After years of acquisition planning, bid protests and then eventually a rolling process of migrating users from one contract to another, the Navy says all of its users will have moved to its new NGEN contract by the end of this month.
Within the next few weeks, the Navy said it will finally finish its transition to a new operating structure for its IT network. As Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports, all of the Navy's 300,000 users will be operating under a contract structure known as NGEN by the end of this month.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation gets in the way of innovative information technology acquisition in government, according to many industry leaders and even some agency IT leaders. Some experts believe the FAR can be, and should be, your friend for innovative procurement. A panel of experts addressed that idea at NextGov Prime 2014 with Dave McClure of the Veris Group, Joanne Woytek of NASA SEWP, Jaymie Durnan of the Defense Department and Karen Evans of the US Cyber Challenge. McClure tells Federal News Radio's Francis Rose how the process that exists now is perceived.
Agencies struggling to find talented young employees can find help outside the federal government. The group Young Government Leaders has its own university to connect young people with federal training and mentoring opportunities. Miguel Joey Aviles is chief learning officer for Young Government Leaders, and a talent management strategist for the Defense Department. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he shared some data to help you understand if the federal new-talent pipeline needs some adjustments.
The 3-D printing revolution now includes an effort to replicate the human skull. The Army Research Laboratory is working on skulls that can be used for research on brain injuries. Dr. Thomas Plaisted is a materials engineer at the Composites and Hybrid Materials Branch of the Weapons and Materials Directorate at the Army Research Lab. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said the skulls won't solve the head injury problem, but they'll be an effective tool to help find a solution.
An analysis from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments says the Defense Department will need between $200 billion to $300 billion more than budget caps allow to move forward with its current strategy.
The Pentagon issued a handful of directives in August designed to reverse the trend in its contract competition rate, which has slipped from 64 percent in 2008 to 56.5 percent in the third quarter of 2014. A preliminary analysis shows most of the opportunity for improvement is in service contracting.
The Defense Health Agency is conducting market research in advance of a planned RFP for a 10-year, $20 billion IT services and support contract. It's possible that vendors will be added to the contract without a formal source selection process.
The Defense Health Agency is nearing its one year anniversary. Its officials say they're serious about finding the savings they promised through the reorganization of DoD's healthcare activities. One way they hope to save money is through more strategic sourcing. As Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports, that includes a new multiple award contract for IT services. Read Jared's related story.
The Defense Department is rolling out a series of initiatives that it says will respond to a problem its leaders have been worried about for years. The U.S. military still has the best technology in the world, but that advantage is shrinking fast. It's got DoD leaders alarmed. Federal News Radio's Jared Serbu reports. Read Jared's related article.
The U.S. and its allies have dominated the military technology landscape for decades, but the Defense Department now sees potential adversaries in its rearview mirror. The Pentagon is coming up with some coping strategies to maintain its technological advantage, including version 3 of Better Buying Power.
Both the Army and Air National Guard say they are making inroads toward gaining a foothold for their state-based forces in the Defense Department's growing mission sets in cyberspace. Both services say they are training more personnel and building the guard's credibility within the Pentagon when it comes to cyber missions.
In this week's edition of Inside the DoD Reporter's Notebook, Jared Serbu examines news and buzz in the Defense community that you might have missed including: DoD-VA medical record sharing still too slow; VA kicks off new drive to hire docs; DISA plans follow-on to Encore II contract
Conversation with Authors: Professor Harry Lambright on Leaders and Leadership - Lessons from Robert Gates, Francis Collins, and NASA Administrators
Air Force's new community partnership program looks to cut the costs of running bases by sharing operating and maintenance costs with the local communities in their neighborhoods.