The U.S. Agency for International Development has issued a $1 billion loan guarantee to Ukraine in support of economic and governance reforms as the country undergoes a democratic transition.

USAID said Friday the guarantee aims to help Ukraine implement reforms in an effort to fight corruption, aid economic governance and resilience and secure citizens from the impacts of economic adjustments.

The agency added that the guarantee will also support the country’s economic recovery and its access to commercial capital markets.

“This loan guarantee and USAID’s ongoing assistance in Ukraine will bolster the process of implementing meaningful reforms and will bolster efforts to combat corruption and build a more independent, democratic and financially viable and prosperous Ukraine,” said Gayle Smith, USAID Administrator.

This is the third $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee issued to Ukraine and the country has received support from the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, European Union and other donors.

The Government Accountability Office has recommended the Office of Personnel Management establish a process to help other agencies validate their data on how many political appointees become career federal workers.

GAO said Friday it examined the number of conversions as reported by agencies between Jan. 1, 2010 and Oct. 1, 2015, as well as the extent to which agencies sought approval before making such conversions.

Auditors found eight agencies implemented 17 conversions without receiving prior approval from OPM.

GAO said OPM completed post-appointment reviews for 13 of those 17 political conversions, approved nine conversions and denied four.

OPM recently implemented new procedures that require agencies to notify within two months when an OPM-approved conversion of a political appointee is complete to comply with the new reporting requirements in the Transitions Act.

The General Services Administration has launched a new effort to support data standardization and data federation systems across federal and local government agencies and also promote open and interconnected digital government.

GSA said Thursday U.S. Data Federation will build on efforts of Data.gov and utilize case studies that demonstrate unified and coherent data architectures across multiple agencies and help the public compare data analysis across government bodies.

U.S. Data Federation will aid the agency’s Open Government Plan and emphasize emerging data standards as well as facilitate participation from government agencies and develop reusable components for data federation such as schema documentation tools, schema validation tools and automated data aggregation.

“The U.S. Data Federation is one of many initiatives the Obama Administration has launched to support government-wide data standardization,” GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth said.

Roth noted that the GSA-led effort to promote open data aims to help bolster transparency throughout government and boost the quality of products and services delivered to citizens.

The Information Sharing and Analysis Organization Standards Organization will publish four initial voluntary guideline documents for information sharing and analysis related to cybersecurity risks, incidents and practices.

ISAO SO said Thursday it will publish the Introduction to ISAOs, Guidelines for Establishing an ISAO, Introduction to Information Sharing and U.S. Government Relations, Programs, and Services documents in response to a White House executive order that calls for agencies, private businesses and nonprofit organizations to exchange cyber data.

“The ISAO SO, supported by a dedicated cadre of volunteers, aims to grow the information sharing community and equip it with the tools needed to improve the cybersecurity posture of all communities of interest across the nation,” said Greg White, ISAO SO executive director.

“The publication of these documents represents the collaboration of over 160 experts from industry, government, and academia, combined with the input and feedback of the public.”

The University of Texas at San Antonio leads the ISAO SO in partnership with LMI and the Retail Cyber Intelligence Sharing Center to facilitate the implementation of PEO 13691.

ISAO SO will hold an online public meeting on Oct. 20 to discuss upcoming publications, a national information sharing conference for 2017 and a question and answer session with the organization’s leaders.

The Office of Personnel Management has announced the launch of the National Background Investigations Bureau and appointment of Charles Phalen, formerly vice president of corporate security at Northrop Grumman, as director of NBIB.

Beth Cobert, acting OPM director, wrote in a blog post published Thursday Phalen will assume his role on Oct. 1 at NBIB, which will replace OPM’s Federal Investigative Services organization.

The White House announced in January the plan to establish NBIB to oversee background checks on federal contractors and employees as part of efforts to update the security clearance and investigation process.

Phalen, who previously worked at the CIA for four years as director of security, will bring his industry and government experience in information, physical and personnel security to NBIB in support of the bureau’s mission to streamline the background investigation process, according to Cobert.

Cobert, an inductee into Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 for 2016, said NBIB will be based in Washington and will have a new organizational structure that aims to promote use of data-driven processes, agile acquisition strategy and strategic engagement with stakeholders.

She noted that NBIB will collaborate with the Defense Department to develop a digital information technology platform that seeks to ensure data security and interoperability and establish a law enforcement liaison division that will work to facilitate access to criminal history records.

The new bureau will also set up a federal investigative records enterprise office that will be responsible for the management and automation of the collection and retention processes for government-wide background check records as well as consolidate the administration of contract and federal field operations into a single organization, Cobert said.

Other initiatives that NBIB plans to execute include the establishment of a business transformation unit, suitability executive agent entity and a customer engagement unit, Cobert added.