The Department of Veterans Affairs is set to add a set of customer experience principles to the core values and characteristics section of its Code of Federal Regulations, Nextgov reported Friday.

“Maintaining a sustained organizational commitment to, and institutionalized focus on, the voice of the customer is a critical component of modernizing VA to meet the needs and expectations of veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors,” according to the final rule scheduled for publication on Federal Register Monday. “Codifying these principles will ensure that they receive the proper emphasis at all levels within VA, are clearly understood by the workforce, and, most importantly, become an enduring part of the VA culture.”

Under the final rule, VA will consider three factors – ease, effectiveness and emotion – to improve the way it delivers services to veterans. Lynda Davis, chief of VA’s veterans experience office, said research firm Forrester developed the “3 Es of CX” framework.

James Stewart, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, said the Department of Defense is working to grow its military force with new methods. DoD is using social media to advertise recruitment and applying artificial intelligence to build analysis-based engagement plans, according to an article published Friday on the department’s website.

“The services are on track to achieve their recruiting missions this year, but they continue to face an ever-changing recruiting environment with a robust economy, low unemployment and significant competition from the civilian sector,” Stewart said at a hearing with the House Armed Services Committee’s military personnel subcommittee. He added that the military is making efforts to support the families of servicemen for boosted retention. 

“So we’re making every effort to support our military families in ways that recognize and relieve the challenges that come with the military way of life,” he stated.

DoD’s family care efforts include spouse employment support, child care and scholarships.

The Department of Health and Human Services is helping the Department of Interior boost the accountability and transparency of the latter’s financial assistance programs. DOI said Friday it will use HHS’ GrantSolutions platform to better oversee the use of DOI-awarded grants totaling $6 billion annually.

“Partnering with this program enables us to improve efficiencies, disburse federal assistance in a timely manner and foster greater accountability within DOI for the American taxpayer,” said David Bernhardt, secretary of interior.

The platform is designed to help users track funds, standardize processes, automate functions and boost transparency across all phases of financial assistance. Implementation of GrantSolutions would address management inconsistencies across the department’s 10 bureaus.

The Department of Health and Human Services is preparing to transition to the production phase its “Reimagined – Buy Smarter” program, which uses artificial intelligence to accelerate data analysis to identify cost-saving concepts and help with price comparisons, Federal News Network reported Friday. 

“Buy Smarter is an innovative opportunity for HHS to look at our category management, break down some stove pipes, and consolidate our requirements across the department,” Lori Ruderman, senior adviser and co-lead for Buy Smarter, said on the network’s Federal Monthly Insights – Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning. She noted that in addition to AI, HHS uses natural language processing and robotic process automation to avoid duplication of effort through the program.

HHS will launch the 18 steps of technology for government buyers later this year and has an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract worth $49 million for a list of emerging and new technology platforms, according to the report. Ruderman said the program support center within HHS leads that contract. “And we are hoping to get a very large number of vendors who can provide these catalog services not just for reimagined Buy Smarter, but the contract is designed so that it can be scaled and shared across HHS and potentially across the federal space.”

Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, introduced two proposals for inclusion in the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act to improve acquisition procedures and promote industry engagement, the House Armed Services Committee said Thursday. Thornberry, a ranking member of the committee, noted that his reform proposals set out to “improve agility, cut bureaucracy, promote justice, provide better benefits, and save the taxpayer billions.”

The first proposal, called the Continuing Acquisition Reform Act, seeks to implement panel recommendations to procurement reforms that were already enacted by Congress. The second proposal, known as the Accelerating Defense Innovation Act, intends to foster collaborations between the Department of Defense and the tech industry, introduce cybersecurity procedures to small businesses and promote the development of new technologies in DoD laboratories and universities.

The proposal also mandates the creation of a pilot program under the Small Business Innovation Research initiative to improve small businesses’ access to government opportunities. Congress has so far enacted over 60 of Thornberry’s defense reform proposals.

Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., introduced a bill to grow the Department of Defense’s workforce of digital engineers. The Armed Forces Digital Advantage Act would task the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness to implement a policy establishing digital engineering as a core military talent area, Portman’s office said Thursday. 

The bill would also appoint an executive to oversee the recruitment of DoD digital engineers and the development of training efforts for the career area. This executive will be known as the chief digital engineering recruitment and management officer of the DoD. The bill builds on recommendations from across the defense industry and DoD leadership, and supports the 2018 National Defense Strategy.

Portman and Heinrich are co-founders of the Senate Artificial Intelligence Caucus.