Federal Drive with Tom Temin

Here's a disclosure. My single favorite banquet each year is the gala for the Service to America Medals recipients. In this bizarre year, of course, it's virtual so I won't get to shake the hands of the gifted federal employees I've been interviewing for the past few months. But there will be an event this evening. Joining the Federal Drive with more, the president of the Partnership for Public Service, Max Stier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Of all the IT modernization projects happening in government, only 13% of them succeed. To help raise that number, 18F, the digital services office inside the General Services Administration, has released a guide pinpointing common areas of risk. For details. Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with the acting director of product at 18F, Alicia Rouault. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Cancer Institute, like much of NIH, is teleworking. More than six months in and with the days shortening, the novelty has worn off. In a scientific organization that's inherently collaborative with lots of laboratories and meetings, how do you prepare for the long term? The Federal Drive with Tom Temin asked the NCI's chief information officer, Jeff Shilling. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do community banks have any real effect on local economic development. The FDIC is asking kids that question. Not just any kids, but teams of college students who participate in the agency's academic challenge. Round one of the challenge is already underway. for more, the Federal Drive with Tom Temin turned to the deputy director of FDIC’s Division of Research and Regulatory Analysis. Philip Shively. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Army is finding new ways to partner with the communities around its bases. Thanks to a 2015 law that lets the military services sign service agreements with local governments without the pain of traditional federal contracts, the Army has now signed 66 Intergovernmental Service Agreements for everything from snow removal to animal control. The latest agreement was at Fort Stewart, Georgia. Col. Bryan Logan is the garrison commander at Fort Stewart. He talked with Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu about how the agreements are helping the Army save money through economies of scale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After three delays the Veterans Affairs Department is at last ready to deploy its new electronic health record to one site. The goal is to go live with an initial set of capabilities in Spokane, Washington on October 24. The pandemic did force VA to change its long-term EHR plans. But the department insists the timeline and budget for the project won't change. What could go wrong? The Federal Drive with Tom Temin got more from Federal News Network's Nicole Ogrysko. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We've been hearing about 5G telecommunications for so long, you'd think it's everywhere. It is and it isn't. But eventually it'll be up and running. And now's the time agencies ought to be planning for how to both foster and use this technology. Joining the Federal Drive with more, Progressive Policy Institute economist Michael Mandel, and vice chair of the National Spectrum Consortium, Randy Clark. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pandemic, specifically the spending and acquisition lessons from it, should not disappear once there's a vaccine. In fact the lessons learned should spur permanent and better defense acquisition. That's the thinking of Jerry McGinn, who's followed defense acquisition for a long time. He's the executive director of the center for government contracting at George Mason University. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Federal employees might be working from home, but they're working. That plus the extra needs of the needy because of the pandemic made for a surprising kickoff of this year's Combined Federal Campaign. I checked in with the co-chair of the Coordinating Committee for the National Capital Area for the Combined Federal Campaign, Vince Micone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The 2020 census has withstood a pandemic, hurricanes, and wildfires. To say nothing of politics. Through it all, the Census Bureau has seen some of its IT innovations meet or exceed expectations. After field operations end later this month, the Bureau will look at ways to modernize its portfolio of more than 100 statistical surveys. For details, Federal News Network’s Jory Heckman spoke with the deputy division chief of the bureau’s communications directorate, Zack Schwartz. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Air Force unveiled a new policy for airmen who need to take emergency leave. It pushes down authority, making it easier for direct supervisors to sign off on leave. The policy is one of the several ways the Air Force is changing its personnel policies to make life easier for employees, so they perhaps stay around longer. Federal News Network’s Scott Maucione talks with Air Force Colonel Jennifer Allee, military force policy division chief, and Military Compensation Policy Division Chief Col. Chad Segura. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Joint Acquisition Task Force the Pentagon set up to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic isn’t going away – even when the pandemic finally does. Defense officials have decided to make the organization permanent. As Federal News Network’s Jared Serbu reports, one of its main functions will be to help other federal agencies with complex acquisition problems. Hear more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to buying cloud services, when you mix Microsoft, Amazon, Google and Oracle, it seems there's always a protest. No, not JEDI but rather an acquisition by the Library of Congress, a Congressional branch agency. In this case, because of the way the Library structured the procurement, the protests were successful. Federal Drive with Tom Temin got the details from procurement attorney Joseph Petrillo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The way things seem to be going between Department of Veterans Affairs management and the American Federation of Government Employees, contract negotiations could outlast the pandemic. The president of AFGE Local 1224 in North Las Vegas, Linda Ward-Smith, discussed more on Federal Drive with Tom Temin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senior Executive Service members are people who, in theory, are capable of moving into just about any agency to help out. They are therefore subject to reassignment. But there are rules to how and when they can be moved around. Four agencies didn't always follow those rules. Federal Drive with Tom Temin got the details from the acting director for Strategic Issues at the Government Accountability Office, Michelle Rosenberg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices