, said officials during a panel Tuesday on government workforce readiness. “Technology has not been kept up to date. Our resourcing has not been kept up to date, and neither has training. Because, as everyone in here knows, the first thing that goes when a budget is frozen or scaled down, it’s like, ‘let’s take away training.’ That no longer can be viewed as a ‘nice to have expense,'” Read More
Commerce looking to publish AI-ready data guidance in coming months
(FedScoop) Guidance from the Department of Commerce aimed at establishing a first-of-its-kind framework for using the agency’s public federal data with artificial intelligence tools could come in the next several months. Victoria Houed, director of AI policy and strategy to the undersecretary for economic affairs at the Department of Commerce, said the agency is aiming to publish that guidance by the end of the year or, if not, January 2025. Read More
GSA chief advocates for simplified cloud buying, ‘best value’ contracting as Congress considers legislation
(FedScoop) Robin Carnahan, the leader of the General Services Administration, is hopeful that Congress before the end of its term will pass legislation that will make it more streamlined for agencies to pay for cloud computing services and allow the government to take a more flexible “best value” approach to procurement, instead of chasing bids with lowest costs. Speaking Tuesday at ACT-IAC’s Imagine Nation ELC 2024 conference in Hershey, Pa., Carnahan said GSA is working with Congress “trying to update federal procurement policies” for the digital age. Read More
Next admin should ‘enhance’ ONCD, cyber policy roadmap says
(Federal News Network) A bipartisan cyber policy roadmap for the next presidential administration recommends boosting the Office of the National Cyber Director to help strengthen government coordination on pressing cybersecurity threats. The report, released last week by Auburn University’s McCrary Institute, includes a sweeping set of cyber policy recommendations for the next presidential administration. They were developed by 40 former officials from both Democrat and Republican administrations. Read More
House Oversight leaders ask GAO to probe ‘root causes’ of federal improper payments
(Federal News Network) Top lawmakers on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee are calling on a government watchdog to take a closer look at how agencies are addressing the “root causes” and improper payments and fraud. The leaders of the Government Operations and Federal Workforce Subcommittee — Chairman Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) — are asking the Government Accountability Office to examine what agencies to doing to prevent improper payments. Read More
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