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PSC Comments on HASC-Passed NDAA With Section 3610 Authority; EVP David Broome Quoted
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PSC Comments on HASC-Passed NDAA With Section 3610 Authority; EVP David Broome Quoted

The Professional Services Council (PSC) has welcomed the move of House Armed Services Committee (HASC) members for passing a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that includes a provision authorizing federal agencies to provide reimbursement to contractors to help them retain employees during the COVID-19 pandemic and future health emergencies.

“Utilizing Section 3610’s proven and effective model to establish a permanent stand-by authority now, prior to the next emergency, is a prudent and proactive step to ensure the government is better prepared for adverse events in the future,” David Broome, executive vice president for government relations at PSC, said in a statement published Thursday.

The Section 3610 authority originally enacted as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act allows agencies to reimburse companies for paid leave offered to employees who cannot access work locations or telework during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Broome added that the council looks forward to working with Congress to extend Section 3610 to all federal contractors to prepare for future pandemics, natural disasters and cyberattacks.

Air Force Software Group Inaugurates New Facility for Weapon System Software Development; Enos Cummings Quoted
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Air Force Software Group Inaugurates New Facility for Weapon System Software Development; Enos Cummings Quoted

The Hill Air Force Base has inaugurated a $15 million facility that will house teams from the 309th Software Engineering Group (SWEG) in support of their mission to bolster warfighter capability through weapon systems software.

The 72,000-square-foot building called Trailer in the North Area, (TINA), will provide employees a workplace designed for software development and integration operations, Air Force Materiel Command said Thursday.

TINA features 108 interconnected trailers and four bays with adjustable classification configurations, 450 seats, 32 offices and 18 conference rooms, which are all intended to sustain the workload for developing modern weapon systems.

“The open spaces and work areas are designed to promote collaboration and agile software production, but the building was also designed to help retain SWEG’s technical talent, the heartbeat of the group,” said Enos Cummings, 309th SWEG’s director of engineering.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Friday to launch the facility that will offer space for 2,100 engineers, technicians, computer scientists, cybersecurity experts and other technologists and support personnel.

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OMB’s Federal Program Evaluation Website Goes Live; Diana Epstein Quoted
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OMB’s Federal Program Evaluation Website Goes Live; Diana Epstein Quoted

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) launched a website that will offer information about federal agencies’ planning and prioritization efforts to comply with the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act.

Diana Epstein, evidence team lead at OMB, wrote in Aug. 26th post that Evaluation.gov will function as a central repository of documents supporting the use of evidence in the government decision-making process and will post learning agendas and annual evaluation plans from agencies starting in early 2022.

“These public documents will allow researchers and funding partners to easily see what priority questions agencies are trying to answer and align their own research portfolios to help answer those questions,” Epstein noted.

Evidence Act, which was signed into law in 2019, mandates the modernization of federal data management practices and the appointment of an evaluation officer who will lead evidence-building work at each agency.

The site lists the Evaluation Officer Council members from 24 CFO Act agencies. OMB unveiled the portal seven months after the White House released President Biden’s Memorandum on Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking.

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Navy to Demonstrate Health Monitoring System for Self-Defense Test Ship; Carlos Boisselier Quoted
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Navy to Demonstrate Health Monitoring System for Self-Defense Test Ship; Carlos Boisselier Quoted

Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division is contributing to a collaborative effort that aims to design, develop and test an autonomous monitoring system for the U.S. Navy's Self Defense Test Ship (SDTS).

The effort, which is a Naval Innovation, Science and Engineering project, will produce a system designed to continuously analyze the health of SDTS's hull, mechanical and electrical systems, Naval Sea Systems Command said Wednesday.

SDTS is a repurposed destroyer formerly known as USS Paul F. Foster. The ship now serves as an unmanned testbed for live-fire demonstrations at sea. The project will primarily develop a digital twin for the ship's condition-based maintenance.

"This project provides an opportunity for this Navy team to find ways to increase ship maintenance effectiveness by decreasing its downtime and get vessels ready for future missions more efficiently than before,” said Carlos Boisselier, a systems engineer at NSWC Port Hueneme Division's SDTS team.

The Navy authorized the system's installation onto SDTS in July 2021, and expects the project to run for three years.

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Air Force Launches Effort to Simplify Micro-Spending in Local Communities; Cameron Holt Quoted
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Air Force Launches Effort to Simplify Micro-Spending in Local Communities; Cameron Holt Quoted

The U.S. Air Force has launched a program that aims to simplify transactions between government purchase card users and local communities. The First Look Program will help airmen apply smarter business practices to their micro-size purchases as GPC holders annually spend $1.8 billion, Air Force Materiel Command said Tuesday

Maj. Gen. Cameron Holt, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for contracting, said a contracting squadron at Columbus Air Force Base addressed the difficulty of doing business with local communities.

“Instead of the local community businesses coming out and providing their information, we had all the requirement organizations on base come and set up information booths,” he said at the program's dedicated workshop.

The major general added that local businesses near the base signed up for the First Look Program to have their websites listed on Columbus AFB's intranet page. GPC holders would first take a look at the list before purchasing items online.

Michael Hogan, deputy assistant secretary for contracting sourcing and transformation chief, said the Air Force has identified 107,000 businesses for the program. The Air Force also created a special portal for businesses looking to take part in First Look.

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Accenture Acquires Gevity to Bolster Health Transformation Service Capabilities; Jeffrey Russell Quoted
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Accenture Acquires Gevity to Bolster Health Transformation Service Capabilities; Jeffrey Russell Quoted

Accenture announced on Thursday that the Canadian branch of the company has acquired Gevity, a strategy and consulting service provider of innovative technology solutions focused on helping healthcare industry client, to expand its capabilities to deliver health transformation services in Canada and internationally. 

“Gevity’s talented team and track record of success combined with Accenture's national leadership in transformation services and strong ecosystem partnerships will strengthen our capabilities from coast to coast,” said Jeffrey Russell, president of Accenture in Canada.

Gevity works with organizations that span the continuum of healthcare, from providers as well as public and private payers to regulators and healthcare non-profit stakeholder organizations.

The firm specializes in providing strategic consultancy services to health sector clients spanning capability areas such as health systems integration, informatics and analytics, and solution implementation and program management. 

“Moreover, the acquisition positions Accenture to lead the wave of tech-enabled health innovation that places people's health at the center to improve access, experience, and outcomes,” Russell added. 

About Accenture

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services — all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers.

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Mina Hsiang Named US Digital Service Administrator
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Mina Hsiang Named US Digital Service Administrator

Mina Hsiang, formerly senior adviser for delivery at the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), has been appointed as administrator of USDS. She succeeds Matt Cutts, who led the agency from Jan. 2017 to April 2021.

Hsiang is the first Asian American and the first woman to serve as head of the White House’s technology unit responsible for helping federal agencies digitize government service delivery, USDS said Thursday in a Medium post.

“I remain committed to bringing in highly skilled and experienced technologists who are diverse on all axes- because government builds for everyone, and we should reflect that public,” Hsiang noted.

Her private-sector career includes time as vice president of technology products and policy at insurance startup Devoted Health and as new product development lead for Optum’s analytics division.

She was the founding executive director of digital service at the Department of Health and Human Services and oversaw Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act implementation efforts.

Hsiang helped fix the federally run health insurance exchange portal during the Obama administration as part of the HealthCare.gov rescue team.

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ISS Secures NOAA Professional Services Contract for National Ocean Service Support
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ISS Secures NOAA Professional Services Contract for National Ocean Service Support

Integrated Systems Solutions (ISS) has received a three-year $9.5 million contract from NOAA to provide the offices within its National Ocean Service (NOS) headquarters with administrative and management support services.

ISS said Tuesday it will help NOS address coastal area threats as well as promote place-based conservation and coastal resilience and intelligence by providing tools and professional services.

The contract covers communications and education support, policy and program analysis, budget planning and formulation as well as administrative assistance. It was awarded through the Professional, Scientific and Technical Services Oceans Domain indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity acquisition vehicle.

The company has been supporting NOS for nine years now. The recent award is the third consecutive three-year contract it secured from the NOAA unit.

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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Looks to Address Admin Barriers Facing Small Businesses
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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Looks to Address Admin Barriers Facing Small Businesses

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, said DOD is committed to looking at the administration barriers facing small companies seeking to do business with the Pentagon and will initiate measures to address those challenges where it can, DOD News reported Wednesday.

"To do that effectively, we need your engagement," Hicks said Wednesday. "This week, we are putting out a notice in the Federal Register seeking industry input on the barriers you face.”

She said industry feedback will be incorporated into the department’s small business strategy that she plans to unveil before the end of 2021. She also announced the establishment of a DOD innovation steering group and mentioned the department’s efforts to further strengthen its small business programs to facilitate their entry into the defense marketplace.

The deputy secretary noted that the Pentagon has 95 procurement technical assistance centers that help businesses compete for contracts with the department and other federal agencies.

"And we will continue to leverage programs like Small Business Innovation Research which, on average, commercializes $7 billion of small business innovations that are connected directly to our warfighting capabilities," Hicks said.

She also cited that DOD is collaborating with the White House, Small Business Administration and other agencies to generate more opportunities for small companies to secure spots on the department’s contract vehicles.

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Michael Orlando: NCSC Campaign Aims to Increase Government, Industry Awareness of Insider Threats
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Michael Orlando: NCSC Campaign Aims to Increase Government, Industry Awareness of Insider Threats

The National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) and its federal partners have kicked off a monthlong campaign to promote the importance of implementing programs that help agencies and companies reduce risks from insider threats.

National Insider Threat Awareness Month will focus on activities designed to educate public and private sector organizations about fostering a culture of trust in the workplace, NCSC said Wednesday.

This year's initiative marks nearly 10 years since Executive Order 13587 mandated the formation of the National Insider Threat Task Force, an interagency group currently housed within NCSC.

“Through this campaign, we hope to bring much-needed attention to insider threats and help organizations and their employees prevent and mitigate these issues early on," said Michael Orlando, acting director of NCSC.

“These threats can take many forms, whether it’s a federal employee coopted by a foreign adversary to steal sensitive information or a corporate employee clicking on a spear-phishing link that infects their company’s networks.”

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Intelligence and Security, the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency support the campaign.

The Department of Defense will sponsor a conference scheduled for Friday to highlight insider threat programs across the government and industry.

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