The Fed Mission Success Round Up: Vaccine Mandate, New Appointees, Emerging Tech, and More in Federal Agencies

Weekly News Round Up
Written By Fareeha Khan

Welcome to the Fed Mission Success News Round Up brought to you by Makpar. Each week, we will provide a summary of actionable news and insights to help aid in overall mission success for Federal agency IT decision-makers and influencers.

Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors Blocked In 3 States

The preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove stops the mandate from taking effect in Kentucky, Tennessee and Ohio.

Meet the New Second in Command of Procurement at the IRS

At the IRS, like a lot of large agencies, procurement, technology and mission are all tied together. Now the IRS has a new deputy chief procurement officer, someone with long Federal and private sector experience.

CISA Announces Members of Team Providing Advice on Cybersecurity Threats

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) announced the establishment of its Cybersecurity Advisory Committee, and almost two dozen members who will provide input on efforts to enhance cybersecurity defense priorities.

18th Airborne Corps Signs Tech Partnership with Universities

One of the Army’s most elite units inked agreements with several universities to collaborate on education and research as a part of its strategy to become the first “AI-ready corps.” 

Leveraging Enterprise Cloud for JADC2

From the frontlines to the home base, our nation’s warfighters must be connected at all times to enable information sharing and support joint decision-making. To deliver on these goals, the  Department of Defense’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control concept – or JADC2 – aims to connect all military services on a single network.

Dear Colleague Letter: Encouraging Research on Open Knowledge Networks

With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), the National Science Foundation (NSF) invites principal investigators (PIs) to submit proposals that contribute to OKN research and practice. Proposals can be submitted to core programs as Small projects within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE). This spans the following divisions and programs: Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) and Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) divisions and the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC), as well as the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program. Please note that the proposal submission window for Small projects to the OAC Core Program is December 1 ‒ December 22, 2021. Other CISE Core Programs accept proposals anytime. However, for full consideration under this DCL in fiscal year (FY) 2022, proposals should be submitted before April 15, 2022.

GAO's Sustained Protest Against CIO SP4 and Where NITAAC May Go from Here

The Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4) procurement of the National Institutes of Health’s Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) has garnered a great deal of attention. With confusion over evaluation criteria, a string of last-minute solicitation amendments and reversals, short extensions of the rushed due dates for proposals, and a series of major changes in how offerors were permitted to form teams, small business offerors scrambled to rearrange their teams and sometimes changed the prime offeror itself as a result of NITAAC’s various restrictions on teaming arrangements. 

FTC Investigating Major Retailers Over Supply Chain Backlog

The Federal Trade Commission ordered nine major retailers, including Amazon, Kroger, and Walmart, to release company information to illuminate ongoing supply chain issues that are disrupting the U.S. economy.

US Government Agencies Bought Chinese Surveillance Tech Despite Federal Ban

At least three U.S. Federal agencies, including the military, have purchased China-made video surveillance equipment banned from use in the Federal government. 

Automation, Analytics Should Drive Customer Experience, Experts Say

When it comes to delivering efficient government services, contact center experts are encouraging organizations to use automation and data-driven analytics in order to put the needs of their customers first.

A Single Pane of Glass: Improve Security, Reduce Costs Across Hybrid Federal Environments

Federal mandates, including Cloud Smart and the Biden administration’s cybersecurity executive order, are pushing agencies to modernize and migrate to the cloud. But with modernization comes complexity. Agencies are increasingly living in a hybrid world, with some workloads remaining on-premises while others move to the cloud. Add multi-cloud vendors to the mix, and it becomes harder for agencies to have a holistic view across their environments. Agencies can make better decisions that will improve their security, ensure they are meeting compliance regulations, optimize resources, and reduce costs with a single pane of glass.

Fed Officials on the Top Challenge in Digital Transformation

Digital transformation allows agencies to modernize their information technology portfolios more disciplined, well-managed, and controlled. However, Federal officials said that a lack of governance and direction makes a digital transformation difficult to achieve.

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Fareeha Khan
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