The Government Accountability Office has asked the U.S. Census Bureau to change the bureau’s life-cycle cost estimating process in order to meet GAO’s recommended characteristics for what a cost estimate entails.

GAO said Thursday the bureau’s 2015 cost estimate for the 2020 Census did not contain the characteristics of what auditors referred to as a “high-quality estimate” and was unreliable as a result.

“Best practices state a risk and uncertainty analysis should be performed to determine the level of risk associated with the cost estimate,” GAO noted.

GAO found that the bureau narrowed the estimated costs analysis down to only the fiscal years 2018 through 2020 and that the narrow analysis covered nearly 37 percent, or $4.6 billion, of the $12.5 billion total estimated life-cycle cost.

For future fiscal years, auditors said the Bureau’s models totaled less than half of the total estimated cost of the census during future fiscal years after 2020.

Government watchdog agency GAO attributed the low overall assessment for the Census Bureau to the lack of a well-documented estimate.

“Improving cost estimation practices will increase the reliability of the Bureau’s cost estimate, which will in turn help improve decision-making, budget formulation, progress measurement, course correction when warranted, and accountability for results,” GAO noted.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will provide geospatial and damage assessment services to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for first responders to use in areas affected by floods across West Virginia.

NGA said Friday that it will supply geospatial data with highlights on severely-flooded areas to help first responders navigate waters and support faster response times to affected residents.

NGA will work with FEMA to deliver location and damage-specific information to local authorities such as county emergency officials, law enforcement officers and the Rhode Island national guard through the use of visualization and web services.

Brian Cameron, NGA disaster analysis and domestic support branch team lead and FEMA liaison, said that NGA’s damage assessment services aim to help first responders quickly determine personnel and resources within a specific affected area.

“We’re coordinating daily with FEMA and regional emergency officials to adjust commercial satellite collection over affected areas,” Cameron said.

Terry Milholland has departed his role as chief technology officer of the Internal Revenue Service as the critical pay authority through which he was hired nears its expiration, FCW reported Friday.

Zach Noble writes Milholland joined the IRS eight years ago after he served as a technical officer at Visa International, Electronic Data Systems and Boeing.

Milholland helped oversee the modernization of IRS’ information technology infrastructure under the Customer Account Data Engine project and also worked on the agency’s efforts to implement the Affordable Care Act, according to the report.

IRS confirmed that Milholland’s last day with the IRS on June 30 and Gina Garza succeeded him as acting CTO, Noble reports.

Space agencies from Poland and China have signed an agreement to cooperate on joint research, monitor and develop new telecommunications systems to spur space cooperation between the two nations, Space News reported Monday.

Brian Berger writes the Polish Space Agency and the Chinese National Space Administration’s partnership aims to help facilitate development of smaller businesses in Poland’s space industry.

“The cooperation between the [POLSA] and [CNSA] will be related to three fields: space research, exchange and use of satellite data to develop our scientific knowledge on Earth, including observation and monitoring of climate change and the environment, and the development of space technology, including in the field of telecommunication,” Marek Banaszkiewicz, POLSA president.

The report added POLSA has also signed space cooperation agreements with government counterparts in France, Italy, Ukraine and Brazil.

C. Dabney O’Riordan — an associate regional director at the Securities and Exchange Commission‘s Los Angeles Regional Office – has been appointed as co-chief of the asset management unit within SEC’s division of enforcement.

SEC said Tuesday O’Riordan will work alongside co-chief Anthony Kelly to lead the unit’s mission to apprehend misconduct of investment advisers, investment companies and private funds.

“Dabney’s excellent judgment, deep knowledge of the laws and rules governing the asset management industry, and strong leadership skills position her perfectly to co-lead the nationwide Asset Management Unit,” said Andrew Ceresney, SEC enforcement division director.

“I am confident that she and her co-chief, Anthony, will be great partners in the unit’s mission and the SEC’s efforts to root out misconduct in the asset management industry.”

In the division of enforcement, O’Riordan previously served as assistant director, counsel to the enforcement division director and staff attorney.

O’Riordan also worked as litigation associate at Munger, Tolles & Olson and as a law clerk to the David Thompson on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

At SEC, she has investigated or supervised enforcement cases on misconduct in the asset management industry such as advisers who misallocated private fund expenses.

O’Riordan has also supervised investigations on charges against gatekeepers.