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.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Director Robert Cardillo has said NGA partnered with the General Services Administration to establish a program that seeks to facilitate the adoption and acquisition of commercial data and analysis services as part of NGA’s open content strategy.

Cardillo told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee Tuesday that the Commercial Initiative to Buy Operationally Responsive GEOINT program aims to use GSA schedules and other government-wide contract vehicles to aid in the procurement of commercial imagery and analytical services, NGA reported Tuesday.

NGA expects the CIBORG program with GSA to serve as a platform in early 2017 for the purchase of commercial services in support of missions of NGA and the National System for Geospatial-Intelligence, he said.

Cardillo, an inductee into Executive Mosaic‘s Wash100 list for 2016, told the Senate panel that NGA created the open content strategy in an effort to meet customers’ GEOINT needs, explore new forms of data and apply data to carry out the agency’s missions.

He also cited that NGA also released an acquisition strategy in August in order to promote transparency in procurement, create opportunities for industry interaction and engage with non-conventional and traditional contractors.

Other NGA initiatives he mentioned in his testimony before the Senate committee include the establishment of NGA Outpost Valley in Silicon Valley and launch of the On-Domain, On-Demand training system for agency staff.

Cardillo also cited the creation of the Future Needs Working Group in order to identify future geospatial needs to support national security efforts as well as NGA’s adoption of activity-based intelligence that seeks to promote use of big data analytics to detect hostile threats.

NASA and a state-owned aerospace company in China have entered into a partnership to carry out a five-year joint aeronautics research initiative in an effort to update air transportation and work toward greater automation of aviation operations in both countries.

Both parties will gather and analyze data from Chinese airports to support air traffic management efficiency and the advancement of air transportation concepts and tools, NASA said Thursday.

NASA will collaborate with U.S. airlines and the Chinese Aeronautical Establishment will partner with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the China Air Traffic Management Bureau and Chinese airports and airlines for the study.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the study will work to advance ground delay predictions to help air carriers to schedule their departures.

He added that the project looks to impact U.S. carrier operations in China and the global aviation community.

The study is in line with another research effort by the Airspace Operations and Safety Program within NASA’s aeronautics research mission directorate.