Final Rule to Enforce 2018 Small Business Runway Extension Act Takes Effect
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Final Rule to Enforce 2018 Small Business Runway Extension Act Takes Effect
Final Rule to Enforce 2018 Small Business Runway Extension Act Takes Effect

The Small Businesses Administration implemented on Jan. 6 a final rule to enforce a 2018 law that would increase the period of calculating annual revenue of small businesses in the contract review process from three to five years, Nextgov reported Monday.

The final SBA rule to implement the 2018 Small Business Runway Extension Act is “going to increase the pool of eligible participants and make a lot more companies eligible to participate for small business set asides,” said Daniel Snyder, director of contract analysis at Bloomberg Government. 

Small businesses may choose between a three-year and five-year averaging period for annual receipts during the transition period, which will end on Jan. 6, 2022.

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DoD IG to Evaluate Foreign Influence on Pentagon’s R&D Programs
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DoD IG to Evaluate Foreign Influence on Pentagon’s R&D Programs
DoD IG to Evaluate Foreign Influence on Pentagon's R&D Programs

The Department of Defense’s office of inspector general announced plans to kick off a review in January to determine whether the office of the defense undersecretary for research and engineering tracks and mitigate foreign entities’ influence on DoD’s research and development initiatives.

A Jan. 6 memo says the OIG will conduct the evaluation at several components and agencies under OUSD(R&E).

Those agencies include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Innovation Unit, selected federally funded research and development centers, Missile Defense Agency and the office of the defense undersecretary for intelligence.

“We may identify additional locations during the evaluation,” the OIG notice states.

VA to Continue Financial Mgmt System Modernization in Summer
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VA to Continue Financial Mgmt System Modernization in Summer
VA to Continue Financial Mgmt System Modernization in Summer

The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to continue efforts to consolidate its financial management system by summer, Federal News Network reported Friday. The VA wants to begin the National Cemeteries Commission’s financial operations in the new system in July.

In 2018, the VA announced plans to transition its business management platform to a cloud environment as part of its Financial Management Business Transformation program.

Avie Snow, associate deputy assistant secretary for financial business operations at the VA, said the department intends to learn from its previous consolidation challenges, which stemmed from prior initiatives such as supply chain and electronic health records modernization.

“It was lack of government oversight," she said. "We didn’t step in and do what we needed to do for the VA and essentially, there was no found under there, and the thing just crumbled in on itself.”

The VA plans to transition the Veterans Benefits Administration to the cloud-based financial management platform by February 2021, according to Snow.

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DOI to Halt Civilian Drone Activities Amid Chinese Tech Issues
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DOI to Halt Civilian Drone Activities Amid Chinese Tech Issues
DOI to Halt Civilian Drone Activities Amid Chinese Tech Issues

The Department of the Interior plans to stop operations under a large civilian drone program due to security concerns with China-made technology, the Financial Times reported Sunday.

The plan addresses a risk of possible espionage from Beijing and may put a stop to the activity of almost 1K drones.

DJI, a Chinese drone-maker, produces over 70 percent of civilian drones used across the globe. DOI deploys drones for wildfire response, terrain mapping and resource monitoring.

David Bernhardt, secretary of the interior, is pursuing a security review on the department's drones, 121 of which are DJI-made.

DOI now has its China-made drones designated for emergency use only.

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Treasury Department Studies Blockchain Use to Track Grants
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Treasury Department Studies Blockchain Use to Track Grants
Treasury Department Studies Blockchain Use to Track Grants

The Department of Treasury is nearing completion of an effort to develop a blockchain-based credit system for recipients of federal grants, FCW reported Friday.

Craig Fischer, innovation program manager at the treasury department, said the effort aims to tokenize federal letters of credit for the tracking of awarded grants and associated cashflow.

He said tokens allow for more efficient tracking than actual money. Tokens would also come with associated data such as recipient profiles and related dates.

The effort continues the department's record of studying blockchain, following a 2018 pilot project on the development of blockchain technology for physical asset management.

SBA Seeks Feedback on Proposed Rule to Revise Mentor-Protege, 8(a) Programs
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SBA Seeks Feedback on Proposed Rule to Revise Mentor-Protege, 8(a) Programs
SBA Seeks Feedback on Proposed Rule to Revise Mentor-Protege, 8(a) Programs

The Small Business Administration has extended the deadline for public input on a proposed rule to merge its mentor-protege program and update regulations for the 8(a) business development program.

SBA said Friday the proposed rule seeks to remove duplicative functions and no longer require small businesses applying for 8(a) contracts as joint ventures to undergo a review prior to the award.

The agency intends to require small businesses to undergo socioeconomic status recertification for unrestricted multiple-award contracts, with the exception of General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule awards and blanket purchase agreements.

The rule also requires recertification for firms with different socioeconomic status for orders and underlying MAC contracts and allows protests for such contract actions.

Interested parties may submit feedback through Feb. 7.

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Ryan McCarthy: Army, DoD Plan Investments for Future Hypersonic Weapons Initiatives
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Ryan McCarthy: Army, DoD Plan Investments for Future Hypersonic Weapons Initiatives
Ryan McCarthy
Ryan McCarthy

Ryan McCarthy, secretary of the U.S. Army, said the service branch is working with the Department of Defense for future deterrence efforts including hypersonic missile research and development, National Defense Magazine reported Friday.

McCarthy told attendees at a Brookings Institution event in Washington, D.C., that the Army is “investing billions of dollars” for future defense plans that will span “the next couple budgets.” He added that command-and-control and sensing capabilities, as well as next-generation interceptors, may be crucial for the long-term deterrence effort.

According to McCarthy, the U.S. may deploy hypersonic weapons to the Indo-Pacific region to defend against China. He noted that the U.S. could also send a task force to the region to conduct cyber, information and missile operations, according to a Bloomberg report.

“There is an ongoing fight for influence in the region, for which access and presence are critical,” said McCarthy. “Partners matter.”

The Army has launched partnerships with the U.S. Navy and Air Force as well as the Missile Defense Agency to field hypersonic weapons by the early to mid-2020s.

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Kelly Doney Named CIO of Villanova University; Kenneth G. Valosky Quoted
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Kelly Doney Named CIO of Villanova University; Kenneth G. Valosky Quoted
Kelly Doney Named CIO of Villanova University; Kenneth G. Valosky Quoted

Villanova University has announced the appointment of Kelly Doney as Chief Information Officer (CIO), effective Feb. 3, 2019, the university reported on Monday. 

“The field of information technology continues to evolve, and universities must always have an eye on emerging technologies, best practices and regulatory requirements. Kelly brings strong leadership, as well as technical knowledge and experience managing the changing technology of higher education,”said Kenneth G. Valosky, the  executive vice president of Villanova University.

Doney will lead the university-wide information technology (IT) program and infrastructure to improve the university’s technological development. She will also oversee technology infrastructure, information security, network, enterprise resource planning (ERP), tech support, card systems, communication systems, instructional technology and application development.

Doney has served in a variety of senior leadership roles with Ellucian since 2015, including VP of management consulting, VP of global partner success and, most recently, VP of digital transformation. 

She has held the position since Jan. 2019, where she has addressed long-term support, growth and regulatory requirements of California Community Colleges. She also has diagnosed and implemented operational improvements to integrate support team functions and provide project status transparency through automated tooling.

Prior to her career at Ellucian, she served as associate vice president for enterprise applications at Georgetown University between Jan. 2013 and Oct. 2015. In the role, she developed the strategic plan for Georgetown’s technology solutions, led the enterprise team and managed an $8 million/ year portfolio in the execution of strategy.

She also worked with Deloitte as a senior manager from Feb. 2010 to Dec. 2012. At the company, she  developed new business sales targets and managed concurrent IT strategy and technology transformation projects for federal government customers. 

Doney served as IT program manager at Booz Allen Hamilton between June 1999 and Jan. 2010. As manager, she  managed complex software development programs and concurrent contract deliveries, including a $21 million custom software development and operational support contract for a biometric-enabled, mission critical intelligence system. 

She began her career at Exxon Biomedical Sciences, Inc. as human factors consultant in May 1996 and remained in the role until Dec. 1997. 

“I look forward to joining Villanova just as the University is beginning to execute its new Strategic Plan,” said Doney. “As a leader in higher education technology, I have seen firsthand how technology can transform the student experience, enhance the research mission and enrich teaching and learning.”

About Villanova University

Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, Villanova supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. 

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Gen. John Hyten: DoD Must Accelerate Pace in Power Competition
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Gen. John Hyten: DoD Must Accelerate Pace in Power Competition
John Hyten
John Hyten

U.S. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Department of Defense needs to be more responsive with regard to the power competition with Russia and China, DoD News reported Friday.

Hyten said the military has to overcome the pace with its competitors and outrun them, especially considering China's speedy development.

"If you're in a race and someone is running faster, it doesn't matter how far ahead you are, eventually that somebody is going to catch and pass you" he said.

The USAF general leads the Joint Requirements Oversight Council that monitors technological activities across the joint force. Hyten said the council will come up with ways to address speed requirements across mission areas.

He also noted that DoD will need to constantly adapt through industrial changes to keep up with the shifting threat landscape.

"If you're going to maintain a speed of development ahead of the cyber threat, then you have to change the baseline all the time," he said.

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Raytheon Awarded $6M CAML Contract by DARPA for Machine Learning; Ilana Heintz Quoted
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Raytheon Awarded $6M CAML Contract by DARPA for Machine Learning; Ilana Heintz Quoted

Raytheon Awarded $6M CAML Contract by DARPA for Machine Learning; Ilana Heintz Quoted

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded a $6 million contract for the Competency Aware Machine Learning (CAML) program to Raytheon, the company announced on Monday.

The contract is to facilitate communication conditions where machine learning systems from CAML can communicate to human operators what they have learned about a situation, under what conditions the machines absorbed information the best, and the situations when the learned strategies are most appropriate. This could  address the problem of Machine Learning systems needing human decision assistance in combat situations.

“The CAML system turns tools into partners…Once the system has developed these skills, the team will apply it to a simulated search and rescue mission. Users will create the conditions surrounding the mission, while the system will make recommendations and give users information about its competence in those particular conditions,” said Ilana Heintz, principal investigator for CAML at Raytheon BBN Technologies.

According to DARPA, in addition to contracting with Raytheon, CAML will continue to seek expertise in machine learning, artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, knowledge representation and reasoning, autonomous system modeling, human-machine interface, and cognitive computing.

CAML began in Feb. 2019 with an initial term of four years.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions.

With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I®  products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter.

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