The U.S. Marine Corps has formally activated the Marine Innovation Unit at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York to accelerate the development and adoption of advanced technology and warfighting capabilities.

The activation of the Marine Innovation Unit, part of the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is in accordance with the 38th Commandant’s Planning Guidance and Force Design 2030, which provides a strategic direction for talent management, education and training and command and leadership, the service branch said Friday.

The unit brings together the existing Marine workforce and professionals from various career fields to work on achieving some of Force Design 2030’s objectives and initiatives.

“MIU exists to act as a strategic connector between industry and the entire Marine Corps. Our Marines are eager to provide that critical capability and enable success for our customers throughout the Total Force,” said Col. Matthew Swindle, commanding officer of MIU.

According to its website, the MIU has four branches focused on advanced capabilities, commercial engagement, defense engagement and technology innovation.

Avril Haines, director of national intelligence and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, said a new organization within her office oversees the intelligence community’s efforts to counter threats posed by foreign actors seeking to influence the U.S. government, The Intercept reported Friday.

Established in September 2022, the Foreign Malign Influence Center is charged with countering foreign disinformation that compromises U.S. election security and might sway the general public’s opinion.

The office uses all elements of the intelligence community, including departments and agencies with diplomatic and law enforcement functions, to combat disinformation campaigns.

“It encompasses our election threat work, essentially looking at foreign influence and interference in elections, but it also deals with disinformation more generally,” Haines told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Haines added that the FMIC is also analyzing intelligence from other foreign adversaries besides Russia to help inform interagency efforts against foreign malign influence.

“What we have been doing is effectively trying to support the Global Engagement Center and others throughout the U.S. government in helping them to understand what are the plans and intentions of the key actors in this space: China, Russia, Iran, etc.,” Haines said.

Project-based enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software provider Unanet has demonstrated its customer approval with high ratings in a recent report.

In the Spring 2023 G2 Reports, Unanet received positive reviews across numerous project-based ERP categories and won Best Overall Results for Mid-Market and Small Business, the Dulles, Virginia-based organization announced last week.

“Feedback from our customers is that we operate with the highest standards of innovation and customer service,” said Chris Crowder, executive vice president of GovCon at Unanet.

“These rankings reflect the growing desire among customers to move away from the status quo that is holding them back and instead choose Unanet’s modern, purpose-built solutions that let them do business on their terms,” Crowder said.

G2’s quarterly reports consider written customer reviews and company reach within select product categories. Unanet received the Users Love Us badge for its customer service and 12 additional badges for its GovCon and AE ERP offerings, including Easiest Setup Mid-Market, Most Implementable Mid-Market and High Performer in the Mid-Market Grid Report, among others.

Akshay Mahajan, Unanet’s executive vice president of AEC, said that the customer reviews show a preference for Unanet as a provider of business operations support. He said that the “most gratifying” aspects of the report were the Users Love Us badge win and the client reviews expressing that Unanet is easy to do business with.

“Innovation and providing the best customer support in the industry is how we’re enabling firms of all sizes to define success on their own terms,” said Mahajan.

The Biden administration has provided updates on the American Rescue Plan’s State Small Business Credit Initiative, which aims to help states, territories and tribal governments secure funding to create small business investment programs, the Department of the Treasury said Thursday.

The State Small Business Credit Initiative and Rebuilding the U.S. Manufacturing Base report revealed that the Treasury Department had approved 52 applications for SSBCI totaling over $8 billion in allocations and states had begun providing lending and investment opportunities to small businesses.

Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the Treasury Department, said small manufacturing businesses play a vital role in the U.S. economy and the SSBCI is “helping unlock the potential of entrepreneurs across the manufacturing sector.”

Passed in 2021, the American Rescue Plan reauthorized the $10 billion SSBCI program to expand access to small business capital and invest in job-creating opportunities.

Vice President Kamala Harris is set to discuss the new SSBCI report during a visit to a small manufacturing company in Virginia, which is among the state recipients of the investment.