Nextgov/FCW - Authors - Emily Long

Calling Buzz Lightyear: NASA taps all sorts to spur innovation

Emily Long — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

NASA is one of the most innovative agencies in government, but to keep its programs on the cutting edge, Jason Crusan has to get creative. As chief technologist for space operations, he tackles key problems by crowdsourcing ideas from the best and the brightest--both inside and outside government.

For example, the NASA Tournament Lab uses a challenge approach to drive innovation in unexpected places. Open calls online for software and design technology, such as a space-friendly exercise device, reach people who wouldn't normally respond to a traditional request for proposals. Crusan also works on CubeSat, a partnership with universities to build small satellites for orbit.

"We innovate by just doing our missions, we innovate because we have to sometimes, and then we have opportunities to innovate in how we engage with the public as well," Crusan says. "What we're quickly learning is not only are they benefiting from being involved with the space program, but we are benefiting from them bringing new ideas to the table."

Crusan is on a mission to make NASA accessible to all. In a partnership with Disney, the space agency features the Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear in educational materials to teach kids about life in space. The program bridges the gap between fantasy and the real, hard science of space missions, he says.

His next project is to stand up a virtual group with other agencies, nonprofits and foundations to improve innovation governmentwide.

]]>

Lessons from DISA in meeting new telework requirements

Emily Long — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Federal agencies are under pressure to implement the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act, which requires them by June to establish policies governing work outside the office, identify eligible employees and inform them of the option. The Defense Information Systems Agency already has an established telework program and nearly 50 percent of its employees have been approved to work remotely. To learn how DISA is meeting the challenge, review the Telework Best Practices case study on Nextgov's sister website GovExec.com. It is the first in series of Best Practices case studies on improving performance across government.

]]>

Dialing Up Telework

Emily Long — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Federal agencies are racing toward a deadline to get broad telework programs up and running and must develop detailed guidance on working remotely. This could be tricky because when it comes to preparing managers and employees for the expectations of telework, observers say government still has a ways to go.

There's little room for failure. In a December 2010 executive order, President Obama gave agencies until June to establish a policy on working outside the office, identify eligible employees and inform them of the option. The law also requires leaders to name an official to oversee telework programs and to incorporate the policy into plans for continuing essential services during natural disasters or other emergencies.

Agencies are required to develop written agreements that outline telework terms and conditions with authorized employees. Some have established telework programs and have contracts in place, while others are just beginning to identify eligible employees and face a steep learning curve, says Adam Cole, director of government practice at the Corporate Executive Board.

The Defense Information Systems Agency has a standard telework agreement and an automated process through which employees request flexible work arrangements, either on an ad hoc or a recurring basis. Aaron Glover, special assistant to the director of manpower, personnel and security at DISA, says the requirements are the same for most eligible employees. For example, teleworkers pledge not to take classified data outside the office, to complete time and attendance forms, and to work exclusively on government-furnished laptops. DISA employees who telework also are required to work during government closures due to inclement weather, Glover adds.

But observers agree a one-size-fits-all approach might not be appropriate because telework, by its very nature, is meant to be flexible. Consequently, employees who handle classified information or who work on team projects likely will have to include specific provisions in their contracts outlining conditions and restrictions. Standard agreements can be customized based on an employee's category or level, observers say.

Developing a contract is key because it lets both managers and employees know exactly what is expected on telework days, says Paul Rowson, managing director at human resources association WorldatWork. A good telework agreement includes performance metrics and defines how outcomes will be measured, lists when and for what reasons employees will be required to be in the office, and outlines an exit strategy that allows either the manager or employee to terminate the agreement when the work landscape changes, he says.

According to Cole, telework contracts also should lay out guidelines for setting up teleworkers' workspace and define the cadence of interactions with their managers and co-workers, including the hours they are expected to be available and how often they should check in. Communication is one of the most important aspects of telework arrangements, Cole notes.

"The communication piece is very, very critical," says Rowson. "For example, [when] a manager can't reach an employee when they need them, and in the meantime, they're dwelling on why not. At the same time, he notes, "an employee feels like no one told them about something and they're not part of the conversation." This is where agreements "break down in spirit," Rowson says, and mistrust develops.

Effective communication should be a key part of managers' telework training, experts agree.

Communication is easily compromised when employees work remotely, so managers must be more deliberate with tools they already use, Cole says. He notes, for example, that learning to write e-mails to convey detailed project guidance and the correct sense of urgency can limit misunderstandings between employees and managers, as can regularly scheduled opportunities for feedback.

Manager training is likely to be the toughest challenge in rolling out telework programs, but both agency leaders and observers agree it's a critical step in the process.

"The key to our success has been providing training to all our managers in regard to teleworking--how you manage the remote workforce [and] communication with the employee and make sure expectations are identified so everybody knows what's going to be expected while the employee is teleworking," Glover says. "We also had separate training sessions to make sure the employees knew what their roles and responsibilities are within the telework arena."

]]>

TSP recalls erroneous distribution payments

Emily Long — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The Thrift Savings Plan is collecting more than $58 million in mistaken distributions to plan enrollees, officials said Tuesday during a monthly meeting of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board.

More than 9,700 of the plan's 4.4 million participants in December 2010 erroneously received checks for the distribution payments required when investors reach age 70 1/2. TSP notified those affected and asked them to repay the funds. Almost 6,200 checks have been returned, and the agency is in the process of putting the money back into participant accounts.

"This is a situation I'm not pleased about," said TSP Director Greg Long. "Long story short, we made an error."

According to Long, the error was the result of a software change accompanying the introduction of spousal beneficiary participant accounts. TSP does not have the capacity to run automated database tests, due to its reliance on institutional knowledge and a complex year-end payment process, he said. The fiscal 2011 budget initially included funding for automated testing tools, but that purchase was delayed to reduce cost. At the meeting, the board approved a $1.5 million budget addition to pay for those tools, however.

Board members applauded the success of the program to automatically sign up all new civilian hires to contribute 3 percent of their basic pay to the government securities (G) fund, unless they choose to terminate their contributions, or change the amount. According to Renee Wilder, director of research and strategic planning at TSP, 70,779 newly hired federal employees who did not initially elect to participate have been auto-enrolled in the TSP since Aug. 1. An additional 13,526 new hires chose to invest in the TSP. The process is capturing 97.6 percent of new federal workers, Wilder said.

"We're interested in people that likely we would not have had as participants, but among that group we're interested in people who make no active decision and stay in the G Fund permanently," said Long. "We want to get people in that otherwise would not have been in and then later on encourage them to take active participation in their accounts."

Military personnel are not eligible for auto-enrollment. The number of active-duty participants in the TSP increased from 551,552 in November to 560,796 in December, boosting the participation rate from 37.7 percent to 38.4 percent. Ready reserve participation jumped from 14.8 percent in November to 15.5 percent last month. The overall participation rate for Federal Employees Retirement System enrollees is 83.2 percent. According to TSP staff, military participants are anticipating the introduction of a Roth option, set for early 2012.

"Among the uniformed services, a potential for the game-changer in the conversation is Roth," said Long. "Once we are able to deliver what they've asked for, we'll be able to have conversations about auto-enrollment."

Board member Dana Bilyeu questioned whether recent measures to limit government spending and freeze federal pay would affect the 3 percent agency match TSP participants receive. According to Tom Trabucco, TSP director of external affairs, there has been a proposal to suspend or change the match as a cost-savings measure, but the idea hasn't garnered support.

]]>

Feds receive revised retirement statements

Emily Long — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The Office of Personnel Management is reconciling federal employees' retirement system deposits after years of miscalculated payments.

OPM has been working since 2008 on a fix to its Service Credit System, which calculates retirement annuities for those who either did not contribute to the retirement fund during a certain period, or those who received a refund of retirement contributions. The glitch caused employees in both the Civil Service Retirement System and the Federal Employees Retirement System to be charged incorrect interest rates on their service credit deposits. In some cases, workers paid no interest at all, according to OPM. The agency estimated the error affected 12,000 participants.

OPM Director John Berry initially pledged to overhaul the system by April 2010.

OPM last week sent letters to all affected participants, including those who made payments and did not receive a receipt, with account details. The agency has recalculated the interest owed to determine current balances.

According to David Snell, retirement benefits manager for the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association, CSRS and FERS participants owing less than $100 have the option to withhold the outstanding balance from their finalized annuity payment.

Other account holders will be given a one-time six month grace period, which began Jan. 1, to pay off their current balance without accruing additional interest. If participants do not pay off what they owe by June 30, then they will be charged interest on the remaining balance, according to OPM.

"With the law changing in 2009 that allowed FERS employees to pay back for periods of refunded service, which before they couldn't do, and none of that service was creditable for retirement, they can now repay for periods of service," said Snell. "I'm sure that that impacted workload at OPM at the same time they were having problems with the system."

]]>

Obama announces two-year federal pay freeze

Emily Long — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500

This story has been updated from the original version.

Federal employees will not receive any pay increases for two years, Obama administration officials announced on Monday.

President Obama's proposed pay freeze for 2011 and 2012 will apply to all civilian workers, including Defense Department employees, but not to military personnel. Workers who are promoted to a higher General Schedule grade still will be eligible for pay raises, officials said.

According to the White House, the freeze will save $28 billion during the next five years. The measure is a continuation of the administration's Accountable Government Initiative, designed to cut cost and save taxpayer dollars.

"I did not reach this decision easily," Obama said in a White House address. "This is not just a line item on a ledger; these are people's lives."

He noted several groups of federal employees, including doctors and nurses at the Veterans Affairs Department, National Park Service employees, and Social Security Administration workers, perform critical functions. But he said sacrifice is required to balance the federal budget and to get the economy moving again. "That sacrifice must be shared by the employees of the federal government," Obama said.

"I'm asking civil servants to do what they've always done: Play their part," the president added.

The president had proposed a 1.4 percent pay hike for civilian and military employees in his fiscal 2011 budget. The Senate Appropriations Committee in July approved legislation that met Obama's request for the civilian raise, but House appropriators have been silent on the issue.

On the military side, Senate Appropriations in September approved legislation granting a 1.4 percent pay raise for service members, matching the figure included in the Senate Armed Services Committee's Defense authorization bill. The House Appropriations Committee has not released the figure to be included in its Defense legislation, but the House in late May passed its Defense authorization bill with a 1.9 percent pay raise for service members. (An authorization bill represents what Congress intends to spend, but appropriators actually allocate the funds.) Obama has said he opposes the higher proposed increase.

The administration has not ruled out other changes, such as workforce reductions, Office of Management and Budget Deputy Director for Management Jeffrey Zients told reporters before Obama's announcement.

"We're in the midst of the 2012 budgeting process," Zients said. "Really agencies are going to need to do more with less. No specific decisions have been made as far as size of federal workforce -- we will roll that out as part of the budget."

Zients noted Monday's announcement comes just before the president's Nov. 30 deadline to set locality pay.

"This pay freeze is not a reflection on [federal workers'] fine work," wrote OMB Director Jack Lew in a blog post. "It is a reflection of the fiscal reality that we face: just as families and businesses across the nation have tightened their belts, so must the federal government."

Lawmakers and union leaders reacted strongly to the proposed freeze.

"At a time when our nation's seniors have been denied a cost-of-living-increase and private sector hiring is stagnant, it is both necessary and quite frankly, long overdue to institute a pay freeze for the federal workforce," said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. Issa is likely to take over the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee responsible for federal workforce issues. In addition to freezing pay, Republican lawmakers have outlined a number of proposals that would affect the federal workforce.

Democrats and unions were more critical.

"While I appreciate that the president reduced the length of his proposed pay freeze from three to two years, it would have produced significantly more savings had that sacrifice been shared between federal civilian and military personnel -- with a strong exception for the members of our military and civilian employees risking their lives on our behalf in Afghanistan, Iraq and anywhere else they are serving in harm's way," said House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., adding the proposal also will hinder governmentwide pay parity.

The National Treasury Employees Union "is mindful of our nation's economic circumstances, but we are very disappointed with the White House's position and intend to explore all of our options, including working with Congress to overturn it," said Colleen Kelley, NTEU's president. "The modest 1.4 percent raise under consideration for 2011 is reflective of the average increase in wages in the private sector."

Patricia Niehaus, national president of the Federal Managers Association, said the decision feels like a punishment for federal employees and called on the administration to reconsider whether a pay freeze is the appropriate action.

"Not only does this recommendation disregard future economic conditions that warrant examination of annual federal pay adjustments, but it also serves as a major deterrent to potential hires with critical expertise," Niehaus said. "Federal agencies will be unable to attract the best and brightest to civil service if the government institutes a blanket freeze on federal pay."

]]>

Federal security clearance process improves, officials say

Emily Long — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The federal government has improved the speed and efficiency of its security clearance process, but challenges remain with technology and collaboration, officials said on Tuesday.

Agency leaders reported progress in reducing the time it takes to conduct security clearances required for federal jobs during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Oversight of Government Management Subcommittee hearing. The government processes nearly 900,000 cases annually, the majority of which are for Defense Department positions.

A Government Accountability Office audit released at the hearing found Defense required 325 days on average to complete initial personnel security clearances in 2007, but reduced processing time to 60 days in the first three quarters of fiscal 2010. The Office of Personnel Management, which conducts 90 percent of the government's background investigations, reduced its average completion time for initial security clearances from 153 days in fiscal 2007 to 47 days in fiscal 2010, according to agency data.

Officials also reported improvements in the efficiency of the clearance process. Both Defense and OPM have developed tools to track quality concerns, and the Performance Accountability Council, created in 2008 to refine the security clearance process, has developed metrics to evaluate agency performance, they said.

In spite of the progress, lawmakers questioned whether Defense and OPM have sufficient resources to roll out the information technology required to support the clearance process. Current IT capabilities are outdated and must be modernized in a timely manner, they said.

"IT in this process offers promise to increase efficiency, timeliness and quality all at once if indeed we manage these projects well," said Office of Management and Budget acting Director Jeffrey Zients, adding agencies have integrated the major clearance databases with improved search capabilities.

According to Director John Berry, during the next three years OPM will work to update all eight components of its IT infrastructure, including an electronic fingerprint tool and capabilities to collect background checks from state and local law enforcement. OPM has continued to charge agencies reasonable rates to conduct investigations while upgrading its system, and 98 percent of all submissions for processing are done electronically, he said.

"We feel we're making good progress," said Berry. "The fruit is being borne in the numbers that we're reaching, and we can do this within the budget. Any time we have a savings, the savings gets folded into the technology."

Elizabeth McGrath, deputy chief management officer at Defense, said the department's new IT infrastructure is scheduled to launch by the end of 2012. The upgrade will provide better access to information and documentation of adjudication decisions, she said.

Lawmakers also expressed concern that some agencies still are refusing to accept clearances granted by other agencies, which slows hiring for national security positions.

"The problem that we've had is some agencies just refuse to do it," said Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio. "We should just say if we have this type of clearance, it should be acceptable in your shop."

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said reciprocity rules have been issued to agencies and noted there are plans to develop a hot line that will allow people to report reciprocity incidents. Anecdotal data will help officials determine the extent of the problem, he added.

]]>

Cybersecurity is 'really about the people,' official says

Emily Long — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

A strong cybersecurity workforce is critical to protecting government computer networks from attack, according to cyber experts.

During a Thursday panel discussion hosted by the consultancy Deloitte, federal officials and security analysts said building a multidisciplinary, highly skilled workforce is at least as important as developing information technology tools to combat cybersecurity threats. The federal government needs employees trained in multiple career fields to address technology and policy concerns, they said.

"If you have the right people, technology processes and other things don't matter that much," said Philip Reitinger, deputy undersecretary of the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Homeland Security Department. "If you don't, technology processes and other things don't matter that much. It's really about the people."

Panelists agreed cybersecurity is not simply an IT concern. Cyber threats present legal, policy, strategic and technical questions, along with challenges in education, standards, intellectual property and law enforcement, said Jacob Olcott, counsel for the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. It is an important initiative for both right brains and left brains, he added.

"We need to build that end-to-end ecosystem ... that gets people excited about being a geek, that leads them to mathematical and engineering education," Reitinger said. He noted, however, that building the workforce goes beyond the "cybersecurity jedi" to cross multiple disciplines, from political science to software development.

Kevin Cooley, command information officer of the Navy's Fleet Cyber Command 10th Fleet, said cybersecurity requires not only front-line workers, but also strong managers to enforce policies.

"You have to have the right people with the right technical skills performing in an environment that is clarified by good policy, but we're still going to be dealing with very complex environments, and that requires some managerial chops," he said.

Panelists said one challenge to building the workforce is the government's tedious hiring process. The USAJobs website is not user-friendly for candidates interested in federal positions, and the process needs to be modernized across the board, officials said. In addition, agencies must use tools like social networks and virtual job fairs that appeal to those looking for cyber-related positions.

"We've got huge interest, huge demand and federal practices that might need a little work," said Jim Lewis, director and senior fellow for the technology and public policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "We have created disincentives for recruitment and pulling them down is going to be really hard."

Training and certification also is a hurdle, panelists said. Individuals need access to multidisciplinary degrees and paths to a variety of cyber career fields with the potential to advance, but the pipeline isn't being built fast enough. Cybersecurity must be considered a profession and incorporate more data-driven decision-making, they said.

"Cyber skills and expertise don't just happen," said Lt. Gen. Harry Raduege Jr., director and chairman of the Deloitte Center for Cyber Innovation. "They require a strategic approach and alignment with your mission and a sustained investment of resources."

]]>

GAO: Federal background checks can be risky business

Emily Long — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The Office of Personnel Management should improve its oversight of federal background investigations to ensure the security of personal information, according to a new audit.

A Government Accountability Office report released Thursday found OPM's Federal Investigative Service, which conducts background checks for individuals seeking government employment and security clearances, has limited oversight of privacy regulations designed to protect identifying information collected in those processes. FIS is bound by the 1974 Privacy Act and the 2002 E-Government Act to limit the disclosure and use of personal information and to implement safeguards for protecting that data. It does not monitor investigator and agency compliance to privacy laws, however, the audit found.

According to GAO, the Federal Investigative Service collects large amounts of personal identifying information to conduct background investigations. While OPM has developed assessments to ensure data is used only for specified purposes, it has not updated guidance for officials responsible for implementing processes to address those risks. FIS also has limited oversight of investigators and customer agencies to ensure they are following privacy protection regulations, the report found.

"While FIS has policies and procedures to protect [personal identifying information] used by its field investigators, there is no process to assess the level of protection of PII provided by these investigators while investigative activity is under way," GAO stated. "Without an oversight mechanism that directly assesses investigators' adherence to OPM PII protection policies, the agency lacks assurance that PII is being properly protected."

One concern is the volume of background checks that must be completed quickly, said Lillie Coney, associate director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a Washington-based public interest group, adding investigators require rapid training and supervision to keep up with the workload. According to GAO, the Federal Investigative Service conducts 90 percent of all federal personnel investigations and in 2009 completed more than 2 million checks. OPM should evaluate the processes in place and ensure personal information cannot be accessed with data mining programs, Coney added.

Improved oversight and evaluation would ensure the more than 7,000 workers responsible for conducting background investigations are following agency policies, GAO concluded. In addition, the report recommended OPM develop procedures for monitoring customer agencies' compliance with privacy regulations.

In comments on the draft report, OPM agreed with GAO's recommendations, but noted it has implemented procedures to ensure investigators follow privacy policies. GAO, however, said despite recent efforts, compliance still is lagging.

]]>

Telework is about to take off, officials say

Emily Long — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The federal government is on the brink of shifting toward a culture of telework, according to agency heads.

During a Thursday Telework Exchange Town Hall, federal officials said last winter's Washington-area snowstorms, along with recent legislation, the potential for increased productivity and a more environmentally friendly workplace, have pushed agencies closer to adopting widespread telework options.

"It's a tipping point for the business case," General Services Administration chief Martha Johnson told reporters. "The business case is not just finances and it's not just employee happiness -- it's also sustainability, and it's security. Those four together really make a robust argument that it's hard to back away from."

Agencies soon could be required to implement formal telework programs. The Senate on Sept. 30 approved compromise legislation to expand telework opportunities across federal agencies. The bill, which requires agencies to develop formal policies, employee agreements and manager training programs, must pass the House before being sent to President Obama.

According to Johnson, the government's commitment to reducing the number of buildings it occupies, along with the amount of money saved in commuting costs, creates a strong argument for telework and exemplifies good management. A recent Telework Exchange study found federal employees spend an average $138 per month on fuel, but working outside the office can save them $55.52 for that same period.

"That means money in the pocket for people and it means time available for sanity, for additional work," Johnson said.

It also can mean more money in agencies' pockets. Speaking Thursday on the campus of The George Washington University for the 2010 GreenGov Symposium, Danette Campbell, senior adviser for telework at the Patent and Trademark Office, said her agency's telework program is estimated to have saved the cost of securing $11 million in real estate. PTO's initiative began in 1997 with just 18 employees working from home. Today, more than 5,600 of the agency's employees are teleworking from one to four days a week. Telework is a "big part of the culture" at PTO, Campbell said. "It is a business strategy."

During his keynote address at the town hall event, Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry said he will encourage agencies to take several steps in rolling out telework initiatives. They should begin with the presumption that all employees are eligible to telework and negotiate agreements to carefully define results workers must achieve, he said. Agency leaders also have to determine how to address underperformers and get past a "butts in seats" management culture. Finally, OPM must refine data collection processes to properly measure achievement, Berry said.

"Productivity gains are going to be essential," Berry said. "To get the most from our employees, we need to invest in them with training and equipment so they can work wherever they need to and wherever they want to."

Johnson and Berry agreed the objective is to significantly increase the number of employees working outside the office, which will boost productivity and wellness.

"Our long-term goal is to have the vast majority of our workforce telework on a regular basis," Berry said.

Norah Swanson contributed to this report.

]]>

FEHBP database raises privacy concerns

Emily Long — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 00:00:00 -0400

A new Office of Personnel Management database designed to track federal employee health benefit plans could put at risk the personal information of participants, according to privacy advocates.

OPM last week announced plans for a database tool to track and evaluate the quality and cost of services provided through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. According to an Oct. 5 notice in the Federal Register, the health claims data warehouse will centralize information about FEHBP; the National Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Program, which provides coverage to those denied insurance because of a medical condition; and the Multi-State Option Plan.

The tool will collect information such as the enrollee's name, Social Security number, employment details and information about health care providers, medical diagnoses and insurance coverage. OPM will look at demographic, health and pricing trends across the programs to find ways to reduce costs, the notice said.

Privacy advocates expressed concern the database could violate patient privacy. The notice does not provide details about how the information will be stored securely, nor does it explain how the data will be stripped of identification information before being released for research purposes, said Dr. Deborah Peel, founder of the nonprofit Patient Privacy Rights.

OPM doesn't need a centralized tool to analyze FEHBP information because that data already exists with the plan providers, said Deven McGraw, director of the Health Privacy Project at the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology, adding the database presents another opportunity for outsiders to access sensitive information.

"OPM is proposing to create one big, centralized database rather than asking the plans to run analyses and give them the answers," McGraw said. "Records that used to be in one place are now in two."

She suggested OPM require health plans to provide aggregated information rather than the raw data the warehouse tool will collect.

"This could be a condition of participation in FEHBP," McGraw said. "There's no reason why they can't get plans to give them this data ... they have the authority to have queries run by plans without moving data into the middle, thereby exposing the data to risk."

According to the notice, the information could be used in law enforcement proceedings, congressional inquiries or OPM workforce studies. In some cases, individuals could be identified through the data selected, OPM said. Researchers and analysts outside government also could gain access to the information to examine health insurance trends, the notice added. McGraw and Peel both expressed concern that individuals claiming to do research could access sensitive patient data without rules or constraints.

"We do not see adequate safeguards to ensure that the aggregated records are made secure from thieves and are not used as fodder for the health data mining industry," Peel said. "This proposal is irresponsible because those in the database cannot trust that their information is secure and they have no ability to consent to research uses of their data."

OPM did not respond to requests for comment.

]]>

Senate passes bill boosting telework

Emily Long — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved compromise legislation to expand telecommuting opportunities governmentwide.

The bill, H.R. 1722, requires federal agencies within 180 days to determine employees' eligibility to telework, establish policies under which those personnel are allowed to work remotely and develop written agreements with authorized employees. The legislation also requires agencies to integrate telework into their continuity of operations plans and to train managers, supervisors and employees on the new policies.

The Senate initially passed its version of the 2010 Telework Enhancement Act in May, while the House passed a similar measure in July. The compromise legislation was necessary to clear up minor differences between the two bills.

The Federal Managers Association expressed support for the legislation and encouraged House lawmakers to follow the Senate's lead.

"Telework has the potential to revolutionize federal agency operations and is a vital resource in meeting the challenges of retaining experienced professionals and enticing talented employees," said FMA President Patricia Niehaus.

]]>

Networx delays could force GSA to extend existing telecom contracts

Emily Long — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Federal agencies' lack of progress in transitioning to the government's massive Networx telecommunications contract could force the General Services Administration to negotiate temporary contracts with higher rates and fees, according to an industry expert.

Diana Gowen, senior vice president and general manager for Qwest Government Services, said despite some increased activity around telecommunications services, vendors are in a "hurry up and wait" situation as agencies slowly transition to the new contract. The pace could leave GSA with little choice but to negotiate sole-source contracts to extend existing telecom contracts temporarily and to raise fees to agencies to encourage progress, she added.

Lawmakers, federal officials and industry representatives have criticized the slow transition to Networx, which is valued at $68 billion over 10 years, making it the largest federal telecom contract in history. It offers more advanced technology and services than its predecessor, FTS 2001, which expires in June 2011. Networx offers lower prices for certain communications services, and the delays in moving to the contract are costing the government $22.4 million a month.

Karl Krumbholz, director of the network services program at GSA's Federal Acquisition Service, said he expects the transition to be 80 percent to 90 percent complete by June 2011, though he acknowledged a few agencies will be unable to meet that deadline.

"It's a horrible conundrum where nobody has a hammer," said Gowen. "Right now the only lever that [GSA] could possibly come up with is an extension of FTS 2001 and increasing fees to agencies. Is that enough to create enough pain in expense budget lines that they do something?"

Sole-source contracts and fee changes are among the tools at GSA's disposal to push the transition, but the agency hasn't been specific about exactly what it will do and when, said Jeff Mohan, executive director of the Networx program at AT&T Government Solutions. The cost to both government and industry will depend on which agencies and products are allowed on the contracts.

"The dilemma that GSA has is that they are a service provider and agencies are their customers," Mohan said. "They have to walk a fine line between providing service to their customers and doing the best thing for the government as a whole."

To date, more than 60 percent of FTS 2001 services have been disconnected, the measure used to determine transition progress. But progress varies by agency. GSA reported in July that the Energy Department had disconnected 96 percent of FTS 2001 services, while the Treasury and Agriculture departments had disconnected 32 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

Gowen said measuring the percentage of disconnected services gives a false sense of success.

"In the world of counting widgets, if you take all of your calling cards and your voice lines that are single access lines or switched voice service, there are hundreds of thousands of them," she said. "Those are the easiest things in the world to make a transition on. The harder things are data networks."

The Interagency Management Council, which oversees government telecommunications programs, recently decided to waive upcoming deadlines for agencies that haven't transitioned to Networx as long those agencies can demonstrate a clear plan and timeline for moving forward. Agencies must submit all transition orders by Aug. 31 to receive transition reimbursement credits. According to Krumbholz, 26 agencies have completed initial orders and three have been granted extensions. Agencies that do not apply for waivers will not be eligible for reimbursement, he said.

Gowen said one concern is companies could raise prices when negotiating sole-source contract extensions with GSA, a move prohibited in the last round of contract extension talks. "We really need to take a look at lessons learned so on the next go-round, which will eventually come about, [we] have a better process going forward for the future," she said. Coordination between the Office of Management and Budget and the CIO Council could provide agencies the push necessary to transition in a timely manner. Gowen also acknowledged agencies often lack the technical and contracting resources to complete the transition, forcing them to push off the work even as deadlines approach.

]]>

USPS' eIDEAS Gets Poor Score

Emily Long — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 15:27:28 -0400

The U.S. Postal Service's Web-based program to collect employee ideas on customer service, productivity and revenue generation lacks transparency, leaving submissions in limbo, according to the USPS inspector general.

In a report released Tuesday, the IG found that employee feedback took more than two years to evaluate, rather than the seven-day turnaround outlined in the program's guidelines.

Our survey of employees who submitted ideas revealed that untimely evaluations, insufficient management commitment and communication, and insufficient program transparency were perceived as inhibitors to the program's success. Program management indicated that system limitations such as electronic reminders and employee separations contributed to the backlog in open statuses.

The seven-day promise may have been a bit ambitious, but the IG report found that NASA and the Defense Department have similar programs and complete idea evaluations in 20 to 45 days, much faster than the two-year process for eIDEAS.

]]>

Soundbytes: Scammers, Conglomerates and Email Etiquette

Emily Long — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

A weekly roundup of comments from Nextgov.com. All comments are presented in their original, unedited form.

On Craigslist creator tries to bring transparency initiative out of the shadows

Now Craigslist is prowled by Nigerian scammers. I know it is free, but it isn't worth it anymore. From Skippy

Why is Mr. Newmark wanting transparency in government when the website that carries his name is not transparent in how it uses the money it gets from prostitution and human trafficking ads? From Trench Reynolds

On GAO sting shows passport fraud remains a problem

Have you heard of illegals going back to their country, then saying they "lost:" their passport, get another one reissued and come right back to the US again with no problem? From Georgettaloras

On DOD Blocks Access To Contractor Data, Again

Double Standards seem to be more prevalent with this administration than any other. Its pride of transparency is self ordained. From Mike66

are they afraid that we the people might learn something about where the taxpayers monies are really going and for what? Its as if these international conglomerates have become so powerful that our very govt acquiesces to their every beck and call. Read more from Linda Joy Adams

On Bye Bye NII?

If they were serious about saving money, they would eliminate the DOD Business Transformation Agency. Each military department has their own business transformation activity, and the DOD BTA doesn't coordinate or even know what they do. And nobody in DOD even knows what the BTA is or does. At least, it would be a start! From RMH

On The Email Guessing Game

In my line of work, if your email address (or even phone number) gets out to the public, you get bombarded with emails and calls that make it difficult to keep up with your assigned work. Read more from Texas Fed

Don't whine about how hard it is to do your job; understand how hard it is for people on the outside to be heard by your agency. Read more from AZ Fed

SPAM filters do screen 70-90% of the crap, but if you can spell my name, you can figure my business email-- it's firstname.surname@xxx.gov How easy is that? Read more from Paul Dieterle

So pick up the phone. If you don't know someone's e-mail address, then you probably don't need to contact him or her directly. Read more from Alabama Fed

On TSA says all cargo on domestic flights now screened

Let me get this straight, inbound cargo isn't being screened, but outbound is??? Am I missing something? From Gabriel

]]>

Air traffic technologies get boost from Senate appropriators

Emily Long — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently voted to give the Federal Aviation Administration additional funds for key air traffic control technologies, but expressed concern about the agency's progress rolling out those systems.

In marking up the 2011 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill, the panel on July 22 approved an increase in funding for several programs critical to the rollout of NextGen, FAA's ambitious plan to replace the existing radar-based air traffic control system with a satellite-based network by 2020.

The bill provides additional funds above President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget requests for two technology systems, including an extra $50 million to support En-Route Automation Modernization, which provides flight information to terminal control facilities and traffic management systems, and an additional $12 million for the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system, which uses GPS-based technology to transmit a plane's location to towers and to other aircraft.

The committee, however, expressed concern that FAA failed to fully take into account ERAM's complexity during the project's rollout. The system, which was tested in Seattle and Salt Lake City, has had radar failures, difficulties passing traffic between controllers and problems assigning information that identifies specific aircraft. FAA still is working to fix nearly 200 ERAM software errors before it resumes testing and has acknowledged the system is unlikely to be deployed nationwide by the end of the year as scheduled.

"Such delays not only increase the cost of developing software under the ERAM program, but also increase the FAA's operating costs," the committee wrote. "Until the FAA is able to rely on ERAM software for managing all of its high-altitude traffic, the agency will continue to pay for the use and maintenance of legacy software."

A House bill that passed on July 29 fully funds ERAM and ADS-B at $132 million and $176.1 million, respectively. Both budgets are below what the programs received in fiscal 2010.

Senate appropriators voted to decrease funding for activities related to developing technologies in areas such as trajectory-based operations and reducing weather impact so that they could distribute those funds to other programs because of delays. The bill directs the agency to submit within 60 days a spending plan for its projects, including milestones and deadlines.

The bill also requires FAA to develop an objective, data-based assessment to assign new air traffic controllers to facilities and to submit a plan for restructuring its controller testing and training practices within 60 days. The agency's current process doesn't predict controller performance, the committee concluded.

"The FAA has made significant progress toward NextGen in the first four years of funding," including the rollout of ADS-B and situational awareness tools at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, said spokesman Paul Takemoto. "These are in addition to numerous projects that advance the delivery of NextGen through the development of requirements, engineering analyses, risk assessment, and developmental testing and demonstrations."

]]>

Hacking for Lactation

Emily Long — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:40:59 -0400

If you're a software coding guru, the National Library of Medicine -- and breastfeeding mothers everywhere -- need you.

NLM will host this fall a hackathon to improve a database of drugs that could harm lactating mothers and their infants, reports Government Health IT. The team that developed Pillbox, the library's database of drug information and images, will break down the LactMed database and improve it using feedback from software experts, physicians and breastfeeding mothers.

During our one-day hackathon, we will take the LactMed system, deconstruct it and rebuild it with all of those stakeholders in a single room, single-day event," said [David Hale, project manager of Pillbox and a technical information specialist with NLM]. "We will look at our data and ask if the structure is appropriate and what do we need to do to modify it. Then, with the API experts, we'll develop a specification for back-end services that Web designers can use. What we will end up with is a toolkit that anyone can start to leverage.

]]>

The Email Guessing Game

Emily Long — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 14:10:25 -0400

An obstacle I encounter regularly in this job is locating contact information for specific individuals in the federal government. Unless I've met someone directly or been given their e-mail and phone number by a colleague, it takes a good amount of time to track them down. I regularly have to ask, "Do you know the e-mail standard at [agency name]?"

Because each agency seems to use a different convention, I'm always wondering: Is it firstname.lastname@agency.gov? Is the agency abbreviated -- like "@dhs.gov" -- or written out in full (@state.gov)? Initials, periods, underscores, the list goes on.

Linda Cureton, NASA's chief information officer, blogs about how and why she established the e-mail standard at the Justice Department:

My biggest mistake was establishing the e-mail convention while at Department of Justice. It was firstname.middleinitial.lastname@usdoj.gov. I liked that because it was easy to manage the directory and avoid name collisions. Well that made it very difficult for someone to guess an e-mail address unless you know the receiver's middle initial. So, it was easy for me to administer, but difficult for people to use. It still exists today -- what I established in the late 90s.

So why not have one standard for all federal agencies so no one has to guess? I suppose it's a good way of keeping contact information private, but it sure makes it hard for colleagues and others to stay in touch.

]]>

GSA slams its way through IT improvements

Emily Long — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The General Services Administration has adopted a new strategy to address its critical information technology challenges, according to an agency official.

GSA recently conducted a slam -- a one-day, high-energy meeting with key officials who commit to taking concrete steps toward completing outstanding projects by a particular deadline, said Chief Information Officer Casey Coleman in an interview with Nextgov.

The slam addressed five initiatives that, according to Coleman, were chosen as the most critical "building blocks" for more advanced IT capabilities. Those projects included upgrading employee computers to Microsoft Office 2007; installing new Voice over Internet Protocol phone systems; improving remote access for teleworkers; enabling Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 identification cards for network access; and expanding and strengthening agency bandwidth.

GSA hosted the slam in late April and completed each project before the July 4 deadline. Coleman said the key to the technique is to have all parties, including officials involved in budgeting, engineering, procurement and building, in the same room and ready to commit to a project at once.

"The alternate approach is to work with each stakeholder group separately," she said. "We would have been serving as a connector, but wouldn't have been doing it as rapidly with the same kind of energy, commitment, buy-in and peer pressure."

GSA is modernizing its IT systems and replacing its legacy infrastructure with new technologies and will be working on projects to support its zero environmental footprint goal, including improved video teleconferencing and collaboration capabilities, shared network printers and lower energy use for computer systems. The agency will host a slam for sustainability-related projects soon, Coleman said. She added that her office will consider holding future virtual slams, particularly for projects that could take more than one day.

According to Coleman, it was important to have a well-defined challenge and project timeline ahead of the event. If most of the preliminary work is accomplished, then the slam can accelerate progress, she said.

]]>

Less Money, More Innovation

Emily Long — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:00:53 -0400

Information technology budgets may be going down in the next few years, and chief information officers will be asked to do more with less. However, strained resources could promote innovation and efficiency, according to state IT professionals.

A recent survey from industry association TechAmerica, consulting firm Grant Thornton and the National Association of State Chief Information Officers found that limited funding could mean more innovative IT solutions for state governments. Respondents, including 40 state and territory CIOs, said they expect to employ more creative strategies and emerging technologies in the next few fiscal years to balance budget cuts.

For example, CIOs reported renegotiating contracts, improving procurement processes and sharing applications across agencies to save money. They also are exploring areas like cloud computing, social media and green technology, though some of these projects are slower to catch on. While more than half of all federal agencies are actively working on shifting to the cloud, just 20 percent of state CIOs are doing so.

Results show that nearly two-thirds of state agencies use social media like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook, but only a quarter have statewide policies for these tools. And 10 percent of those surveyed said that their states ban social media altogether.

]]>

Sharing Isn't So Easy

Emily Long — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:22:37 -0400

Standards that facilitate the sharing of electronic medical records between health care providers still aren't perfect, according to members of the federal advisory Health IT Standards Committee.

Government Health IT reports that while the new certification and standards final rule from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT do allow some additional flexibility for how patient information is entered and used, the guidelines may not be specific enough.

For example, the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments use C32, a standard format recommended by the ONC. C32 includes information about a patient's medical status but can be tailored based on an organization's needs. That flexibility may work for sharing data on some levels but not on others, the article states, which has left the agencies unable to pass records back and forth.

With the first stage of meaningful use, "we pushed the ball a little further down field. But I don't think we have sufficient specificity to guarantee interoperability," [said Dr. Doug Fridsma, acting director of ONC's standards and interoperability office]. At the same time, too much specificity can preclude innovation. "We're still trying to get this right," he said.

]]>

$114 billion still available for federal contractors before Sept. 30

Emily Long — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The federal government still has $114 billion in play for contract spending before the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, an industry analyst has concluded.

According to a report McLean, Va.-based consulting firm FedSources is set to release in the coming days, fourth quarter contracting activity will pick up significantly compared to the previous three quarters of fiscal 2010, particularly for smaller purchases. The government's fiscal 2010 budget included $756 billion for contracts.

Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at FedSources and the report's author, said fourth quarter spending is very important for the information technology community, especially for resellers whose sales are commodity-based. The jump in spending represents demand for lower-cost purchases for which agencies might not have expected to have sufficient funds, he added.

For example, government spent $776 million on computing equipment in the first quarter of fiscal 2009; that jumped to $2.5 billion in the final quarter. According to Bjorklund, there also is an uptick in spending in the last fiscal quarter on studies and analyses for technology projects and plans, as well as IT services.

"There's a pent-up demand for IT services that can be contracted for toward the end of the fiscal year with the premise that additional money will come in next year's appropriations," he said. "A lot of planning [for larger and more complex requirements] starts back in March and April, and contractors have to be well-positioned to take advantage of year-end spending by working with customer requirements early in the year."

Bjorklund stressed that it was imperative for contractors to understand government's financial management processes and to be aware of agencies' lead time on orders to prevent errors during the rush to spend remaining funds.

"It's really important for industry as well as government to know what the lead times are because we have an understaffed acquisition workforce in government," he said. "If they can work in synchronization then industry won't try to cram something down the throat of government at the last minute, raising the potential for mistakes."

]]>

Watchdog: FAA lacks metrics for rollout of air traffic upgrade

Emily Long — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The Federal Aviation Administration should develop better metrics to track the acquisition, funding and rollout of its new air traffic control system, according to government auditors.

In a report released this week, the Government Accountability Office found FAA lacks ways to measure the progress of the Next Generation Air Transportation System, an initiative that replaces the current aviation system with more advanced technology. This could prevent project managers from identifying and addressing concerns in a timely manner, the report (GAO-10-629) said. FAA has reporting tools in place, but these systems aren't always linked to NextGen outcomes, GAO found.

"These mechanisms are insufficient to report on the status of NextGen portfolios or how delays and cost overruns in one acquisition can impact the implementation of other programs or capabilities," GAO wrote.

FAA is tracking 30 NextGen acquisitions through its Simplified Program Information Reporting and Evaluation database, which produces reports on the status of specific projects. But GAO questioned the accuracy and reliability of the reports and found that comprehensive metrics haven't been established for some programs, including the En-Route Automation Modernization system, which provides flight information to terminal control facilities and traffic management systems.

ERAM, which was in testing in Seattle and Salt Lake City, has had radar processing failures, difficulties in passing traffic between controllers and problems assigning identifying information to specific aircraft. This technology is essential for other NextGen components, including the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast system, which uses GPS-based technology to transmit a plane's location to towers on the ground and to other aircraft.

FAA still is working to fix nearly 200 ERAM software errors before resuming testing and has acknowledged the system is unlikely to be deployed nationwide by the end of the year as scheduled. According to GAO, measurements tracking programs' schedules and costs could provide an early warning of problems, allowing project managers to address the issues sooner.

GAO also said FAA's Acquisition Management System wasn't designed to integrate NextGen-specific acquisitions, and only half the development projects have been entered into a portfolio management tool used to track key milestones and funding.

Finally, the report found FAA's metrics don't always measure outcomes or progress toward goals, nor do they address critical NextGen capabilities. For example, the agency's annual performance report includes data on operational errors but not on safety management.

The Transportation Department, which includes FAA, agreed to consider GAO's findings.

]]>

Inflexible budgets and changing threats hinder information sharing

Emily Long — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

An excess of information is straining intelligence community resources, but changes in access and funding could make analyzing and sharing that data easier, according to observers.

In a panel discussion on Wednesday hosted by LexisNexis, current and former federal officials said information overload could slow data sharing, but more flexible budgets for technology projects and a fluid approach to collaborating would help agencies find new ways to use valuable data.

"The government has a lot of information and lots of ways of getting information," said Shane Harris, senior writer at Washingtonian and author of The Watchers. "I think we've crossed the point where we're saying, 'Is information available, can we get it, is it legal?' Now the question is, 'How do we manage it?' "

Information sharing is important because it allows analysts to find and evaluate key points others might have missed, said Alan Wade, former chief information officer at the CIA. A critical challenge is connecting the right experts quickly in an emergency, he added.

"We have difficulty understanding the value of data and exposing data to everyone," Wade said. "Often the real value is not what it was originally intended for, but when someone else sees it in a different context."

The Defense Department is working with the FBI on a behavior-based approach to tracking suspicious criminal activity, said G. Clark Smith, executive of programs and technology for the Office of the Program Manager, Information Sharing Environment at the National Intelligence Directorate. Instead of doing so within its own silo, Defense is leveraging the business processes and policies already available to work as a team, he added.

The panelists agreed government's need to plan for long-term technology programs presents a challenge to the intelligence organizations, which must reprioritize regularly. Agencies must be able to make real-time IT investments that are strategic and mission-based and have the flexibility to reassign funding to ensure that information sources are robust, they said.

Changing threats and an influx of new technology also require the intelligence community to adapt quickly, according to Wade. "Right now we tend to seek THE answer, THE solution," he said. "Part of the change we need to make is having a much more tuneable concept for the information. We have to be able to adjust its use based on the policy situation."

]]>

Pen And Paper No More

Emily Long — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:32:01 -0400

Good technology currently being used in physicians' offices may be outdated in the coming months, and not just because of the speed at which IT develops.

For health care providers seeking to achieve meaningful use of electronic health records, systems and equipment that currently are beneficial will have to be replaced if they can't meet certification standards, according to Dr. David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health IT.

In a hearing Tuesday, members of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee questioned whether health care providers will run out and purchase new technology knowing that the certification program won't be up and running until 2012. Providers who don't demonstrate meaningful use by 2015 could face penalties.

According to Blumenthal, The Office of the National Coordinator has in place a temporary certification program, but it doesn't include all the criteria that providers will have to meet in the long run.The certification standards are entirely new because they must reflect the requirements of meaningful use, he said, adding, "We don't want to create the impression for providers that something they're using now will be capable of meaningful use."

But lawmakers were optimistic about the potential of new technology to modernize an antiquated health care system.

"We live in the information age, yet our healthcare system has been mired in the pen-and-paper past," said Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.

]]>