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Raj Iyer: Army Seeks Unified Cloud for Digital Transformation Push
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Raj Iyer: Army Seeks Unified Cloud for Digital Transformation Push

Raj Iyer, chief information officer of the U.S. Army and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, wants the military service to invest in cloud-based infrastructure as part of its new strategy to modernize information technology assets, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

He told reporters at an Association of the United States Army event that the branch's Digital Transformation Strategy will reflect goals to further innovation and collaboration with the business sector. 

Iyer noted that a decentralized model where commands pursue IT projects on their own does not support current multidomain operation requirements.

Maj, Gen. Matt Easley, director of cybersecurity and chief information security officer at the Army, said the CIO office should establish service-wide cloud migration standards that will cover data, architecture and security.

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NIH Awards 11 Research Grants to Help Address Health Disparities; Director Francis Collins Quoted
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NIH Awards 11 Research Grants to Help Address Health Disparities; Director Francis Collins Quoted

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded 11 grants worth $58 million combined over five years to support research initiatives that seek to advance health equity and address health disparities. 

NIH awarded the grants through the Transformative Research to Address Health Disparities and Advance Health Equity initiative of the NIH Common Fund.

“This research effort will catalyze novel interventions and hasten the opportunity to put evidence into action for populations affected by health disparities,” said NIH Director Francis Collins.

Some of the research initiatives will focus on designing technology-enhanced approaches to promote cancer health equity among deafblind, diverse deaf and hard-of-hearing populations and integrating tech-assisted or telehealth-driven interventions into community-based interventions for mental and physical health.

The agency expects the initiative to broaden the research base to help address health disparities at minority-serving institutions. The NIH Common Fund plans to reissue a request for applications in fiscal year 2022 as part of efforts to support additional projects and advance health equity at MSIs.

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Federal Chief Data Officers Council Seeks Public Comments on Focus Areas, Workforce Development
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Federal Chief Data Officers Council Seeks Public Comments on Focus Areas, Workforce Development

The Federal Chief Data Officers (CDO) Council has asked the public to provide responses on key questions to support the council’s focus areas and missions.

The council was formed in accordance with the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, which directs agencies to name a CDO, according to a request for information to be published Thursday in Federal Register.

The Federal CDO Council is seeking input on focus areas; data skills and workforce development; data sharing; data inventory; value and maturity; technology; and ethics and equity. 

For the technology aspect, the council is asking the public about frameworks agencies should use to assess their existing data infrastructure and modernize their technology with capabilities that remove organizational data silos. The council also wants to know about tech components that could serve as sources for operationally authoritative data.

When it comes to ethics and equity, the council is asking how agencies can leverage federal data ethics to improve transparency and trust and how the federal government can help improve the adoption of the Federal Data Ethics Framework across contractors, financial assistance communities and other stakeholders.

Public comments are due Nov. 15th.

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National Archives and Records Administration Seeks Chief Data Officer
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National Archives and Records Administration Seeks Chief Data Officer

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has begun its search for a chief data officer that will advise NARA’s chief information officer, deputy CIO, chief technology officer and other senior officials on the agency’s information technology programs and related issues.

The chief data officer will serve as an IT specialist within NARA’s information services office in College Park, Maryland, to help define data types, business needs, applications and other technologies and translate strategies into roadmaps and architectures, according to a USAJobs notice posted Tuesday.

The IT specialist will define data strategy practices, oversee the creation of NARA’s information strategy in collaboration with agency executives and coordinate with NARA offices, IT project and program managers to ensure the transition of program requirements into architecture and design documents.

Applications are due Nov. 5th.

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Heidi Grant to End Tenure as DSCA Director
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Heidi Grant to End Tenure as DSCA Director

Heidi Grant, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), will step down from her role and transition out of the federal government.

She has served as DSCA's director since August 2020 and has contributed 32 years of service to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Joint Staff and other Department of Defense components, DSCA said Tuesday.

Jed Royal, deputy director of DSCA, will take over Grant's duties on an acting basis, effective Nov. 7th. Grant, who was a member of the senior executive service for 19 years, helped the agency implement a new organizational model over a span of 15 months. 

The new organizational model is designed to boost DSCA's operational efficiency and capacity to meet stakeholder requirements in support of the country and international partners.

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Air Force Headquarters Completes Realignment to Merge All EMS Operations; Mary O’Brien Quoted
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Air Force Headquarters Completes Realignment to Merge All EMS Operations; Mary O’Brien Quoted

The U.S. Air Force has finished consolidating its electromagnetic spectrum operation functions with the recent transfer of the Headquarters' EMS Superiority Directorate to the intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and cyber effects operations staff.

The realignment enables service officials to streamline oversight, policy and guidance related to EMS operations to improve collaborative work across various domains, the Air Force said Tuesday. 

Stood up in 2019, the directorate is responsible for keeping the military service ahead of its strategic competitors and free to operate in the electromagnetic spectrum. 

“It is vital that we leverage, defend and compete across the entire electromagnetic spectrum in order to deliver effects in and through the information environment now and into the future,” explained Lt. Gen. Mary O'Brien, the deputy chief of staff for ISR and cyber effects operations.

As part of the changes, the EMS Superiority Directorate also took control of the Air Force Spectrum Management Office as the organization's fourth-ever division.

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Army: Pennsylvania Tech Hub Perfect Area for Speeding Up AI Acquisition
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Army: Pennsylvania Tech Hub Perfect Area for Speeding Up AI Acquisition

The Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center (AI2C) in Pittsburgh has identified the growing technology hub in Pennsylvania as the perfect location to work on its goal of expediting acquisition timelines for AI offerings.

The U.S. Army said Tuesday that AI2C connects military personnel with neighboring Pittsburgh-based innovators, tech start-ups and companies and research facilities that are focused on producing AI products at speed.

Some of the organizations the service cited are “unicorns” Argo AI and Duolingo, government-affiliated entities Software Engineering Institute and Rand, and Carnegie Mellon University, home of AI2C.

According to the Army, service leaders specifically picked the Pennsylvania city for its AI center to have an influence in ongoing automated technology developments taking place in the area.

The Army also chose the city to tap into the Pennsylvania knowledge base in support of the center's goal to integrate AI strategy, synchronize related development efforts and establish foundations for operationalized automation across the service. 

In line with its goal, AI2C plans to seek defense innovators' assistance and learn from academic research to help in testing multiple AI technologies on military tactical platforms in the future.

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NOAA Allots $171M for Climate Change Mitigation Projects; Administrator Rick Spinrad Quoted
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NOAA Allots $171M for Climate Change Mitigation Projects; Administrator Rick Spinrad Quoted

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has invested a combined amount of $171 million in 72 projects that aim to address the effects of climate change.

NOAA said Tuesday that it issued grants to fund these projects that universities, research institutions and government-partnered entities will work on over the next five years. 

The investment's overall scope includes environmental justice, ocean observations, COVID-19's effects on air quality, flood resilience planning and how NOAA can improve climate models. 

“These new NOAA investments are essential to improve understanding of how to mitigate these impacts and bolster community resilience to climate change," said Rick Spinrad, NOAA administrator.

The agency's Climate Program Office (CPO) selected the awardees via a peer review based on quality and equity standards. CPO's Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments program, one of the efforts supported by the investment, has added the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to its geographical coverage.

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White House OSTP Asks Public for Input on Biometrics Use Cases, Policies
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White House OSTP Asks Public for Input on Biometrics Use Cases, Policies

The White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) seeks feedback on how biometric technologies have performed in organizations and how they affect individuals emotionally and mentally. 

OSTP wants to understand how both public and private sector organizations have used and regulated biometric technologies, such as facial recognition, in the past and present, the office said Oct. 4th in a Federal Register notice.

The effort aims to identify the users of biometrics, policies governing how the technology is used, domains where the technology is applicable and impacted stakeholders.

The government has observed an increase of domains where biometric systems are applicable and seeks to address the concerns that come with that growth.

These concerns include the technology's effects on various demographic groups and its role in the growing usage of surveillance systems. Interested parties may submit responses through Jan. 15, 2022.

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Accenture Acquires Argentinian E-Commerce Agency Glamit
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Accenture Acquires Argentinian E-Commerce Agency Glamit

Accenture, named a 2021 leader in commerce services by Forrester, has completed its acquisition of Argentina-based e-commerce agency, Glamit for an undisclosed sum.

Glamit offers a range of experience design and technology such as e-commerce and platform architecture, brand strategy, digital marketing and direct-to-consumer services, Business Wire reported Wednesday.

The boutique agency joins Accenture Interactive’s robust e-commerce and marketing offerings, including Accenture’s SynOps platform, which focus on supporting the implementation and operation of transformative consumer experiences.

Flaviano Faleiro, president of growth markets for Accenture Interactive said the acquisition of Glamit is aligned with Accenture’s vision for transforming the Latin American commerce landscape.

“With them as part of the Interactive family, we will help our clients in the region balance the complexities and simplicity of digital commerce and create exceptional experiences that delight consumers and drive brand success,” Faleiro added.

CEO of Glamit, Andrés Dorfman said the transaction will allow the company to extend its reach and increase its market impact while driving improved consumer experiences for its customers.

Glamit has been recognized by the eCommerce Institute, Mercado Pago and Great Place to Work in Argentina as a leading e-commerce company across multiple industries, serving local and international clients. 

As part of the transaction, Glamit’s 260 employees will transition to Accenture Interactive.

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