The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report summarizing its insights on previous work and recommendations encompassing three areas for building up the federal workforce in science and technology.

Those three areas are strategic workforce planning to identify gaps and future needs, improving federal pay and hiring and addressing factors that affect the federal work environment and GAO said in a report published Wednesday that it has made several recommendations to address issues related to human capital management, particularly in science and technology.

“We testified that while agencies have implemented some of our prior recommendations, they haven't fully implemented others,” GAO said in the report.

For instance, the congressional watchdog assessed the cybersecurity workforce planning strategies of 24 agencies for information technology employees in October 2019 and found that most of the agencies had not fully addressed five of eight workforce planning activities due to limited resources and competing priorities, among other reasons.

GAO made a recommendation to 18 of those 24 agencies to fully implement those IT workforce planning activities and found that 13 agencies agreed with the recommendation and the remaining organizations “expressed a range of views.”

“Some agencies have made progress implementing the recommendation; however, as of March 2021, all of the recommendations remain open pending agency actions to fully implement them,” the report reads.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has started a proceeding to determine whether to terminate the authority of Pacific Networks and its ComNet subsidiary to provide telecommunications services within the U.S.

FCC said Wednesday it issued a show cause order to Pacific Networks and ComNet, which are Chinese state-owned entities, in 2020 to explain why the commission should not begin the process for ending their domestic and international authorizations under section 214 of the Communications Act.

The commission assessed the companies’ response and comments from agencies within the executive branch and “determined that Pacific Networks and ComNet have failed at this stage to dispel serious concerns regarding their retention of section 214 authority in the United States.”

FCC said the launch of the proceeding will allow the entities to present additional evidence and respond to specific questions.

The U.S. Army is deploying new networking tools for Capability Set 21 as part of the service’s network modernization plan, Federal News Network reported Wednesday. 

“We’ve recently conducted an operational test of the radio systems, and there is an ongoing force-on-force combat training center rotation. Many of those systems are being fielded today to our maneuver formations, and also to our expeditionary signal attires,” Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher, director of the network cross-functional team at Army Futures Command (AFC), said at an Association of the United States Army event Tuesday.

One of the major elements of Capability Set 21 is the Integrated Tactical Network, which integrates new network transport capabilities and commercial components into the Army’s tactical network environment to provide more flexible and faster communications systems for maneuver brigades.

“We are looking to be much more resilient in our network backbone and have much better capacity in our in our transport,” Gallagher said. “We want to converge a lot of these legacy systems into a common data fabric and really accelerate the speed of decision making by integrating sensors, leveraging cloud and edge computing optimization. We want to ensure that we’ve got the data and the applications and the ability to integrate shooters or effects at speed."

He also offered updates on a design review for the next round of modernized network capabilities in 2023.

“We’re on the cusp of a preliminary design review for our Capability Set 23 over the course of the next month. Then we’re going to continue prototyping over the next year-and-a-half to really refine and converge on an approach for what Capability Set 23 will look like,” Gallagher said.

To register for this virtual forum, visit the Potomac Officers Club Events page.

CNSI announced Wednesday that it received the top overall score in the 2020 NASPO ValuePoint™ multi-state evaluation of Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) Claims Processing and Management Services. CNSI received the highest composite proposal and demonstration scores and the top overall weighted score.

“We anticipate 90% of future state Medicaid modernization procurements will leverage NASPO ValuePoint’s cooperative contracting model, since the proposals, tiered pricing, and multi-state evaluations are completed and publicly available for any interested state. This relieves a significant burden on a state’s Medicaid program and procurement staff and saves substantial time and money,” commented former Wash100 Award recipient and CNSI CEO Todd Stottlemyer.

CNSI’s performance will permit states and territories to procure CNSI solutions through NASPO ValuePoint. These solutions include Medicaid claims processing and provider enrollment solutions, technology services encompassing call centers, cloud hosting, financial management services, business operations, data analytics and federal reporting.

“Our Lead State Model™, which is supported by a multi-state Sourcing Team, allows us to leverage the expertise and buying power of multiple states to deliver the highest standard of excellence in government procurement. As NASPO ValuePoint continues to make inroads into the world of Medicaid Management Information Services for the benefit of our member states, we’d like to recognize that CNSI has been added to the newest suite of ValuePoint Master Agreements in this complex and challenging area,” said Sarah Hilderbrand COO of NASPO.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has received and approved NASPO ValuePoint MMIS master agreements. Due to the fact, they are a major funder of Medicaid technology modernization initiatives for multiple states. CMS will continue to stress the importance of modular and highly configurable technology solutions, which is a fundamental part of CNSI’s services.

“I’m extremely proud of the work CNSI has done to create a flexible and scalable modular platform that supports mission-critical state Medicaid programs. CNSI’s configurable evoBRIX X platform allowed our state clients in 2020 to quickly use new COVID-19 testing codes and eligibility groups, getting critical funds to healthcare providers,” concluded Stottlemyer.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has transitioned a set of three technologies designed to support cruise missile operations and deliver jam-resistant autonomy.

DOD said Tuesday that its Low-Cost Cruise Missile Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (LCCM JCTD) transitioned an unmanned air vehicle, autonomy software and data link into programs of record.

The Raytheon Technologies-made Coyote Block III UAV and a corresponding launcher transitioned into Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Golden Horde program, along with a jam-resistant data link provided by L3Harris Technologies. 

LCCM JCTD also transitioned an autonomy software module made by Georgia Tech Research Institute.

“By working closely with our industry partners and combatant command operators, we delivered needed capabilities that will enhance the warfighter’s ability to accomplish their missions," said Jon Lazar, acting director of prototypes and experiments within DOD.

The military ran LCCM demonstrations in 2018 and 2019 at Arizona-based Yuma Test Proving Grounds, prior to a final test that took place in 2020. DOD expects to additionally transition Coyote Block III to other programs including one with the U.S. Marine Corps.

A Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)-led accelerator is looking to partner with industry for an effort aimed at preventing adversaries from taking the lead in technological innovation, C4ISRnet reported Tuesday. 

The accelerator serves as an expanded effort under the DARPA Embedded Entrepreneurship Initiative (EEI) aimed at commercializing more than 150 research concepts within five years. DARPA previously partnered with In-Q-Tel to support investor networking activities as part of the initiative.

DARPA’s accelerator allocates over $250,000 to help research teams connect with U.S. investors for up to two years. The accelerator also enables participants to access mentors under the agency’s Transition Working Group, which includes a network of over 100 corporations and investors.

Kacy Gerst, chief of commercial strategy at DARPA, told the publication that the program serves as an “effective counter against aggressive foreign investors” that target early-stage research efforts.

DARPA has supported a range of research projects including blood sampling and COVID-19 studies during its pilot stage. To date, the agency has raised over $100 million to support 30 research groups through the program.

The General Services Administration-led (GSA) Robotic Process Automation Community of Practice has announced it will prioritize process optimization, automation deployment, technology management, program design and peer-to-peer engagement this year, FedScoop reported Tuesday.

These efforts aim to boost the efficiency of factories, bolster the security compliance of RPA technologies, involve GSA's Centers of Excellence in RPA community efforts and foster related mentorships between agencies.

Gerard Badorrek, executive sponsor of the RPA CoP and GSA's chief financial officer, said Tuesday the community's 1000 members from multiple agencies will attempt to persuade their teams to invest in targeted automation.

Badorrek said he wants to implement GSA's “Eliminate, Optimize and Automate” effort across the entire federal government.

The Department of Defense (DOD) has released an updated version of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework (AAF) aimed at simplifying acquisition policies based on different pathways.

The AAF, known as DOD Instruction 5000.02, includes pathways such as software, business systems, services, urgent capabilities, major capabilities and mid-tier procurement.

Mike Coolican, the Defense Acquisition University’s (DAU) AAF lead, told the publication that the pathways are meant to accelerate data-driven assessments, emphasize sustainment, manage risk and empower program heads.

He noted that the software pathway is “the most powerful” among the acquisition categories and that there are 14 programs implementing the software pathway to date.

“Congress, [DOD], everyone has identified the fact that we need to do software better and faster and with a more modern approach,” said Coolican. DAU recently launched a website focused on providing details on AAF fundamentals.