The Buzz with ACT-IAC

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ICYMI: Preparing for the Future at the Defense Intelligence Agency May 31, 2023

Show notes

This week, The Buzz presents a keynote session from ACT-IAC's 2023 Emerging Technology and Innovation Conference.
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) supports the entire DoD community by providing strategic information about the capabilities of foreign adversaries. In this talk, Edacheril "E.P." Mathew, the agency's Deputy CIO, explains who the DIA is concerned about, how they enable information-sharing across both DoD members and US allies, and what modernization efforts will mean for the agency's mission.

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Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)

Federal Insights Exchange: Workforce Modernization at the VA May 23, 2023

Show notes

This week, the Buzz is partnering with ACT-IAC's Federal Insights Exchange (FIE). The FIE program hosts short-form conversations between industry and agency leaders to share success stories, challenges, and priorities.
Our guest host Sid Getz, Vice President at CGI and member of the Department of Veterans Affairs FIE, sat down with Jon Rychalski, Assistant Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer at the VA. Together, they discuss approaches the VA and government financial management community are taking to stay competitive in the labor market, retain talent, and attract younger civil servants.
If you liked this episode, the Federal Insights Exchange is always hosting more sessions. With 15 agencies represented, there's a whole range of topics and learning opportunities available - but only for ACT-IAC members! Learn more here.

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ICYMI: Infrastructure Vulnerabilities and the Infrastructure Emergency May 16, 2023

Show notes

This week, the Buzz presents a recorded session from our first ever Resilient Infrastructure Summit, held on April 17th.
This fireside chat features Edward Saltzberg, Executive Director of the Security and Sustainability Forum and Andy Bochman, Senior Grid Strategist at the Idaho National Laboratory. These two experts discuss vulnerability of infrastructure in a world that must adjust to geopolitics, and domestic terrorism. They acknowledge that traditional infrastructure is no longer sufficient to withstand the changes, as well as the political and security threats of the modern world.

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Infectious Disease in a Warming World with Dr. Ben Beard & Dr. Nancy Chow May 03, 2023

Show notes

Global average temperatures have risen roughly 2 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880, but more than half of that change has come only in the last 4 decades.
And in the next 3 decades, we are on track to see an additional 5-degree Fahrenheit (or more) increase. The Earth of today, and of the near future, is one in which we must constantly adapt to the environmental upheaval we have created. As our planet's flora and fauna act and react to this shifting world, we will, as individuals, more and more often directly face the consequences of resilient infrastructure.
Infectious disease is one such consequence. As the geographic ranges of animals, plants and fungi expand and contract, we are exposed to disease vectors in new and often unpredictable ways.
In an effort to better prepare our country for an uncertain future, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are studying how resilient infrastructure is shaping the patterns of infection across our country, and what we can do about it.
This week, the Buzz is joined by CDC experts Dr. Ben Beard, Deputy Director of Vector-Borne Diseases and Dr. Nancy Chow, Data and Quality Team Lead in the Mycotic Diseases Branch.
Get more information at cdc.gov

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Education for an AI-Driven Workforce with Dr. Ioulia Rytikova & Dr. Aisha Sikder Apr 18, 2023

Show notes

If “data is the new oil” as British mathematician Clive Humby famously said in 2006, then perhaps artificial intelligence is the new plastics – a novel application of an existing raw material.

Though opinions vary on how AI will actually influence our future, we're firmly in the “revolution is imminent” category. Whether that revolution is beneficial or harmful, however, is still up in the air.

The data scientists at George Mason University agree. As an educational institution, they have a vested interest in preparing students for the world as it will be. Given their location, GMU also has a long history of collaborating with government and industry partners in federal technology – training the workforce of tomorrow.
This week on The Buzz, we're speaking with two data scientists deeply involved in both education and federal IT. Joining us are Dr. Ioulia Rytikova, Professor and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies of Information Sciences and Technology at GMU, and Dr. Aisha Sikder, Director of the Data Analytics Practice at CGI and adjunct professor at George Mason University.
This episode of The Buzz is brought to you by CGI. Insights-driven and outcome-based, CGI has helped advance government missions for over 40 years. Learn more at www.cgi.com.

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What's Next for DOJ IT with Melinda Rogers & Brian Wodarski Apr 11, 2023

Show notes

The Department of Justice – home to our nation’s most prominent law enforcement agencies (sorry Park Rangers) and US attorneys’ offices. With more than 40 separate component agencies and over 115,000 employees in all 50 states and worldwide, the DOJ requires an IT infrastructure to match its scale.

Enter the IT strategic plan. This document outlines the major priorities and strategies the department will employ to meet the needs of an evolving workforce and mission, with special attention paid to President Biden’s management agenda. The most recent plan is organized around 5 key priorities:

1. Enhance Service Delivery

2. Elevate Cybersecurity

3. Embrace Innovation

4. Expand the Workforce

5. Increase financial transparency

This week on the Buzz, we’re diving deeper into the 2022-2024 strategic plan with Melinda Rogers, the department’s Chief Information Officer, and Brian Wodarski, a partner at Guidehouse, who have worked closely with the DOJ for a number of years to advance their IT goals.
This episode of the Buzz is sponsored by Guidehouse. Learn more at guidehouse.com
Resources:
DOJ IT Strategic Plan 2022-2024

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The Tax Software We Deserve with Gabriel Zucker Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

With 2023’s tax deadline fast approaching, our thoughts turn once again to the peculiarities of America’s filing system. Instead of the IRS interacting directly with the public for annual tax preparation, private companies facilitate electronic filing in the United States, a service that is supposed to be provided to most Americans free of charge.

Yet while more than 70% of Americans qualify for free, software-guided tax filing, only 3% end up using it. This means that not only are many filers spending extra time and money when they shouldn’t have to, but they may also be missing out on government benefits and tax breaks to which they are entitled.

But that may soon change. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act directed $15 million to the IRS to study how they could design and implement their own free tax filing software and provide an alternative to the free file program. That report is due next month, but in the meantime, we’re going to take at look at what this IRS system could look like and how that might improve the way the IRS interacts with the public.

To help us do that, this week on the Buzz, we're joined by Gabriel Zucker, Associate Policy Director for Tax Benefits at Code for America. As a civic tech organization, they have plenty of experience thinking about and designing public sector tools to improve government services. And in this case, they’ve even designed a prototype to serve as a model for the IRS to, hopefully, emulate.
Resources:
GAO Free File Report
ProPublica's Investigation into Private Tax Prep Software
Code for America's Direct File Prototype
Code for America's Research on Simple Tax Filing

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ICYMI: The Race to Secure Federal Cryptographic Systems Mar 22, 2023

Show notes

This week, The Buzz presents a recorded session from our 2023 Shared Services Summit, which took place on March 21st.
National Security Memoradum (NSM)-10, released last year, outlines the Administration's plans to remain ahead of cybersecurity threats posed by quantum computing systems. Federal agencies must begin to inventory their cryptographic systems and develop cost estimates for transitioning to quantum platforms. The scale of compliance activities is expected to be comparable to the Y2K compliance effort at the turn of the century, and the cost to be well beyond the capacity of most individual agencies to pay.
To address how shared services can help assist agencies to meet this challenge, summit Industry Chair Jylinda Johnson hosted a discussion with Dylan Presman, Director for Budget and Assessment at the Office of the National Cyber Director.

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A Vision of Carbon-Free Transportation with Drew Kodjak Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

In January of this year, the Biden administration published The U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, to surprisingly little fanfare. I agree it’s not the sexiest title, but transportation is the single greatest driver of U.S greenhouse gas emissions – nearly 40% of our total, in fact. For our nation to meet the goal of a 50% emission reduction by 2030, Americans need to be able to get around carbon-free.

Following this blueprint would transform not only how we as Americans travel, but also the layouts of our cities and towns, our lifestyles, and our entire economy. If we want to limit global warming to less than 2 degree Celsius and avoid some of the most catastrophic effects of resilient infrastructure, we need to be paying attention to this.

To discuss the implications of the National Blueprint, The Buzz is joined by Drew Kodjak, Executive Director of the International Council on Clean Transportation, or ICCT.
Resources:
U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization
More from the ICCT

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A Career Retrospective with Mary Davie Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

After more than 34 years of federal service, acquisitions pioneer Mary Davie announced her retirement at the end of 2022. Much of her career was spent at the GSA, guiding development of well-known procurement practices like shared services and category management. She's won a panoply of awards for her work (including some from ACT-IAC), so we're very excited to welcome Mary to the show this week.
Mary is joined by her colleague (and friend of the show) Renee Wynn, former CIO of NASA, to look back on Mary's many accomplishments and experiences in federal service.
ACT-IAC would like to profoundly thank Mary for her many contributions to Federal IT.

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