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Homeland Security Department Secretary Janet Napolitano approved the reorganization plan earlier this week. The newly aligned Office of Cybersecurity and Communications expands from three divisions and creates a new performance-management office.
October 19, 2012 -
The Merit Systems Protection Board completed the first major rewrite of its regulations in more than 30 years. Susan Grundmann, the MSPB chairwoman, said the changes fall into four categories. The board is giving its users six weeks to transition to the new rules.
October 15, 2012 -
Federal agencies already have had a hard time meeting their goal to award 3 percent of contract dollars to small businesses located in Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone). But the 2010 Census wiped out more than 30 percent of the HUBZone companies certified by the Small Business Administration — leaving agencies searching for new firms and decertified firms trying to figure out what's next.
October 11, 2012 -
The federal government as a whole has consistently missed its goal to award 23 percent of its contract dollars to small businesses. But the government also has examples of agencies bucking that trend. In part two of our special report, The Small Business Dilemma, Federal News Radio speaks with several agencies' about how they're succeeding in the small business contracting arena.
October 10, 2012 -
An exclusive Federal News Radio survey of federal CFOs and deputy CFOs finds 55 percent of the respondents rated spending money more wisely as their top priority. But at the same time, 36 percent rated moving to the Internet Payment Portal or other financial management shared services as their fourth highest priority. CFOs also say they are using data to make better decisions and budget reductions, not sequestration, is their biggest concern.
October 09, 2012 -
As the biggest spender in the federal government, the Defense Department has the greatest potential to award contracts to small businesses. But the nature and breadth of defense contracts can leave out small firms. In part one of Federal News Radio's special report, The Small Business Dilemma, we examine how the Pentagon is taking steps to make it easier for small firms to do business with the department.
October 09, 2012 -
A Federal News Radio exclusive survey of chief acquisition officers and senior procurement executives showed most are not preparing for budget cuts or sequestration. These acquisition executives also say they are protecting money for training acquisition workers. OFPP Administrator Joe Jordan said his office is helping agencies make better decisions about how and where to spend money.
October 03, 2012 -
John Czajkowski, deputy director for management at the National Cancer Institute, is this week's guest on Agency of the Month.
October 03, 2012 -
The acting administrator of GSA said he met with IG Brian Miller and David Shea after accusations the IG investigator's tactics were overly aggressive in looking into the recent SmartPay Conference. Tangherlini also expects to receive suggestions on how the CIO reorganization would work, and how to go forward with the reduction of FAS fees in the coming weeks.
September 14, 2012 -
Tighter budgets are impacting agencies' ability to recruit new employees, according to the results of an exclusive Federal News Radio survey. But while budget dollars may be dwindling, agencies still need new hires to fill vacancies caused by retirements and others leaving civil service. Federal recruiters and college advisers say there are certain cost-effective and innovative techniques that work better than others when it comes to finding the next generation of federal employees.
September 13, 2012 -
Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini will tell Senate lawmakers today about his plans to continue reforming the agency in the aftermath of the Western Regions Conference scandal. Along with consolidating CIO and human resources offices, Tangherlini wants the Federal Acquisition Service to reduce its fees. Federal News Radio has obtained an exclusive copy of Tangherlini's testimony.
September 12, 2012 -
The General Services Administration's inspector general investigated the agency's recent SmartPay Training Conference and found no wrongdoing or elaborate spending. But the approach taken by the GSA inspector has left some at the agency uneasy. According to a draft memo obtained by Federal News Radio, tactics used by the investigator included a late night awakening and interrogation of the GSA executive in charge of the conference.
September 04, 2012 -
The space agency gave Federal News Radio an exclusive, in-depth look at a recent IT review session on its enterprise service desk. With the program faltering, NASA detailed how it used TechStat to reinforce planned solutions.
August 17, 2012 -
Not all agencies are using TechStat for IT projects that are in trouble. In an exclusive report, Federal News Radio finds agencies are seeing unexpected benefits in applying the evaluation tool to programs that are on track. Treasury used TechStat to figure out how best to consolidate three procurement systems.
August 16, 2012 -
The former Public Buildings Service Region 8 commissioner filed an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board against GSA for wrongful termination.
August 15, 2012