Critical Update

The government faces a serious brain drain: For every one tech worker under 30 years old, there are almost five who are 60 and older. One way to fix that is lure talent from the private-sector for short-term stints in the government. Marcy Jacobs runs one such team: the Digital Service team at the Veterans Affairs department. She shares what she looks for when she’s building her team and how some fall in love with the mission.

The administration has made it clear: Agencies must modernize. We talk about the the real goals of modernization—cheaper, faster, more secure IT—and how the administration plans to achieve these; early accomplishments and how private sector innovators can help government serve the American people.

The Homeland Security Department plays a critical role in cybersecurity. The agency not only oversees cybersecurity for the entire civilian government, but it gives cyber help to other industries as well. Nextgov Senior Correspondent Joseph Marks and Homeland Security’s cyber lead Jeanette Manfra discuss how to protect election systems from hacking, forging new alliances with industry, and the importance of a diverse and inclusive cyber workforce.

Blockchain, cryptocurrencies, software-defined networking—game-changing technologies surface all the time but getting them into federal agencies is another matter. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which maps human activity around the globe, has an office dedicated to adopting innovative ideas across the agency. Nextgov Senior Editor Aaron Boyd chats with NGA’s Chief Ventures Officer Christy Monaco about working with industry partners, refining pitches and tapping into agency intrapreneurs.

New, game-changing technologies are surfacing all the time but getting them into agencies can be challenging. In this sneak peek of episode 2, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's Chief Ventures Officer Christy Monaco talks about some of the tech prototypes she's encountered that blow her mind.

Before we talk about the future of government technology, let’s find out where we are. Nextgov’s Senior Editor Aaron Boyd chats with Dave Powner, the head of IT management issues for the Government Accountability Office, about the present state of agency tech, why it’s so hard for government to integrate new ideas, plus how to take advantage of emerging tech.