Gordian Report Shows 19.5% Increase in Construction Material Costs
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Gordian Report Shows 19.5% Increase in Construction Material Costs

Construction material costs have increased by 19.5 percent on average in the past year, according to a Gordian analysis of data from the RSMeans estimating platform.

The software provider said Monday that the majority of equipment costs and labor wages rose by 5 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively.

RSMeans has been a source of information on construction equipment, labor and material costs for 81 years. The latest estimates from the database showed price hikes in all three segments, most notably in materials.

Gordian cited an increase in a vast majority (82.5 percent) of material costs, some of which fluctuated quarterly. It also stated that 85.7 percent of equipment expenditures rose at an average of more than 5 percent, while labor wages went up by 3.4 percent since 2021.

Chris Gaudreau, chief technology officer of Gordian, said the company invested in manpower, research operations and data automation to improve the accuracy of their datasets.

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Bradley Flick, Dave Mitchell to Lead 2 NASA Research Centers; Bill Nelson Quoted
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Bradley Flick, Dave Mitchell to Lead 2 NASA Research Centers; Bill Nelson Quoted

NASA has expanded its research center leadership team with the appointment of Bradley Flick as director of the Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California and Dave Mitchell as acting director of Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Flick, who has led Armstrong on an acting basis since July, will continue to oversee overall management, strategy and operation functions at the center, which focuses on advancements in aeronautics, aerospace technology and Earth and space science, NASA said Tuesday.

The executive previously served as director of Amstrong’s Research and Engineering Directorate, where he managed the development and testing of research and experimental aerospace systems in multiple discipline areas.

“Under Brad’s leadership, NASA Armstrong will continue to innovate and keep America at the forefront of aviation and aerospace advancements,” said Bill Nelson, administrator of NASA.

Mitchell, who currently serves as chief program management officer at NASA, will assume his new position at Goddard on Jan. 1. Prior to his present job, he was director of Goddard’s Engineering and Technology Directorate and Flight Projects Directorate. In addition, Mitchell served in the U.S. Navy from 1984 to 1987.

“He will be all-in at Goddard to ensure a seamless transition as we work to not only fill the center director position permanently, but also the position of associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, which is so closely intertwined with Goddard’s work,” Nelson commented.

Accenture Federal Services Co-Authors Report Calling for Customer-Centric Government Services; Megan Peterman Quoted
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Accenture Federal Services Co-Authors Report Calling for Customer-Centric Government Services; Megan Peterman Quoted

A new report released by Accenture Federal Services and the Partnership for Public Service, “Designing a Government for the People: Collaborative Approaches to Federal Customer Experience,” details the two organizations’ recommendations for improved customer experience in federal agencies.

According to the report, government entities should tailor their CX systems to fit users’ lives to provide a simple, seamless and secure process, Accenture disclosed from Arlington, Virginia on Tuesday.

“Truly shifting from a culture of waivers and workarounds to a deeply embedded, customer-centric mindset requires greater collaboration and investment among multiple stakeholders beyond the core CX community – including finance, human resources, legal, and beyond – to address long-standing barriers,” explained Megan Peterman, customer experience and design leader at Accenture Federal Services. 

To create the report, the two organizations interviewed customer experience professionals, individuals involved with designing and implementing services in federal agencies and experts from research institutes and universities.

Content from these interviews indicates a gap between federal processes and organizational methods and customer needs. The report states that these systems, which were built with agency use in mind, do not serve customers with the same efficiency.

A 2021 Executive Order referenced in the report called upon government agencies to reduce the burden these processes place on customers, which the White House states was over nine billion hours in recent years. According to the report, the shift to customer-centric systems requires a transformation of the way the government conducts business.

The report recommends using root cause analysis as opposed to focusing on symptoms of the issues when determining customer’s problems and possible solutions.

Accenture Federal Services and the Partnership for Public Service identified seven steps federal agencies should take when moving to a customer-centric mindset, which span the areas of agency leadership, technology and most importantly, communication.

“When we give federal agencies the correct tools to implement positive change in their customer experience systems, they do so effectively,” said Loren DeJonge Schulman, vice president of research, evaluation and modernizing government at the Partnership for Public Service.

The first two steps, empowered leadership and an engaged and accountable agency enterprise, suggest that insights on customer experience should be distributed within organizations and agency-wide standards for customer experience performance should be established.

Steps three, four and five call for a knowledge mobilization strategy to solve customer problems, a data-sharing policy infrastructure and a digital enterprise to ensure a consistent customer experience.

The last two recommendations push for external partnerships and collaboration with customers, which would enable federal agencies to consider information from important resources outside of the government during this process.

“If agencies listen to customers first, they can overcome historic physical, emotional, and resource barriers,” DeJonge Schulman stated.

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ICF Secures 2 CMS Contracts for Digital Modernization Services; Mark Lee Quoted
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ICF Secures 2 CMS Contracts for Digital Modernization Services; Mark Lee Quoted

ICF has landed two contracts from the Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to aid in the center’s digital modernization endeavors.

The contracts share the goal of improving access to key public health data and will expand the work of SemanticBits, which was acquired by ICF this year, the Reston, Virginia-based organization announced on Nov. 21.

“As the single largest payer for healthcare in the U.S., CMS generates and collects enormous amounts of data. We bring a full suite of scalable digital modernization services to help CMS rapidly improve data quality and accessibility by healthcare professionals and the public, empowering the agency to better meet its overall mission of enhancing patient care and reducing costs,” said Mark Lee, executive vice president of ICF’s public sector.

The first award is valued at $25 million and tasks ICF with developing, operating and maintaining the agency’s health data sharing website to ensure that both healthcare professionals and the public can easily find, access and use important information. It has a six-month base period with four one-year option periods.

Under the second contract, a $20 million expansion with a one-year term, the company is responsible for modernizing CMS’ Internet Quality Improvement and Evaluation System, which is utilized by healthcare providers and over 60 federal and state agencies.

Additionally, ICF will continue building systems that meet Medicare survey requirements and implement modifications in compliance with federal reporting standards.

The two task orders follow ICF’s win of a previous Department of Health and Human Services award for providing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration with digital modernization services.

Prior to the acquisition by ICF, SemanticBits was awarded two contracts, both of which are ongoing, by CMS last year. Under the first award, SemanticBits is currently developing the End Stage Renal Disease Quality Reporting System Portal. Under the second award, which falls under the CMS Quality Improvement Organization program, the company is supporting the enhancement of Medicare services’ effectiveness, efficiency, economy and quality.

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GAO Cites Regulatory Lapses in IoT Device Use in Critical Infrastructure
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GAO Cites Regulatory Lapses in IoT Device Use in Critical Infrastructure

The Government Accountability Office is urging lead agencies to measure the effectiveness of cybersecurity programs they established to protect Internet of Things and operational technology use in critical infrastructure sectors.

In a report released Thursday, GAO reviewed cybersecurity initiatives launched by the Departments of Energy, Health and Human Services, Transportation and Homeland Security, which govern the electricity, transportation and health care industries.

IoT and OT devices are widely used to deliver services in critical infrastructure. To ensure data privacy and safety, agencies including the DOE, HHS, DOT and DHS launched IT protection programs based on guidelines from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. They are required by the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2020, which bans the purchase and use of IoT products that are not compliant with NIST standards.

GAO found that the agencies did not have metrics to evaluate their initiatives’ effectiveness. The government watchdog also learned that the Office of Management and Budget does not have a standardized process for waiving the ban on non-compliant devices who meet certain criteria under the Act.

The reviewed agencies said they have noted GAO’s recommendations and will coordinate to formulate an action plan. OMB explained that it intended to release the waiver guidance in November.

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Institute of Defense Analyses Report Evaluates DOD Hiring Process
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Institute of Defense Analyses Report Evaluates DOD Hiring Process

The Department of Defense should consider additional compensation funding, create a requirements process and metrics, and build relationships in its recruitment of workers with skills critical to national security, the Institute of Defense Analyses said.

A recent IDA report focused on the efficacy of DOD’s human resources programs for hiring, developing and retaining skilled workers, such as specialists of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

DOD invested in various outreach, education and recruitment initiatives to target students, interns and professionals equipped with capabilities in STEM, technological innovation, computer science and critical languages. However, differences in civilian and military hiring processes within individual commands and branches have sometimes resulted in the programs’ apparent shortfalls.

Based on data from interviews with 127 HR employees, IDA found that local DOD branches are often under-resourced when it comes to civilian recruiting, and fail to match the applicant to the work that needs to be performed. Meanwhile, defense commands only base employee selection on existing skill sets and career paths instead of new and emerging STEM-related capabilities.

The institute recommended that military services coordinate with civilian recruiting to access STEM talent. It also called for additional training of HR staff on direct hiring and fielding specialized teams to help reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks.

To avoid losing skilled talent to the private sector, DOD must implement incentives and redistribute financial resources to attract employees through compensation, IDA said.

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NASA Provides ESA Laser Retroreflector for Lunar Pathfinder Mission
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NASA Provides ESA Laser Retroreflector for Lunar Pathfinder Mission

NASA announced Saturday that it has officially handed over a laser retroreflector array to the European Space Agency for its Lunar Pathfinder satellite mission.

Developed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the instrument is the is the initial flight component to be installed on the world’s first spacecraft dedicated to lunar communication services.

Scheduled for launch in 2024, Lunar Pathfinder is a collaboration between NASA and ESA. For ESA’s part, the mission will advance its Moonlight vision and test if existing Global Navigation Satellite Systems can effectively be positioned on the moon. The agency also intends to deploy a weather monitor for studying radiation levels around the moon.

The laser retroreflectors are expected to provide precise measurements of the Pathfinder’s position, and to check the performance of GNSS. The data will be used by NASA to navigate its Artemis missions, and to further research in lunar science and the structure of celestial bodies.

Surrey Satellite Technology built Lunar Pathfinder and is leading the expedition with the two space agencies.

OPM to Instate Rule Allowing 10-Year Temp Hiring of Federal STEM Workers
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OPM to Instate Rule Allowing 10-Year Temp Hiring of Federal STEM Workers

The Office of Personnel Management has finalized a rule allowing term appointments of more than four and maximum of 10 years for federal job posts related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

According to a notice in Federal Register, the rule, which takes effect Jan. 3, will enable government agencies to fill non-permanent positions in long-term STEM-related projects.

OPM proposed the rule in 2020 in an aim to meet the needs of time-limited projects with STEM vacancies. It would include a hiring authority to serve as a supplement but not a substitute for current recruitment agencies. 

Research data showing that over 37 percent of STEM-related appointments in the last five fiscal years were extended upon the expiration of their four-year contract in part prompted the agency to issue the proposal.

The longer-term recruitment regulation is expected to benefit programs on information technology development and implementation, as well as projects that need manpower for research, analysis, testing and data collection. It could also improve federal agencies’ chances of attracting and retaining talent with up-to-date knowledge and training in the four disciplines, OPM stated.

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Lloyd Austin: Congress Should Pass On-Time Appropriation to Advance US Deterrence
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Lloyd Austin: Congress Should Pass On-Time Appropriation to Advance US Deterrence

Lloyd Austin, secretary of the Department of Defense and a two-time Wash100 awardee, has called on Congress to approve a federal budget to further strengthen U.S. deterrence and “compete in this decisive decade.”

He said deterrence calls for the development of cutting-edge technological capabilities in space, cyberspace and other domains where conflicts of the 21st century could emerge. 

He noted that DOD’s budget request for fiscal year 2023 includes $34 billion in funds to support the continued modernization of the country’s nuclear triad and improve its nuclear command, control and communications capabilities. 

“So let me urge Congress to pass an on-time appropriation so that we can get the capabilities to further strengthen our deterrence,” Austin said during his remarks at the Reagan National Defense Forum held Saturday in Simi Valley, California.

He said DOD has increased its focus on the Indo-Pacific region through investments in logistics, military construction and infrastructure and mobilization of U.S. troops.

Austin provided updates on the AUKUS partnership, which seeks to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence, hypersonics and other tech capabilities with the U.K. and Australia, and cited the establishment of the office of strategic capital at DOD.

“This important office will work to secure U.S. private-sector investment in critical defense-technology areas, ensuring that technology developed in America benefits America. And it’s an example of how we’re creating the conditions for innovators to succeed,” he added.

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Luis Lopez Named Education Department CIO
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Luis Lopez Named Education Department CIO

Luis Lopez, chief of operational services in the enterprise technology services division at the Department of Education, will assume the role of chief information officer at the department on Dec. 18.

Cindy Marten, deputy secretary of education, said in a statement published Friday Lopez has helped modernize the department’s information technology infrastructure to facilitate its transition to a remote and hybrid workforce and will bring to the role his experience in government IT services delivery.

Federal News Network reported that Lopez will succeed Jason Gray, who joined the U.S. Agency for International Development in August to serve as CIO, and will oversee efforts as the department works to adopt zero trust principles.

In 2017, Lopez joined the Education Department and served as director of enterprise technology services. In this role, he led the move from a 12-year IT service delivery contract to a new model to support software upgrades and infrastructure modernization initiatives.

Before joining the department, he served as chief engineer at the Defense Health Agency and chief of operations at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

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