Blockchain on Your Block

Beyond its use for cryptocurrency, Blockchain is proving to be a valuable technology to help modernize government service delivery. The key quality of blockchain is its ability to record transactions immutably. Managing transactions is a key function of state and local governments, and as such, they are looking for ways to incorporate blockchain as part of their digital modernization processes.

The decentralization of blockchain provides a level of transparency and accountability not typically associated with government. It can give citizens more control over their data and let them more easily check the status of requests they've made of their state and local governments. Continue reading

FITARA’s Sweet 16 Shows One-Third of Agencies Making Gains in Modernization

Since 2015 the government has bi-annually taken the pulse of IT modernization efforts with the FITARA scorecard. Created as part of the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), the scorecard provides a glance at how agencies are managing seven key IT activities:

  • Agency CIO authority enhancements
  • Transparency and risk management
  • Portfolio review savings
  • Data center consolidation
  • Modernizing government technology (MGT)
  • Cyber
  • Transition off Networx contract

The latest report unveiled at a roundtable event rather than the traditional hearing, showed three agencies achieving As, 16 Bs, and five Cs. Education and Labor received their first overall A score, joining the U.S. Agency for International Development, which had previously scored an A. Of those Bs, six were improvements from Cs - Agriculture, Energy, Homeland Security and Interior, Office of Personnel Management, and Social Security Administration. Continue reading

Are We There Yet? The Future of Modernization

There's no shortage of mandates and guidance related to modernization-PMA, Technology Modernization Fund, FITARA, Cyber EO, CX EO-pushing the government to update how they deliver services online, but what does it really mean, and what is involved?

Modernization in government began with transforming data centers and integrating cloud computing into government IT architectures and moved on to improving customer experience. Agencies have made inroads in all areas. The recent FITARA scorecard showed that data center consolidation goals have been completed. Cloud efforts have moved from Cloud First to Cloud Smart in an effort to ensure cloud was just not a checkbox but was being used to transform how the government consumes and distributes IT services. Citizen Experience (CX) has been a priority across three administrations with the next generation of CX efforts outlined in an executive order. These modernization efforts have resulted in billions of dollars in cost savings and increased efficiency for a government workforce that is now telework friendly, but the work is not done. Continue reading

Virtual Reality Making a Real Impact Across Government

Training has been an early application of virtual reality (VR) in government. In fact, in a recent survey, 50% of public safety professionals report using virtual reality as a training mode in their organizations. Today, the use of the technology is extending far beyond training and into operations. VR is increasing in use across the federal government as a new way to conduct medical treatment and even warfighting. Continue reading

Delivering on the Promise of Government for the People

Each administration issues a President's Management Agenda (PMA) that lays out several key goals around transforming the way government does "business." In his PMA, President Biden challenges agencies to "prove that government can deliver results." The guidance goes further to define success as results that are equitable, effective, and accountable. The PMA has three key areas of focus that aim to advance efforts currently in place with additional counsel and resources.

Priority 1: Strengthening and Empowering the Federal Workforce

The once feared "retirement tsunami" in reality has been a slow, steady wave, but incredibly impactful, nonetheless. As long-tenured federal employees retire, they take with them a valuable trove of knowledge - of what has worked and not worked overtime as well as how to navigate the bureaucracy of government. It is important to take that information out of employees' heads and document it in systems so that future teams have access to the experience.

Beyond retaining their knowledge, the role these employees play also needs replacing. Recruiting, training, and retaining are key focus areas of the PMA. To fill senior roles, existing employees need training to advance into these more strategic positions. For more tactical work, agencies are challenged to find ways to automate some manual efforts.

Continue reading