The National Science Foundation has launched an effort to test the feasibility of integrating data analytics, blockchain and machine learning to streamline grant processing activities, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

Dorothy Aronson, chief information officer of NSF, told the publication that the agency is experimenting with using “digital fingerprints” for documents to simplify the federal grant application process and identify duplicates.

She said that the grant processing concept streamlines vetting procedures by using ledger-based technology to trigger alerts on potential matches or similarities in multiple grant proposals.

The experiment builds on NSF’s prior efforts to transition its information technology operations to the cloud, establish enterprise data warehouses for digitized documents and leverage artificial intelligence as well as language processing technologies, she noted.

“We’re just starting off with little experiments. But there’s a lot of benefits that could come from this,” said Aronson. “This is not a new problem. It’s just one that we didn’t have the opportunity to solve before."

NSF receives over 60K grant applications each year and accounts for 20 percent of federal funding to academic entities to support basic research activities, according to the report.

The U.S. Space Force is working to finish a report to Congress detailing potential reforms to the military branch’s procurement programs ahead of the March 31 deadline, SpaceNews reported Wednesday. 

The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act requires the U.S. Air Force secretary to provide an  “alternative space acquisition system” to address bureaucracy concerns in procuring next-generation technologies. USAF Secretary Barbara Barrett and Gen. John Raymond, the chief of space operations, will review the Space Force report ahead of its delivery to the defense secretary and White House for approval.

Shawn Barnes, deputy principal assistant to the secretary of the Air Force for space, told the publication that the COVID-19 pandemic has not slowed down progress on the report which is on track to meet the deadline.

He noted that while Department of Defense personnel have been teleworking and conducting meetings by phone, some officials are still required to meet at the Pentagon for meetings that require small groups of people.

The Space Force will “continue to deliver reports on time as best we can with all things being considered,” according to Barnes.

NCI Information Systems (NCI), a leading provider of advanced information technology solutions and professional services to U.S. federal government agencies, today announced the launch of the NCI Empower platform to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in the public sector, the company announced on Thursday. 

“AI is an enabling technology that, when coupled with NCI’s foundation as a respected solution integrator for defense, civilian, and intelligence agencies, creates unprecedented levels of efficiency and collaboration for our customers,” said Paul Dillahay, 2020 Wash100 Award recipient and president and  CEO of NCI. “Scaling Humans through our NCI Empower platform will produce a government workforce that is exponentially more creative and productive.”

NCI has designed Empower as an open-architecture platform, available for all customers, on‑prem or in the cloud. The platform will provide secure, containerized access to the lowest levels of their organization to empower teams to build, deploy and share their AI solutions while delivering continuous data ingestion. 

In addition, Empower will provide a continuous learning capability to ensure that as one AI solution increases its impact and effectiveness, all other solutions benefit from that learning. NCI has combined commercially available AI solutions with AI and Process Engineering (ShaiPE) methodology, along with rapid execution and development capabilities, to supply expansive efficiencies and decision-making abilities for the federal government.

NCI was awarded one of the largest contracts in its history to help manage the Department of Defense enterprise IT infrastructure and has utilized its Shai framework to deliver on its people first commitment while harnessing next-generation, innovative AI solutions. 

The launch of the NCI Empower platform is a continuation of the company’s commitment to combine human power and technology, allowing organizations to focus on solving the most pressing, mission-critical challenges they face.

“Our philosophy has always been that by Scaling Humans with Artificial Intelligence, or Shai®, a workforce can be empowered to reach their full human potential,” added Dillahay. “Today, we are excited to take that philosophy one step further with the announcement of our NCI Empower platform.”

About NCI

NCI is a leading provider of enterprise solutions and services to U.S. defense, intelligence, health and civilian government agencies. Informed by over 30 years of experience solving its customers’ most important and complex mission challenges, NCI has been at the forefront of operationalizing AI methodologies and numerical algorithms for the U.S. government, particularly in the areas of warfighter enablement, digital transformation, and advanced analytics. NCI is a mid-tier systems integrator headquartered in Reston, Virginia, and operates at locations across the globe.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced preventive measures to secure the food supply-chain by issuing a temporary policy for FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) supplier verification onsite audit requirements during the coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, the administration announced on Tuesday. 

"The policy released today will help to minimize disruptions so that the food industry can meet the demand while also continuing to conduct supplier verification activities that are designed to ensure food safety and following government travel restrictions and advisories,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn, M.D.

Three of the regulations created to implement FSMA, the Preventive Controls for Human Food (PC Human Food) rule, Preventive Controls for Animal Food (PC Animal Food) rule and Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) rule, have required receiving facilities and importers to conduct supplier verification activities based on the hazard analysis conducted as part of the written Food Safety Plan or FSVP. 

"While our grocery stores are facing unprecedented demand, we are working with industry to minimize disruptions in the supply-chain due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions," Hahn stated. 

FDA noted that the travel restrictions and advisories associated with coronavirus, it may make some audits temporarily impractical to conduct. The policy announced has stated that the agency will temporarily not enforce FSMA supplier verification onsite audit requirements if other appropriate supplier verification methods are used instead. 

Other supplier verification methods, including sampling and testing or a review of food safety records, would be designed to provide sufficient assurance that hazards have been significantly minimized or prevented during the period of onsite audit delay. 

“While we are confident that stores will remain open and supply will continue to meet demand nationwide, we ask all Americans to only purchase enough food and essentials for the week ahead," Hahn added. 

The FDA has projected that receiving facilities and FSVP importers will resume onsite audits within a reasonable period of time after it becomes practicable to do so, and update their food safety plans and FSVPs accordingly.  

There are no nationwide shortages of food, although in some cases the inventory of certain foods at your grocery store might be temporarily low before stores can restock. Food production and manufacturing are dispersed throughout the U.S. and there are currently no wide-spread disruptions reported in the supply chain. 

About FDA

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.