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David Ferriero on NARA’s Shift to Electronic Recordkeeping
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David Ferriero on NARA’s Shift to Electronic Recordkeeping

David Ferriero, most recently archivist of the U.S. and head of the National Archives and Records Administration, said NARA has made accomplishments in the past decade and one of those is getting the attention of the White House when it comes to implementing electronic record-keeping.

“We were fortunate that President Obama, in his Open Government Initiative, recognized the importance of good record-keeping for open government and transparency,” Ferriero told National Archives News in an interview published Friday.

“But that has set the tone for the shift from paper to electronic recordkeeping, which is underway now,” he added.

Another accomplishment he cited is the involvement of the public in transcribing records as part of the Citizen Archivist program.

“We’ve got people all over the world who are helping us transcribe records, tagging records. … So those kinds of activities—involving the public in our work—is another thing I would point to in terms of accomplishments. . . . [And] it’s become a model for other institutions; the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, lots of libraries around the country are providing those kinds of tagging opportunities to involve the public in their work,” Ferriero said.

He also discussed the agency’s focus on culture and efforts to improve the quality of the work environment as part of its transformation work.

Ferriero retired from NARA last week after 12 years of leadership and the agency appointed Deputy Archivist Debra Steidel Wall to perform his duties on an acting capacity.

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SkyePoint Transitions Eric Shaw to Chief Growth Officer; Frank Sturek Quoted
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SkyePoint Transitions Eric Shaw to Chief Growth Officer; Frank Sturek Quoted

Information technology services provider SkyePoint Decisions has elevated Eric Shaw from his prior position as capture director to the company’s chief growth officer.

In his new position, Shaw will identify growth opportunities and build on the company’s name recognition in the cybersecurity and risk management markets, the Dulles, Virginia-based company said Monday.

“[Shaw] is an accomplished Business Development and Capture professional, and a trusted leader in our organization…no one is more ready for this challenge than Eric,” commented SkyePoint Decisions President Frank Sturek.

The promoted executive has gathered experience as capture manager at Constellis, where he helped the company secure contracts valued from $10 million to over $1 billion from various Department of Defense agencies.

He was also a senior consultant at CGI Federal, where he honed his skills in developing win strategies, competitive analysis and teaming strategies and agreements, as well as contract award pursuits across the full lifecycle.

Before coming to SkyePoint, Shaw was director of capture and proposals at Axiologic Solutions LLC, where he oversaw corporate accounts with the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command and federal civilian agencies such as the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security and the General Services Administration.

Shaw will utilize this career work in order to help SkyePoint deepen its relationship with federal government clientele. He will additionally work to establish a methodical strategy to achieve the revenue and outreach goals the company has set in place.

The new chief growth officer cited the company’s shared “common vision and goals” as key aspects of SkyePoint’s culture.

“It’s an incredible honor to be part of the leadership team that sets the tempo. I look forward to my new role,” Shaw resolved.

The promotion of Shaw follows SkyePoint’s April elevation of former chief solutions officer Jason Weaver to the position of chief technology officer. Weaver and Shaw will surely collaborate closely in their new jobs.

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George Mason University Center for Government Contracting Publishes ‘Implementing Responsible AI’ White Paper; GovCon Expert Jerry McGinn Quoted
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George Mason University Center for Government Contracting Publishes ‘Implementing Responsible AI’ White Paper; GovCon Expert Jerry McGinn Quoted

George Mason University’s Center for Government Contracting released its latest white paper, “Implementing Responsible AI: Proposed Framework for Data Licensing” on Friday to improve the licensing strategies required to better address the unique challenges of acquiring AI solutions.

“Data licensing agreements are critical and Andrew and Ben have developed an excellent framework for crafting custom use licenses that will help drive successful AI projects for government and industry,” said GovCon Expert Jerry McGinn, the Center’s Executive Director and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner.

The white paper was written by the following authors:

Benjamin McMartin, Esq., senior fellow with GMU’s Center for Government Contracting

Major Andrew Bowne, Chief Legal Counsel for the Department of the Air Force / AI Accelerator with MIT

In the latest white paper, McMartin and Bowne provide a practical framework that integrates cutting-edge AI solutions and adheres to Responsible AI principles, which includes use cases to demonstrate how custom data licenses can balance the need for access and use of data and software for RAI purposes against industry partners’ desire to protect their IP and maintain standardized commercial licensing practices.

Recently, the Center for Government Contracting also released a playbook that explores the necessary changes in acquisition approach and mindset to ensure that the defense acquisition system can maintain its advantage for the U.S. in the global space.

According to the report, the first three plays enable iteration and modularity needed to advance the next three plays that apply to contracts with software-intensive content. These software-intensive plays are agile work statements, modular contracts and intellectual property.

“We worked to identify the practices that acquisition professionals and their industry counterparts can use now to innovate, iterate, scale, and field effective military capabilities for United States forces,” GovCon Expert Jerry McGinn explained. “Many of these practices are being used in programs, but widespread adoption will help drive culture change across the acquisition community.”

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CRDF Global Appoints Tina Dolph as Chief Global Officer; CEO Michael Dignam Quoted
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CRDF Global Appoints Tina Dolph as Chief Global Officer; CEO Michael Dignam Quoted

CRDF Global announced on Monday that Tina Dolph, a four-time Wash100 Award recipient, has been named chief global officer to grow the company’s global footprint through an expansion strategy as well as driving new capabilities in cybersecurity and other new technologies.

“In today’s increasingly complex and often uncertain global environment, there are few organizations like CRDF Global with the established track record of providing capacity building and stabilizing solutions urgently needed for human-centric challenges at scale,” said Dolph.

Previously, Tina Dolph had been the president and CEO of Siemens Government Technologies since Oct 2018. Prior to that, Dolph served as the chief strategy officer for CRDF Global between Jan. 2018 and Oct. As Chief Global Officer, she will bring her extensive experience in global operations, critical infrastructure, and technology innovation to the company.

Her technical expertise in critical infrastructure and digital transformation is an important element of our strategic plan and organizational vision. Her ability to navigate the complexities of government modernization and security challenges will allow CRDF Global to expand and deepen or service offerings,” said CRDF Global CEO Michael Dignam.

CRDF Global continues to grow in the highly competitive and complex global technology threat environment, which will continue under Dolph’s leadership to sustain the company’s growth trajectory and help its customers address the latest and most complex global challenges.

Tomás Díaz de la Rubia, vice president for Research and Partnerships with the University of Oklahoma and CRDF Global Board Chair, explained that Tina Dolph will bring her background in cybersecurity solutions and visionary leadership to keep the company on the cutting edge of emerging technologies as they influence the federal landscape.

In addition, Tina Dolph is a board member for Valiant Integrated Services. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the post-9/11 veteran and military family national nonprofit Hope for the Warriors and the National Defense University Foundation.

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OMB Appoints Karin Orvis as Permanent Chief Statistician; Shalanda Young Quoted
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OMB Appoints Karin Orvis as Permanent Chief Statistician; Shalanda Young Quoted

Karin Orvis, director of the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, will be the new permanent U.S. chief statistician and branch chief for statistical and science policy at the Office of Management Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Federal News Network reported.

Orvis will take over for Dominic Mancini, deputy administrator of OIRA who has been serving as OMB’s chief statistician on an acting basis. It will be the first time that the OMB will have a permanent chief statistician since Nancy Potok left the position vacant in 2019.

In her new role, Orvis will oversee a decentralized network of federal agencies that produce statistical data to guide policymaking across the government and serve on the administration’s Equitable Data Working Group.

Orvis brings more than two decades of government experience. She previously served as director of the Department of Defense’s Transition to Veterans Program Office and acting principal director of Military Community and Family Policy.

“As someone who has led development, implementation, and evaluation of vital programs at the Department of Defense, she has invaluable experience to be a leader in the evolving federal statistical system. We’re thrilled to welcome her to OMB,” said Shalanda Young, director of OMB.

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House Bill Seeks to Create Regulatory Framework for Digital Asset Markets
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House Bill Seeks to Create Regulatory Framework for Digital Asset Markets

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and three other House lawmakers have introduced a bill to clarify the regulatory oversight process for cryptocurrency trading platforms.

The Digital Commodity Exchange Act of 2022 seeks to regulate spot stablecoin markets and complement investor protection efforts at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Khanna’s office said Thursday.

A document summarizing the bill indicates that the bipartisan legislation would bridge a gap between digital asset regulations set forth by SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“To foster American innovation and tech job growth, Congress must establish a clear process for creating and trading digital commodities that prioritizes consumer protections, transparency and accountability,” Khanna said.

Reps. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Penn.; Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Darren Soto, D-Fla., are the other DCEA sponsors.

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DOE Lab to Update Grid Security Assessment Platform With Cyber Risk Visualization Tool
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DOE Lab to Update Grid Security Assessment Platform With Cyber Risk Visualization Tool

A Department of Energy-funded national laboratory plans to incorporate a cyber risk visualization feature into a web-based tool used to assess the security status of electric generation systems.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory said Friday it aims to help federal agency personnel visualize infrastructure data and threat scenarios through the integration of NREL’s Cyber Range and Distributed Energy Resource Cybersecurity Framework.

Government energy asset managers use DER-CF to monitor site-specific cybersecurity posture through a questionnaire and create an action plan based on recommendations from the online assessment.

Meanwhile, the NREL Cyber Range works to help researchers create grid environment simulations to study the interdependency and flow of information between power systems.

NREL’s integration project team expects to generate a static picture of the updated system by the end of the year.

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Charles River Analytics to Further Develop Ocean Mapping Tech With Additional Navy Funding
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Charles River Analytics to Further Develop Ocean Mapping Tech With Additional Navy Funding

Charles River Analytics has received additional funding from the U.S. Navy to further develop a technology platform that could help detect maritime objects and create maps of the ocean surface in real-time. 

The company said Tuesday the Real-Time Ortho-Mosaicking for Awareness and Navigation system is a set of software components that applies autonomy and computer vision for real-time ocean mapping and could enable the service branch to improve situational awareness for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, counter-surveillance and other maritime operations.

ROMAN forms and continuously update an ortho-mosaic or detailed map of the sea surface by ingesting video from electro-optical and infrared sensors aboard an unmanned aircraft system.

Charles River received more than $1.1 million in funding from the Navy following a proof of concept of its technology.

“Keeping up-to-date maps over the open ocean and for aircraft to navigate without the aid of vulnerable external guidance information like GPS presents unique challenges. This project will help provide up-to-the-minute maps and navigational information in contested environments,” said Todd Jennings, a scientist at Charles River and principal investigator on the ROMAN project.

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Lawmakers Call for 5.1% Pay Raise for Federal Employees
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Lawmakers Call for 5.1% Pay Raise for Federal Employees

A group of 62 lawmakers led by Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., urged the House Appropriations Committee to include in the fiscal year 2023 Financial Services and General Government appropriations measure a 5.1 percent salary increase for all federal employees.

The pay raise aligns with the Federal Adjustment of Income Rates Act that Connolly introduced in January, according to an April 26 letter sent to the House panel.

Legislators said the government underinvested in its federal workforce and the current administration overturned that trend by providing federal personnel with a pay raise of 2.7 percent in 2022 and eliminating prohibitions on union resources and operations.

They also highlighted the need for the government to remain competitive when recruiting the next generation of federal employees.

“With almost a third of the federal workforce eligible to retire in five years, we will face a talent crisis if we fail to make basic investments in federal pay that will attract early career talent to federal government service,” the letter reads.

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Trade Groups Urge Lawmakers to Sustain Support for Federal IT Modernization
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Trade Groups Urge Lawmakers to Sustain Support for Federal IT Modernization

Nine industry groups have called on House and Senate lawmakers to maintain support for federal information technology transformation by exceeding or meeting the $300 million that the Biden administration requested for the Technology Modernization Fund in its fiscal year 2023 budget proposal.

The associations asked the legislators through an April 29 letter that “appropriations be structured to help ensure agencies can make progress on IT modernization needs through additional flexibility.”

They highlighted the need for funding to meet the federal government’s cybersecurity goals and requirements in support of the cybersecurity executive order that directs agencies to adopt zero trust.

“Additional funding should be made available for agencies that are just getting started on their zero trust journeys because these cybersecurity efforts are essential to maintaining a strong federal network defense posture for years to come,” the letter reads.

The letter was signed by Alliance for Digital Innovation, Professional Services Council, The Center for Procurement Advocacy, CompTIA, Information Technology Industry Council, National Defense Industrial Association, Security Industry Association, TechNet and the Software & Information Industry Association.

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