Biden Administration Begins Initiative to Expand Access to Capital for Small Businesses
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Biden Administration Begins Initiative to Expand Access to Capital for Small Businesses

The Biden administration is looking to strengthen the small businesses sector by expanding access to capital, investments, technical assistance and services required to support the companies’ growth initiatives.

As part of the initiative, the administration has proposed rules to diversify the network of private funds and managers that provide long-term debt or equity investments to small businesses and extend additional licenses to nonbank lenders and community development financial institutions, the White House said Tuesday. 

The Small Business Administration is also proposing to update regulations governing certain loan programs to ease processing burdens for small business borrowers.

In December 2022, SBA partnered with the Department of Defense to launch the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technologies Initiative to drive investments in critical technologies that are key to national security.

The Department of the Treasury has also implemented the State Small Business Credit Initiative to provide a total of $10 billion to state, local and tribal governments to expand access to capital for small businesses.

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 span.

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GAO: DOE Should Hold Periodic Meetings to Share Information on Contracting Process
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GAO: DOE Should Hold Periodic Meetings to Share Information on Contracting Process

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Energy conduct periodic meetings to facilitate sharing of information with industry stakeholders on how competitions are carried out for contracts to operate national laboratories and perform environmental cleanup work. GAO also encouraged DOE to share how proposals are assessed.

GAO interviewed DOE officials and industry representatives and examined contract files for 15 competitions and found that fewer companies and universities submitted bids for management and operating contracts than for other contract types between fiscal years 2015 and 2020, according to a report published Tuesday.

Industry representatives that the congressional watchdog interviewed raised concerns over the fairness of the contract award process.

GAO additionally found that DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration and the Office of Science have not conducted quarterly meetings with industry entities that could help shed light on how they conduct competitions.

“Improved information sharing could help these components address industry perceptions about fairness, which could in turn remove barriers to a more competitive acquisition environment,” the report reads.

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NASA, DARPA Partner on Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Tech Demonstration Program
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NASA, DARPA Partner on Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Tech Demonstration Program

NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have teamed up on a program that seeks to build and demonstrate a nuclear thermal rocket engine that could support future manned missions to Mars.

Under the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations program, DARPA will serve as the contracting authority for the development of the entire stage and nuclear thermal engine and manage rocket systems integration and procurement, security, scheduling, approvals, cover safety and liability, the space agency said Tuesday.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson shared that the two agencies will work together to demonstrate the nuclear thermal propulsion system through the DRACO program as early as 2027.

NASA’s space technology mission directorate will oversee technical development work on the engine for integration with DARPA’s experimental spacecraft.

“The ability to accomplish leap-ahead advances in space technology through the DRACO nuclear thermal rocket program will be essential for more efficiently and quickly transporting material to the Moon and eventually, people to Mars,” commented DARPA Director Stefanie Tompkins.

AFMC Trains Focus on Digital Materiel Management to Advance Warfighting Capabilities
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AFMC Trains Focus on Digital Materiel Management to Advance Warfighting Capabilities

Air Force Materiel Command is shifting its operational focus to prioritize digital materiel management and streamline acquisition processes to deliver advanced, integrated capabilities to warfighters.

Digital materiel management is one of the core priorities outlined in the 2023 AFMC Strategic Plan to revolutionize the command’s critical processes to achieve mission objectives, AFMC said Tuesday.

“To support the focus, our team will be working to establish a series of enduring initiatives to drive digital methods across the entire lifecycle of our warfighting systems and installation and mission support capabilities,” said Kyle Hurst, chief of the Department of the Air Force Digital Transformation Office.

The new digital plan involves the development of model-based systems engineering frameworks, the migration to cloud-hosted tool environments and the deployment of open software architectures.

Hurst said using modern tools and automated processes will enable AFMC to develop and deploy improved weapons systems necessary to keep up with China’s technological advancement.

“The People’s Republic of China is outpacing our ability to develop and deploy systems at an alarming rate. Digital Materiel Management activities are an essential component in accelerating our acquisition efforts to meet our near-peer challenges,” Hurst added.

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Senators Urge GAO to Look at National Security Risks Posed by Contracting Conflicts of Interest
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Senators Urge GAO to Look at National Security Risks Posed by Contracting Conflicts of Interest

Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., have asked the Government Accountability Office to assess the national security risks associated with consulting firms doing business with both the U.S. government and the Chinese government and its affiliates.

“Although firms doing business for the Chinese government or its associates may argue that structural divisions between corporate entities servicing the Chinese and American governments, respectively, are sufficient to eliminate security risks or conflicts of interest posed by their work – we remain concerned that information sharing within these companies may result in Chinese entities accessing or taking advantage of firms’ access to U.S. government data, classified or otherwise,” the lawmakers wrote in a Tuesday letter to Gene Dodaro, GAO’s comptroller general.

According to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, the lawmakers’ request to GAO builds on a bipartisan law that seeks to prevent conflicts of interest in the federal contracting sector.

The senators are asking GAO to evaluate the extent to which federal agencies gather information on contracts carried out on behalf of the Chinese government by consulting companies that have contracts with the U.S. government. The pair suggests identifying contract clauses, information and procedures that agencies use to evaluate and address organizational conflicts of interest when awarding consulting contracts.

The congressional watchdog was also requested to pinpoint measures agencies take to track the compliance of contractors with contract terms, clauses and conditions meant to address identified conflicts of interest.

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Public Sector is Embracing Cloud, DevSecOps & AI Adoption Despite Existing Barriers, SAIC Survey Reports
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Public Sector is Embracing Cloud, DevSecOps & AI Adoption Despite Existing Barriers, SAIC Survey Reports

Science Applications International Corp. has published the results of its Federal Response to Cloud, DevSecOps and AI survey, providing insight into federal progress in implementing cloud and artificial intelligence as well as fully applying the DevSecOps method, all of which have grown in prominence within recent years.

Responses collected from over 375 information technology and business leaders across defense and civilian agencies revealed that while federal organizations are welcoming these novel tools, many are experiencing challenges in budgeting and implementation, SAIC announced from Reston, Virginia on Wednesday.

“The survey results uncover not just technology opportunities and challenges government leaders face in leveraging cloud for strategic advantage, but also the realities of the state of DevSecOps and AI maturity within government,” commented SAIC CTO Bob Ritchie.

According to the survey results, 70 percent of government agencies currently use two or more cloud service providers.

Despite commitments to cloud migration, agencies still face hurdles in financing cloud technology. 48 percent of survey respondents noted insufficient budgeting as an issue and 47 percent cited lack of forecasting as a problem when utilizing the cloud.

DevSecOps, which Rana Barzegar, SAIC’s senior director of Software Innovation Factory, said “provides agencies with increased agility, security, speed and quality for IT modernization initiatives,” is becoming more widely adopted. According to the data, a decisive 90 percent of respondents noted that agencies are making efforts to implement the approach.

At the same time, more than half of these organizations have encountered problems during the integration process, which 54 percent of those surveyed highlighted as the largest barrier to deploying a DevSecOps service.

AI, which has become a flourishing area of discussion within federal agencies, is still being viewed as a distant goal in these communities. The survey found that less than 20 percent of participants reported a high likelihood of adopting the technology within the next year, while 57 percent noted policy and governance as major barriers to AI implementation.

Survey responses were collected from Oct. 15 to Nov. 3, 2022 in partnership with Market Connections.

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NIST Participates in Open Radio Access Network Alliance; Laurie Locascio Quoted
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NIST Participates in Open Radio Access Network Alliance; Laurie Locascio Quoted

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has decided to become part of a nonprofit organization advocating for more open, intelligent and interoperable radio access network technologies.

The O-RAN Alliance is comprised of government agencies, academic institutions, and mobile network operators and vendors working together to reduce the cost and boost the performance of RAN platforms, NIST said.

NIST’s specialization in radio frequency measurements spans more than 100 years. Its initiatives include the Communication Technology Laboratory, which has facilities for optimizing the performance of open-source 5G networks and other wireless systems.

The institute’s own open RAN program focuses on the use of machine learning algorithms and models, and a testbed for open 5G.

“By joining the O-RAN Alliance, NIST will enhance U.S. leadership in wireless technologies and promote stable and diverse supply chains, which are a priority for this administration,” said Laurie Locascio, NIST director and undersecretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology. “NIST will also promote open and transparent standards for 5G and other next-generation wireless technologies to help ensure data privacy and protect against cyber threats.”

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USSF, USCG Team Up to Optimize Space Capabilities for Warfighters
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USSF, USCG Team Up to Optimize Space Capabilities for Warfighters

The research arms of the U.S. Space Force and U.S. Coast Guard have agreed to collaborate on delivering enhanced space-related capabilities for the joint warfighter. 

Under a memorandum of agreement, the USSF Science, Technology, and Research Directorate and USCG Research and Development Center will coordinate the sharing of information and best practices between the organizations to develop warfighting capabilities and technologies, USSF said Tuesday.

USCG Research and Development Center will provide the USSF directorate with access to its infrastructure, facilities and personnel to support mission objectives and operations in the space domain.

“We quickly realized the value that this relationship presented for both agencies soon after the Space Force participated in a Coast Guard strategic study that examined the Coast Guard’s future role in space governance, use of spaced based technology and research areas,” said Capt. Daniel Keane, USCG research and development commanding officer. 

Keane signed the agreement with Joel Mozer, director of science, technology and research at USSF. It marks the first-ever collaboration between the two service branches.

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Executive Mosaic Unveils 2023 Wash100 Award Winners for Momentous 10th Year
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Executive Mosaic Unveils 2023 Wash100 Award Winners for Momentous 10th Year

Executive Mosaic, the premier organization for government contracting industry media and events, has unveiled the 2023 Wash100 Award winners list, marking the 10-year anniversary of the most prestigious recognition in the GovCon sector.

This year’s nomination period garnered the award’s largest number of submissions yet, representing an over 300 percent increase from its previous season. Nominees are put through an intensive selection process that weighs each candidate’s innovative achievements and anticipated triumphs not only as company leaders but as trailblazers within the wider GovCon realm.

“Building on ten years of unmatched recognition, this year’s historic Wash100 Award selection features the most impressive and prestigious roster of elite executive leaders in our history to best represent the last decade of tumultuous growth, technological advancement and acceleration across the public and private sectors,” said Jim Garrettson, CEO and founder of Executive Mosaic and the Wash100 Award.

Out of the 100 high-profile awardees, 63 percent come from industry, 32 percent from the federal government and five percent from additional spaces within the expansive GovCon community. Over a third of the recipients are first-time winners.

“After a diligent and exhaustive selection process, the 100 winners of our 2023 competition constitute the most elite figures in the industry whom we recognize for their outstanding leadership, innovation and vision,” Garrettson continued. “These highly driven and respected individuals are the most likely success stories of 2023, and we look forward to their continued impact as they influence and shape the future of the GovCon landscape.”

The announcement coincides with the commencement of Executive Mosaic’s cherished popular vote competition, which allows participants to choose their favorite 2023 Wash100 Award winner.

To view the complete list of winners and cast a vote, please visit Wash100.com.

Howard University to Lead New Institution for Tactical Autonomy Research; Lloyd Austin Quoted
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Howard University to Lead New Institution for Tactical Autonomy Research; Lloyd Austin Quoted

Howard University has become the first historically black college or university to lead one of the Department of Defense‘s university-affiliated research centers under a finalized agreement with the Department of the Air Force.

DOD said Monday that Howard University will receive $12 million annually over the next five years to fund research, faculty and students at the new research center, which will focus on developing autonomous military systems.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, a two-time Wash100 Award winner, and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, a three-time Wash100 Award winner, announced the science research partnership aimed at maintaining DAF’s research and development capabilities to develop tactical autonomy technologies.

“Autonomous systems make our military faster, smarter, and more combat-credible,” Austin said. 

He added that such systems provide commanders with relevant information to make informed decisions.

Howard University will also lead a consortium of HBCUs to conduct research and development projects aimed at identifying practical applications of autonomous technology under a five-year, $90 million contract awarded by the Air Force Research Laboratory.

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