NIH Issues $20M in Peripheral Nervous System Research Funds
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NIH Issues $20M in Peripheral Nervous System Research Funds


HealthThe National Institutes of Health will provide approximately $20 million in funds to support research of the peripheral nervous system as part of the agency’s Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions program.

NIH said Thursday it aims to help find new treatments for asthma, diabetes and nausea with additional goals to grow knowledge and address technology challenges.

Goals of the biological projects include the creation of anatomical and functional nervous system maps, while technology developments will help make or update measurement and manipulation tools for nerve-organ interactions and function isolations.

SPARC also awarded private sector and academic collaborative research grants in search of new therapeutic strategies for nervous system ailments.

James Anderson, an NIH division director, said the program sponsors multidisciplinary collaborations in an effort to push forward peripheral nervous system research and treatments.

“The SPARC program invests in high-risk, goal-driven projects to discover the underlying mechanisms and pathways by which the peripheral nervous system controls internal organ function,” said Gene Civillico, SPARC program manager.

“These awards have the potential to catalyze next-generation neuromodulation therapies that could bring improved specificity for patients over both drug therapies and previous-generation devices.”

NIH Common Fund will finance SPARC, which seeks to discover peripheral nerve functions to help identify new treatments for common conditions and diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and heart failure.

The program works to understand how peripheral nerve therapies affect a target organ’s cells to support the efficiency of treatments for an individual and the population at-large.

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White House Announces 29 New Digital Tools Under Opportunity Project
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White House Announces 29 New Digital Tools Under Opportunity Project


digital governmentThe White House has unveiled 29 new digital tools from nonprofit organizations, companies and students that support national priorities as part of President Barack Obama’s Opportunity Project.

The tools use federal and local data to address challenges identified by the departments of Labor, Transportation, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and the Office of the Surgeon General, the White House said Thursday.

Organizations such as Great Schools, the University of Oregon, MapBox, Airbnb and FitBit collaborated with community members to create tools that aim to tackle issues such as unemployment, transit accessibility and quality of schoolsd.

The Education Department released the Civil Rights Data Collection Application Program Interfaces to provide users federal data on civil rights and course access, while DOL launched the OpenSkills API that features jobs, skills, training and wage data.

The White House also called on the public to develop new tools, offer data sources and invent ways to use open data to support communities.

The Commerce Department will lead the Opportunity Project and collaborate with other federal agencies to form data sets and establish core national priorities that will involve the technology sector’s input.

The Census Bureau updated opportunity.census.gov to help software developers, universities and community partners to access project data and existing tools as well as build new tools and form collaborations.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will share data, maps and code behind NOAA’s Climate Resilience Toolkit through the Opportunity Project.

The Opportunity Project launched in March 2016 with the goal to encourage the creation digital tools to aid the needs of communities through open data.

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Katrina McFarland, Lt. Gen. Michael Williamson Talk Army’s Acquisition Reform Efforts, Procurement Priorities
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Katrina McFarland, Lt. Gen. Michael Williamson Talk Army’s Acquisition Reform Efforts, Procurement Priorities


Katrina McFarland
Katrina McFarland

Katrina McFarland, acquisition chief at the U.S. Army; and Lt. Gen. Michael Williamson, principal military deputy to the service branch’s acquisition chief; have discussed acquisition reform initiatives and procurement priorities at the military branch, Defense News reported Wednesday.

Michael Williamson
Michael Williamson

McFarland told Defense News reporter Jen Judson in an interview about the involvement of the military branch’s senior leadership team in efforts to set up an agile acquisition process through the Army’s Requirements Oversight Council and Army Systems Acquisition Review Council amid evolving threats and adversaries.

She also offered updates on the Army’s rapid capabilities office and Strategic Portfolio Analysis Review.

Williamson told Defense News about some of the service branch’s procurement priorities such as the mobile protected fire power program for ground combat vehicles, long range precision fires, aircraft survivability, as well as position, navigation and timing.

He also cited the Army’s goal to bring more capability to its warfighters and efforts related to the Network Integration Evaluation.

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Mary Davie: GSA Updates IT Product & Service Navigator Tool for Acquisition Pros
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Mary Davie: GSA Updates IT Product & Service Navigator Tool for Acquisition Pros


online licensingThe General Services Administration‘s integrated technology services branch has redesigned its online purchasing support tool in an effort to help acquisition professionals discover and evaluate the department’s information technology and telecommunications services.

Mary Davie
Mary Davie

Mary Davie, GSA ITS assistant commissioner, said in a blog post published Wednesday the agency revamped its IT Solutions Navigator tool to help boost users’ review and selection experiences, offer best-option identification and optimize search results for IT and telecommunications offerings.

Davie noted that users can utilize the acquisition tool to streamline access to GSA’s IT product and service offerings, search for IT systems based on keywords, identify green IT product and service categories and link to information about contract vehicles and assisted services.

IT Solutions Navigator works to to help government agencies find IT products and services online and fulfill demand for an automated decision support tool that works to narrow down acquisition product choices through GSA contracts.

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GAO Asks OMB to Study Inclusion of Land Mobile Radio in Category Mgmt Effort
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GAO Asks OMB to Study Inclusion of Land Mobile Radio in Category Mgmt Effort


TRadioTowerhe Government Accountability Office has recommended the Office of Management and Budget study the potential inclusion of land mobile radio equipment in its category management initiative.

GAO said Wednesday it examined federal agencies’ LMR interoperability and procurement practices through a survey and found half of respondents cited the use of proprietary features and encryption and the scarce investment in LMR systems pose a roadblock to goals.

Forty-percent percent of agencies purchase equipment from pre-approved vendors through a sole-source procurement, GAO said.

“While this approach can facilitate cost savings and interoperability, many of these agencies reported purchasing equipment through multiple agreements, a practice that can reduce these benefits,” the government watchdog noted.

OMB has required agencies to use category management in order to handle spending across government for goods and services except for LMR equipment, according to GAO.

“By including LMR equipment in OMB’s category management initiative, the government could more fully leverage its aggregate buying power to obtain the most advantageous terms and conditions for LMR procurements,” GAO said.

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Army CIO Robert Ferrell Talks Data Center Reduction Efforts, New RFP at AUSA Conference
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Army CIO Robert Ferrell Talks Data Center Reduction Efforts, New RFP at AUSA Conference


Robert Ferrell
Robert Ferrell

Lt. Gen. Robert Ferrell, chief information officer of the U.S. Army, has said that one of the service branch’s information technology programs is to reduce the number of data centers from over 200 to 10, C4ISRNet reported Wednesday.

Mark Pomerleau writes Ferrell said during a panel discussion at the Association of the U.S. Army conference that the military branch has awarded a contract for a data center pilot program at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama.

He also mentioned that the military branch has issued a request for proposals for a new platform that will work to provide voice and video capabilities for warfighters as part of the Army’s effort to establish a software-defined environment, Pomerleau reports.

Other IT projects that Ferrell cited at the AUSA conference include an initiative that seeks to automate security and patching efforts for the Army’s enterprise networks, migration to Windows 10 operating system and development work on the Network Integration Evaluation, the report added.

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DHS, NASA Develop Calculation Tool to Help Mitigate Solar Storm Impact on Electric Grid
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DHS, NASA Develop Calculation Tool to Help Mitigate Solar Storm Impact on Electric Grid


transmission tower against the sun during sunsetThe Department of Homeland Security and NASA have collaborated on the development of an online geoelectric field computing platform that will work to support solar storm preparation efforts.

DHS’ science and technology directorate and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center built the Online Geoelectric Field Calculation Tool to aid in the planning and preparation ahead of solar storms in effort to mitigate effects on the electric grid, DHS said Wednesday.

The tool works to compute localized geoelectric field data from uploaded historical inputs and ground conductivity models to help predict geo-magnetically induced currents from solar storms within specific areas in a grid.

Goddard’s partnership with DHS S&T also seeks to create a prototype of a real-time forecasting platform and builds on NASA’s joint efforts with the DHS First Responders Group to create a forecasting system that serves to help electric utility owners and operators alleviate the potential effects of a solar storm on the U.S. electric grid.

“By providing accurate and tailored forecasts specific to a utility’s location, utility operators will be better informed to make operational decisions in preparation for potential damage caused by solar storms,” said Sarah Mahmood, DHS S&T solar storm mitigation project manager.

She noted that decision-makers may use the forecasting information to reschedule maintenance work, reduce load or temporarily shut down grid components.

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Reports: White House Unveils Joint Armed UAV Export Declaration With Over 40 Countries
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Reports: White House Unveils Joint Armed UAV Export Declaration With Over 40 Countries


droneThe White House has introduced a joint declaration with more than 40 countries that sets five principles for the export and use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles, Defense News reported Wednesday.

Aaron Mehta writes that 43 countries have signed the joint statement that include the U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore and South Korea.

Brian Nilsson, deputy assistant secretary for defense trade controls at the State Department, told Defense News that the declaration is based on a framework used for the Hague Code of Conduct, an international agreement that seeks to prevent the proliferation of ballistic missiles.

Nilsson said the declaration seeks to serve as a platform for signatories to convene in 2017 in order to set up an organization that would establish standards for the use and import of drones, according to a report by Anthony Capaccio for Bloomberg.

The report added that Russia, Israel and China are among the countries that have not signed the joint statement.

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CMS Seeks CIO & Enterprise Info Office Director
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CMS Seeks CIO & Enterprise Info Office Director


JobAdThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services looks for a professional who can concurrently serve as chief information officer and director of the Office of Enterprise Information at CMS.

CMS said in a USAJobs notice posted Wednesday that the CIO is responsible for technology required to deliver Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and HealthCare.gov.

The Senior Executive Service position involves oversight of information technology management and modernization efforts as well as security of data and systems across the agency.

The incumbent will also represent CMS in IT-related discussions with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Office of Management and Budget.

The CIO will also lead CMS’ efforts to implement key business and policy goals through modern technology and align business and system investments across Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP and HealthCare.gov.

The selected applicant will promote national and regional health data and information exchange to support agency and industry-wide interoperability as well as develop performance measures for accountability and risk management programs.

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DHS, America’s Public TV Stations Team Up to Advance Datacasting Use by First Responders
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DHS, America’s Public TV Stations Team Up to Advance Datacasting Use by First Responders


partnershipThe Department of Homeland Security has partnered with America’s Public Television Stations in an effort to promote the availability of datacasting platforms designed to facilitate communications for first responders.

DHS said Wednesday a datacasting system works to help users transmit files, images, voice and videos to a specific audience through broadcast television signals during emergencies.

DHS science and technology directorate’s first responders group teamed up with APTS through a memorandum of agreement.

According to the department, the datacasting platform has been tested in several pilot programs, such as the flooding response efforts in April and the debate of Republican presidential candidates in Houston.

APTS is a nonprofit organization that runs approximately 350 public TV stations across the U.S. and territories.

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