Modernization
GSA Offers Techniques for Quickly Coding Policy Changes
Coders from the General Services Administration offer examples for how agencies can turn administration policy into digital computer code.
People
Navy IT looks beyond COVID
The Navy's network operations, like most federal agencies, scrambled to shift to completely remote workforce, but the experience has also shifted workers' network expectations.
People
Data sharing and COVID-19
Agencies are working to simultaneously modernize and share data to ensure continuity of business.
Digital Government
FEMA Issues Solicitation For Temperature Screening Ahead of Plans to Reopen Two Facilities
The winning vendor will need to supply protective equipment for their employees and contactless, infrared temperature scanning for FEMA personnel.
Cybersecurity
Fear, Isolation, Depression: The Mental Health Fallout of a Worldwide Pandemic
Nationwide, mental health call and text centers, the first lines of defense for many people feeling jittery during a crisis, offer an early picture of how Americans are coping with the coronavirus pandemic.
Digital Government
$3T COVID relief bill includes tech money and restructures health acquisition
The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, proposed by House Democrats, calls for far more than additional stimulus checks and emergency funding for state and local governments. FCW breaks down the provisions.
Digital Government
Ignoring Trump and Right-Wing Think Tanks, Red States Expand Vote by Mail
The Heritage Foundation and other conservative groups warn, with little evidence, that voting by mail fosters fraud. But some Republican secretaries of state reject those concerns and see no alternative to absentee voting if the pandemic persists.
Digital Government
House Democrats Urge Leadership to Begin Paid Parental Leave for Feds Early
A group of 12 lawmakers said the new benefit for federal workers, currently slated for implementation in October, should apply retroactively to December.
Podcasts
Critical Update: Teleworking Securely During the Pandemic
Nextgov staff recently joined the GovExec Daily podcast to discuss do's and don'ts of remote work.
Digital Government
FCW Insider: May 12
The latest news and analysis from FCW's reporters and editors.
Cybersecurity
U.S. Marshals Service Breach Exposed Personal Data of 387,000 Prisoners
The agency notified affected individuals this month after learning about the intrusion in December.
Emerging Tech
VA Exploring Options for a Grand Challenge to Prevent Suicide
The agency is looking for a contractor to help run a possible multi-phase competition, including outreach and potentially raising private-sector funds for the prizes.
Acquisition
NITAAC says it can fill in for STARS
The National Institutes of Health's governmentwide contracts can pick up the slack for GSA's STARS II 8(a) small business set aside contract’s early cut off.
Digital Government
Audit: HHS Not Maximizing Authorities to Recruit Scientists
The audit suggests the Health and Human Services Department should make use of the 21st Century Cures Act to recruit and retain more government scientists.
Artificial Intelligence
Quantum Hardware Could Cut AI Power Needs
Sharing intelligence features between hardware and software would offset the energy needed for using AI in more advanced applications such as self-driving cars or discovering drugs.
Modernization
GSA Suggests Using ‘Secret Shoppers’ to Evaluate Call Centers
The contact center within GSA’s Centers of Excellence offered a template for using mystery shoppers to measure performance.
Emerging Tech
Cheetah-Inspired Soft Robot 'Gallops' with Super-Speed
The new robots can also run up steep inclines, challenging or impossible for soft robots that exert less force against the ground.
People
House Dems want paid parental leave benefit to apply retroactively
Letting new parents take time off would alleviate coronavirus-related concerns, members stated in a May 8 letter to leadership.
Ideas