The Defense Innovation Board issued a draft copy of its Software Acquisition and Practices study and the congressionally mandated SWAP study has three fundamental themes.

The first theme deals with the role of speed and cycle time as metrics for software management. Under this subject, the Department of Defense should buy, deploy and update software “at the speed of mission need, executing more quickly than our adversaries.” The second theme centers on the importance of digital talent and supporting the workforce to use modern practices, while the third concept focuses on the difference between hardware and software. DIB recommends four primary lines of effort for DoD to leverage the power of software.

The first line of effort calls for Congress and the Pentagon to refactor regulations, processes and statutes for software to accelerate software deployment. The office of the secretary of defense and services should develop and maintain cross-service digital infrastructure to facilitate software fielding, testing and optimization.

Military branches should come up with new paths for digital talent by “establishing software development as a high-visibility, high-priority career track and increasing the level of understanding of modern software within the acquisition workforce.”

The final line of effort urges DoD and industry to update software development and procurement processes through the adoption of modern approaches and integration of cybersecurity into the software lifecycle.

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate is failing to properly collect, integrate and share information on research and development performance across the agency, according to a government report. The Government Accountability Office released a report on Thursday highlighting the challenges associated with coordination of research and development information that make it difficult for DHS to monitor progress of projects and understand the customer  experience.

GAO found that the agency stores research project information in various sources, making it hard to identify and track data. One DHS component failed to use a team coordination mechanism to report $176 million in research funding during 2018, according to the report.

“Nonparticipation poses a risk to R&D coordination efforts across DHS, including R&D project information not being shared among components,” GAO said.

The report recommends that DHS develop a mechanism aligning research project tracking sources, improve collection of feedback from customers and ensure all components participate in the information sharing process.

“By developing a mechanism to address these challenges, S&T can further improve its efforts to report and analyze R&D project information and have improved visibility on R&D efforts across DHS,” the report stated.

Adm. Karl Schultz, commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, said the military branch will award a contract to build the first vessel of its heavy polar icebreaker fleet in the spring, National Defense Magazine reported Thursday.

The $11.34B USCG budget proposed by the White House for fiscal 2019 includes $35 million to fund design work on new Polar Security Cutters and another $15 million to maintain the existing Polar Star icebreaker. Schultz told audience during his State of the Coast Guard address on Thursday that the service plans to buy three large PSCs. The cost of each vessel could reach $1 billion, according to the publication.

USCG issued a request for proposal for the advance procurement and detail design of the heavy polar icebreaker variant last year. The branch conducted a full and open competition for the contract.

Following the launch of a federal initiative to provide workers with new skills in information technology, cyber security and law enforcement, the Trump administration is rethinking its compensation and performance management to help in workforce modernization, Federal News Network reported Thursday.

The administration plans to study benefits, rewards and recognition opportunities for employees, including pay, retirement, leave and work-life balance programs, said Margaret Weichert, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management and deputy director for management for the Office of Management and Budget.

The White House included the plan in its latest budget request to reward top performers in the government, an effort that follows the president’s management agenda.

The government is “rethinking how we articulate the need for performance-driven, total compensation rewards and recognition,” Weichert said. “We’re putting to field this investigation to help Congress understand how to think about pay as part of a broader, holistic strategy.”

Regulatory changes are also being considered to add incentives for agency managers. The administration wants to provide officials with more authority to reward top employees with bonuses that exceed a specified limit without seeking approval from OPM.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will award up to $1.2M in prizes for the MagQuest challenge focused on collecting geomagnetic data from the Earth’s magnetic field, the agency said Wednesday.

The agency seeks U.S. and international participants that can provide aerial, terrestrial and space-based capabilities to update the World Magnetic Model, which supports global military, commercial navigation and communications.

The model, created by the NGA in partnership with Britain’s geographic defense agency, currently requires alternative data collection methods to ensure its sustainability.

“MagQuest is a critical component of NGA’s work to develop a new system for measuring Earth’s geomagnetic field to power the future of navigation,” said Richard Salman, director of the NGA Office of Geomatics. 

An independent judging panel will select up to 10 awardees for Phase 1 who will share a prize of $200K. Phase 1 participants and other parties that were not able to participate in the first increment may compete for Phase 2.

NGA may award a maximum prize pool of $1M to five winners that can provide detailed descriptions, 3D models and prototype development and testing plans for their concepts. The agency might offer additional phases for $2.5M in cash and potential non-monetary prizes. Interested parties may submit proposals through May 16.

The U.S. Army Network Cross Functional Team plans to purchase equipment and begin operations supporting branch efforts to  develop an integrated tactical network by 2020, FCW reported Thursday. The network will combine computer, satellite and radio capabilities to form a streamlined and mobile battlefield network.

Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher, head of the cross functional team, said the Army wants to assess and field equipment before providing deliverables to brigade units by 2021. The Army will work on four capability sets which include satellite communications, cloud technology, anti-jamming weapons, automated units and multi-domain systems.

The service branch is currently conducting experiments with European units ahead of a potential full network modernization by 2028.

The U.S. Navy’s latest budget justification documents reveal plans to award the fourth contract under the Virginia-class submarine program in April, Inside Defense reported Wednesday.

The contract calls for 10 nuclear-powered submarines in the Block V configuration and cover fiscal years 2019 through 2023. All of these future units would include acoustic superiority modifications, and seven among them will feature the Virginia Payload Module, a four-tube launcher made to shoot out 28 missiles.

The Virginia Payload is designed to make up for the retirement of the Navy’s guided missile submarines in the mid-2020s, the documents reported.