Management
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Federal executives say they worry about the capacity of their workforce and how it impacts their agencies’ performance in a recent “Future of Government Service” survey released this month.
July 17, 2015 Tighter collaboration between the Pentagon and Silicon Valley is one of Defense Secretary Ash Carter's top priorities as he tries to push the department to become more innovative and agile. He wants DoD to broaden its horizons and adopt some of the best practices the tech industry is using to become more innovative. That was the message he brought to the Sun Valley Conference in Idaho last week. Larry Allen is president of Allen Federal Business Partners and also writes the Week Ahead newsletter. He tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu that federal IT won't look anything like the innovations coming out of Silicon Valley.
July 16, 2015-
The Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing system is offline now while the Office of Personnel Management tries to fix its cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Those vulnerabilities were discovered during the investigation into the recent data breach, in whch hackers stole personal information for 21.5 million people. And while much of the attention has focused on the OPM crisis' impact on federal workers, contractors are impacted too in a big way, and they're certain to be impacted by the backlog now building up while eQIP is offline Stan Soloway is the president and CEO of the Professional Services Council. He tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu about the effects contractors are feeling -- and what they expect.
July 16, 2015 -
Recruiting new talent at the National Cemetery Administration is getting faster now because the agency has focused on streamlining its hiring process. NCA is using data analytics to help it hire the right people quickly. 80 percent of NCA's recruitment gets done in about 60 days. Dissatisfaction with traditional outlets like USAJobs.gov means some agencies often look for other approaches to the hiring process. Tim McManus is vice president for education and outreach at the Partnership for Public Service. He tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu that other agencies can learn from these best practices -- mainly by making better use of data.
July 16, 2015 -
It's been four and a half years since the White House proclaimed it wanted agencies to make a big move to cloud computing via the so-called "cloud first" policy. But the pace of cloud adoption has been far slower than what former federal CIO Vivek Kundra probably had in mind back in 2010. The American Council of Technology-Industry Advisory Council set out to find out why -- and then, in a new guidebook, explain how agencies can break down perceived barriers to cloud adoption. Mark Day is the co-chair of the ACT-IAC Cloud Computing Working Group and also the deputy assistant commissioner in GSA's integrated technology service. He tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu what's in the new guidebook and how it will help agencies move to the cloud.
July 16, 2015 -
Agencies will likely go a relative spending spree between now and the end of the fiscal year. But some small companies could be missing out on potential contracts. Marci Love Thomas is a senior counsel in the government contracts practice at General Counsel, and a former senior attorney advisor for the Small Business Adminstration. She tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu that there are two things that could impact companies in the small business 8(a) program, and also small businesses more generally.
July 16, 2015 -
It really was that bad. The National Taxpayer Advocate has confirmed in a new report what the IRS long warned about: Taxpayers can forget about getting help from the agency amid budget cuts and staff shortages.
July 16, 2015 -
Over the last two days, we've explored many of the trends in offices and buildings where you work. Now, we look inward to office interiors. Kevin Kampschroer is the chief sustainability officer at the General Services Administration, and director of the Office of High Performance Green Buildings. Environmental psychologist Judy Heerwagen is a program expert in that office. In the final part of our special report, "The Federal Office of the Future," they tell Federal News Radio's Lauren Larson more about the evolution of personal workspaces, and the planning required before choosing a new office.
July 16, 2015 -
Chairs — the final frontier of office place evolution. It's where we spend the majority of our work days, and they've come a long way since the simple, cheap models of the 1960s. Claire Ganley is a managing consultant at Humanscale. In the third and final part of our special report, "The Federal Office of the Future," she joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive to review some of the current trends in ergonomics.
July 16, 2015 -
When you create a bureaucracy as large as the federal government, you've got to have a place for all those employees to work. From rural post offices to giant office buildings, federal workspaces have evolved over 200-plus years. As part of Federal News Radio's special report, The Federal Office of the Future, this photo gallery takes a look at the way federal offices have changed over the years.
July 16, 2015 -
Claire Gainley of Humanscale talks with Federal News Radio's Tom Temin about how to best design chairs to fit the people who will use them.
July 16, 2015 -
In the future, federal offices could be more like patios - where furniture is adjustable and moveable for whatever task or project is at hand, say experts at the General Services Administration. In our special report, The Federal Office of the Future, we examine the research behind the decision to make office spaces more flexible.
July 16, 2015 -
The number of agency employees using two-factor authentication is 20 percent since the start of the 30-day cybersecurity sprint. Federal Chief Information Officer Tony Scott had some positive results to share at the halfway point. Patrick Flynn is the director of homeland and national security programs at Intel Security, and former assistant chief of the Office of Border Patrol at Customs and Border Protection. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose what we should be looking for as more agencies report their progress at the end of the cyber sprint.
July 15, 2015 -
The OPM cyber attack may turn out to have a silver lining. The attack may give agencies an opportunity — if they choose to take it — to redefine encryption. Chuck Archer is the executive chairman at Covata and former assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He tells In Depth with Francis Rose that encryption isn't a people problem.
July 15, 2015 -
Bridget Lynn Roddy, the Virtual Student Foreign Service program manager at the State Department, is nominated for a Service to America Medal.
July 15, 2015