The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) held a challenge to develop algorithms for predicting where an object floating on the ocean will travel based on environmental factors.

DARPA said Monday that its Forecasting Floats in Turbulence challenge studied how the convergence between the ocean’s currents, waves and winds affects floating objects.

The challenge supports the larger Ocean of Things program, which delivers maritime situational awareness via low-cost distributed drifters on the water.

Thirty-two participants proposed algorithms and other approaches to determine where 90 basketball-sized Sofar Spotter drifters would move over a span of 10 days in the Atlantic. The algorithms build on data on the drifters’ GPS coordinates from the past 20 days before the challenge.

Second Sight Predictions won $25,000 as the competition’s first-placer. Deltares won $15,000 as the second-placer and the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies received $10,000 for landing third place.

“The challenge has shown that we’ve just scratched the surface in understanding the complex turbulence at the convergence of air and sea, and we hope to spur further research into making models more accurate,” said John Waterston, who manages the Ocean of Things program from DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office.

The NATO Communications and Information Agency plans to solicit proposals for a cryptographic situational awareness capability (CSAC), with the Department of Commerce serving as the U.S. liaison for the future solicitation.

The NCI Agency will use the CSAC technology to address NATO’s cryptography-related needs and support information management processes, the Commerce Department said Monday in a SAM.gov notice.

NATO intends to launch a 60-day invitation for bids within the second quarter of 2022, and have the single firm-fixed price contract awarded in 2023’s first quarter.

Interested parties will need the U.S. government’s approval first before applying for the NATO contract. They may request a declaration of eligibility from the government through Jan. 25.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and General Services Administration (GSA) facilitate collaboration between the U.S. Digital Service and the 18F program to help advance the development of information technology guidance for federal agencies to assist with federal IT acquisitions and projects.

GAO offered the recommendation after it found that USDS and 18F do not always coordinate on IT guidance development, according to a report published Friday.

“Documenting a coordinated approach for developing and issuing guidance would reduce the risk of overlap and duplication, and the potential for conflicting information,” the report reads.

GAO has made 275 recommendations in 12 reports to help agencies address duplicative IT-related issues and issued six reports containing 117 recommendations to deal with issues concerning IT management roles and responsibilities over the past decade.

As of October 2021, agencies had fully implemented 74 percent of the total recommendations. However, agencies have yet to act on 102 recommendations to address concerns regarding IT management roles and duplicative IT.

GSA’s 18F program office and OMB’s USDS help agencies provide public-facing websites, online benefit applications and other digital services to citizens.