Tag Archives: Government blog

How Government Workforce Policies and Programs Support the Most Vulnerable

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With nearly three million people in the federal workforce, the government has to be prepared to support employees with a wide variety of needs. With a workforce that resembles the population as a whole, the policies that the government puts in place can be used as an example for private sector companies as well as for organizations supporting our nation's more vulnerable populations.

The following three programs illustrate the ways the government is supporting its workforce and citizens when they are in vulnerable situations. Continue reading →

Strengthening Internet of Things Security at the Federal, Local, and Consumer Level

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"Our world is more connected than ever." This phrase can be interpreted in many ways, one being the growth of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Traditional materials and devices, including bridges, streetlights, water processing machines, home refrigerators, and even our doorbells, are now connected to the internet and to users who need to track how they are functioning. However, this cyber connection also means that these devices are open for others to access and use in ways we never envisioned.

Cybersecurity practices must now extend to non-cyber products to ensure that operational technology does not compromise information technology or the networks that connect them. In fact, 1.5 billion attacks were launched against IoT devices in a single year.

Efforts to secure IoT devices must happen across all levels of users, from the federal government through state and local agencies to even citizen consumers. Continue reading →

Grading the FAFSA Roll-Out

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The Department of Education underwent a complete overhaul of its Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) online system to improve the user experience. The existing form consisted of 108 questions, and the Department saw that many applicants were abandoning the process out of frustration and confusion.

The FAFSA Simplification Act was passed in 2020. The act helped fund the work needed to simplify the form and update how aid was calculated. The system rolled out in December 2023, more than a year later than expected and at the height of college application season. While the new system did reduce the number of questions to a maximum of 36 and the intake of 3.1 million forms in the first month alone, the rollout has been marred by some glaring issues that have made the customer experience worse, not better, for many, already stressed college-bound students. Continue reading →

Government Balancing the Pros and Cons of Return to Office

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In the fall of 2023, the Biden Administration encouraged cabinet secretaries to ramp up the required in-office time for workers. This January, the goal was for more than 400,000 federal employees to be required to be in the office for two or three days per week. The move to more in-person time varies widely across government, with DoD and Intelligence agencies leading the way due to the sensitive nature of their work. When not required due to the nature of the work, the push for in-person staffing in civilian agencies is driven by the desire for tangible and intangible benefits. Policies across defense and civilian agencies are being helpfully tracked by Federal News Network.

Better Use of Office Space

The Government Accountability Office found that, on average, 17 federal agencies use 25% or less of their headquarters office space. This raised calls for setting benchmarks for federal office space utilization, though what that benchmark should be, is up for debate. One line was drawn in the sand with The Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies (USE IT) Act, requiring all government office buildings to be at least 60 percent occupied. While it passed the House, additional debate will take place over appropriate occupancy and usage measurements. In the meantime, the White House has proposed devoting $425 million next year to create a real estate optimization program to reorient federal buildings around current space needs and expedite disposal of unneeded buildings. Reimagining how the government uses space impacts how the federal workforce will work. Continue reading →

State and Local Governments Building Trust with Transparency

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Citizens typically report more trust in state and local governments than in the federal government, but that does not mean that there is no work to be done on improving citizen experience and trust. A recent study found that about 45% of Americans have a less-than-favorable view of the trustworthiness of local governments. This number has become worse since 2017, when only 40% expressed a less than favorable outlook.

Key to building trust is transparency--showing the work being done, the reasons decisions were made, as well as the process for obtaining services from government. With more and more government services moving online, it would seem that this transparency would be easier than ever to provide, but in fact, the digitization of government can often have the opposite effect. Continue reading →