Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Michael Gilday has shared the U.S. Navy's plan of transferring the operations of its 13 satellites to the Space Force and assured that the process will be easy due to both military service branches' connection to Space Command, Military.com reported Wednesday.

Gilday made the remarks at a Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA)-hosted virtual forum.

The CNO also talked about the Navy's decision to continue doing space-related work at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), where space research offices, including the Space Science Division and the Naval Center for Space Technology, are located.

"The decision has been made to maintain our Navy capability within those labs and keep it in the Navy for the sole reason that … in a Navy research lab, there's a lot of cross-cutting work that goes on across a number of different disciplines," said Gilday.

The service branch also looks to provide the Space Force with more authority over NRL work through memorandums of agreement that are currently being developed.

The Leidos Partnership for Defense Health today announced it successfully delivered the MHS GENESIS electronic health record to an additional 10,000 clinicians and other providers as part of its most recent Wave deployment with locations in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

"We are gaining momentum and improved efficiency with each Wave deployment," said Liz Porter, Leidos Health Group president. "Our team continues to be impressed by the hard work and dedication demonstrated by the staff at each of these locations. They are the driving force behind our success to date."  

The Leidos Partnership for Defense Health (LPDH) developed MHS GENESIS, the Military Health System's new electronic health record, and has been providing program management and technical expertise to the Program Executive Office Defense Healthcare Management Systems (PEO DHMS) since 2015.

"The staff at these locations worked tirelessly to adopt a new electronic health record system, while continuing to battle a global pandemic," said Holly Joers, acting PEO DHMS. "We applaud their focus on the mission and partnership in this important transformation."   

The General Services Administration (GSA) has identified 22 federal employee-proposed projects that will be provided with phased funding under a Technology Transformation Services division-hosted investment program for enhancing technology uses in support of government priorities.

Some of the proposals under the 10x initiative are about enforcing climate and environmental justice and expanding minority-owned government contracting businesses, GSA said Tuesday.

10x's selection focuses on public trust and civic life; public lands and environment; and equity in delivery themes. Topics include public engagement in policymaking, environmental footprint monitoring for climate change effect mitigation, support for individuals reentering society and dissemination of civil rights information to the public.

“10x practices a unique approach for investing in government technology through a phased approach with iterative funding," said Dave Zvenyach, director of TTS. He added that the approach has led to the development and deployment of government-wide platforms. 

10x received and reviewed 250 proposals from employees at 34 agencies. The program is established in 2015 to solicit ideas from the federal workforce to help improve government services. 

Dave Zvenyach recently served as a keynote speaker during GovConWire Events' Modernizing Federal Acquisition Forum on April 15th. If you didn't have the chance to join GovConWire for the Forum to hear notable industry and federal leaders discuss the new modernization priorities, innovative solutions and future plans for acquisition, you can check out the event by clicking here. 

Liberty Defense Holdings has been licensed to commercialize a pair of screening systems sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

DHS said Tuesday that it funded the Shoe Scanner and the High Definition – Advanced Imaging Technology (HD-AIT), which are developed by the Department of Energy's (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

HD-AIT boosts the resolution and lessens the false alarms of screening processes, allowing for security checks that don't require subjects to take off light jackets. Shoe Scanner uses the same technology to see through footwear. This screening approach does not require subjects to take off their shoes.

“DHS S&T has invested in developing the next generation screening HD-AIT and shoe scanner that offer significant improvements to current systems,” said John Fortune, Screening-at-Speed program manager at DHS's Science and Technology Directorate.

Both technologies align with the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) requirements.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will help the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Defense (DOD) bolster research and development on wireless communications networks. 

NIST said Tuesday that it will take part in the Resilient and Intelligent Next-Generation Systems program that aims to further develop emerging network and computing technologies. The agency's Communications Technology Laboratory (CTL) will offer facilities to support research done under the RINGS program.

“The Communications Technology Laboratory knows the importance of investing in the ecosystem of innovation and we are excited to partner with NSF and the rest of the RINGS team to provide grantees access to our state-of-the-art testbeds,” said Marla Dowell, director of CTL.

RINGS will use a $40 million investment to finance collaborative research pursued by about 40 teams. Each participating team will receive a maximum of $1 million in awards effective for up to three years.

Interested parties may submit applications through July 29th.

Westat has pioneered multimode research and has continued to improve survey methodology.  Multimode surveys are a highly effective tool to collect data, enabling researchers to reach more people and different populations. These surveys improve coverage, increase response rates, reduce cost and improve measurements.

“Multimode surveys involve using more than one mode of data collection to contact and interview potential respondents, including web, phone, mail, email, text, video platform, and in-person surveys, or a combination, with Westat’s design expertise, we can create an optimal way to combine multiple modes to contact respondents and encourage participation,” explained Ting Yan, Ph.D., a Westat associate director.

Multimode surveys provide more options for data collection than other types of surveys. Due to the rising cost and declining response rates on non-multimode surveys, companies are turning to Westat’s innovative survey methodologies for their data collection needs.

“Westat is innovative in using responsive and adaptive designs in multimode surveys and in assessing and estimating comparability of data across modes,” Dr. Yan added. “We continually consider forward-thinking strategies, developing and reimagining what can work better for respondents.”

Westat’s team of expert employees tailor-make each survey for its clients. They then implement the company’s proprietary multimode management system (M3) developed to allow for easy integration of modes while constantly controlling protocols, including sample flow and experimental allocation. M3 contains all the survey data and paradata to facilitate reporting across modes and conditions.

“The greatest challenge is determining what modes to use and how to sequence the modes,” “For instance, we must decide whether a sequential mixed-mode design or a concurrent multimode design is the best way to reach and interview a target population. This involves taking into consideration the survey’s requirements and budget limitations. But these challenges are minor because of our design experience,” concluded Dr. Yan.