The Biden administration has released its implementation plan for the ten-year National Strategy for the Arctic Region.

The plan includes over 30 objectives and 200 recommended actions to address the impact of climate change on the region while creating sustainable development opportunities for its inhabitants, the White House said in a statement issued Monday.

NSARIP discusses four main pillars focusing on homeland security, environmental protection, sustainable economic development and international cooperation and governance.

It assigns one lead representative each from the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to coordinate military and civilian activities for security as well as research and development.

The government will also involve allied partners such as Canada and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to strengthen information sharing and contingencies in the face of threats from adversaries including Russia.

The plan will undergo annual review, with progress reports from federal agencies, and revisited every five years, the White House stated.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Space Bureau will release guidance on its procedures and authorization requirements for space and earth station operations as part of its transparency initiative for satellite applicants.

FCC said Monday it will host an Open House on Nov. 1 to gather questions from interested parties about the commission’s space station licensing process.

The Space Bureau will post answers to frequently asked questions regarding its authorization procedures and update applicant guides and other explanatory documents as part of the initiative.

“Making sure everyone understands how to be a part of that growth is a crucial part of maintaining U.S. leadership, and increasing competition in the space sector benefits us all,” said FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.

Established in April, the Space Bureau oversees policy and licensing matters related to satellite and space-based communications.

The Department of the Treasury has revealed that it invested nearly $22 billion in federal funding across three programs to spur small business growth this year through June.

Treasury said Monday the State Small Business Credit Initiative approved applications for capital programs representing $8.2 billion in potential funding in the first half of the year. The State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program has reportedly allocated over $5 billion for more than 1,400 small business development projects.

The department’s Emergency Capital Investment Program also invested over $8.5 billion to help community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions strengthen their efforts to support small businesses and consumers.

Data from the Census Bureau revealed that more than 10 million small businesses were established from 2021 to 2022, the highest recorded number for a two-year period.

Engineering company Draper has chosen Unanet’s enterprise resource planning and customer resource management platform to support its growth strategy.

Draper, a developer of space, biotechnology, strategic and electronic systems for national security customers, made the decision after reviewing the ability of various systems to handle an expected doubling of its headcount and revenue over the next decade, Unanet announced from its Dulles, Virginia headquarters last week.

Marjorie Quant, Draper’s chief operating officer, said reducing manual processes to help its people perform important work is a “key component” of achieving its Draper NXT vision, which the company describes as “innovation in the national interest.”

“In our business environment, change happens fairly rapidly, and we must adapt quickly to develop innovative, mission-critical solutions for our customers,” added Vanessa Bryan, principal director of corporate operations at Draper.

She said the company sought out “the right modern business tools” to embrace these changes and ensure Draper’s distributed workforce could operate effectively.

Unanet’s software was one of multiple contenders evaluated in various scenarios. Platforms were scored in multiple areas, including ease of use and technical competency. Unanet’s ERP and CRM system was chosen for its provision of real-time data access across all operations in a user-friendly dashboard.

“Unanet will be the nucleus of our business ecosystem that will help us automate, integrate and consolidate data into one intuitive dashboard,” Bryan said.

The platform, she elaborated, will enable Draper to attain efficiencies, consistency and compliance “from contract awards to contract closeouts and everything that happens in between.”

Draper’s ongoing expansion is part of a larger trend in the government contracting industry. Released in September, Unanet’s 7th annual GAUGE Report found that approximately 70 percent of government contractors saw growth last year.

Unanet is sponsoring GovCon Wire’s Fireside Chat with the DCMA on Nov. 1. During the virtual event, you will have the chance to hear from Defense Contract Management Agency Director Lt. Gen. David Basset and Kim Koster, vice president of product marketing at Unanet and a GovCon Expert, who will come together to discuss the agency’s key role in the government contracting ecosystem. Click here to learn more, and click here to register for the event.

The Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration named 31 technology manufacturing facilities as official Tech Hubs under the CHIPS and Science Act.

The sites, which are located across 32 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, are part of the first phase of the Tech Hubs economic development initiative, the department announced Monday.

The designees were shortlisted out of 400 applications from public, private and academic sectors as well as labor interest groups and economic development organizations. The winners are entitled to apply for the department’s Tech Hub funding opportunity, which has been authorized to grant a total of $500 million in financial support.

The 31 selected facilities include Elevate Quantum Colorado, Advanced Pharma Manufacturing Tech Hub in Virginia, Minnesota MedTech 3.0 located in Minnesota and Wisconsin, SC Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy in South Carolina and Georgia and the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub in Washington state and Idaho.

“Our Tech Hubs Program is fundamental to that mission and will supercharge innovation across the nation by spurring cutting-edge technological investments and creating 21st century job opportunities in people’s backyards,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo commented. “Each of these consortia will help us ensure the industries of the future—and their good-paying jobs—start, grow, and remain in the United States.”