Tag Archives: Government white papers

The Next Generation of Government

Posted on by

While the feared "silver tsunami" of retirements never really transpired, the government workforce is worryingly aging. More than 70% of the federal workforce is age 40 or older. In the general workforce, only 54% are 40 or older. This skewed population is not only worrisome in terms of retirements interrupting continuity, but also introduces a huge risk in terms of diversity. Younger workers may lack experience, but they bring with them a perspective that is critical in designing services and solutions that meet the needs of citizens under 40. Younger workers may also have more up-to-date training in leading-edge technologies currently being deployed across government.

The public service call of government is a huge plus for younger workers who want a job where they can make a difference and find meaning. However, the outdated, lengthy hiring process and pay scales keep many from applying. These and other recognized barriers are being addressed across government to inject youth into the federal service workforce. Continue reading →

Ensuring Equity in AI

Posted on by

Improving equity for citizens is a key goal of the Biden Administration. At the same time, agencies across government are adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to better use data for a variety of tasks and decision making. Seeing the increasing role of AI in day-to-day operations, the government is looking for ways to ensure that the technology is used fairly and safely without impinging on the innovation being felt by AI adoption in government.

AI as an Administration Focus

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a blueprint for a "Bill of Rights" to provide some guidelines for the development and use of AI in government. It details the roles various agencies need to play to ensure that AI tools align with privacy rights and civil liberties. Continue reading →

Staying Ahead of the Bad Guys: Investing in Cybersecurity

Posted on by

Agencies are challenged to move more and more services online, become more transparent, and leverage new streams of data from the Internet of Things (IoT) for better decision making, all while securing the systems and the data they hold. If that is not challenging enough, cyber threats against all of these efforts are continually evolving. A series of strategies and ongoing guidance are helping agencies prioritize work and budget requests to make the most impactful investments in their cybersecurity infrastructure.

The National Cybersecurity Strategy (NCS) provides broad guidance to help position the United States to build a digital ecosystem that is more easily and inherently defensible, resilient, and aligned with its values. Efforts to do so are organized around five pillars:

1) Defend Critical Infrastructure

2) Disrupt and Dismantle Threat Actors

3) Shape Market Forces to Drive Security and Resilience

4) Invest in a Resilient Future

5) Forge International Partnerships to Pursue Shared Goals Continue reading →

Who, What, Where, and How of Improving Broadband

Posted on by

With so much of our activity and interaction being digital, the Internet is now a utility nearly as critical to daily functioning as heat or water. Inequitable access to broadband Internet access became quickly apparent during the pandemic lock down when kids lacked access to virtual school and adults were unable to complete work from their homes. Increasing broadband access is a key part of the bipartisan infrastructure law and is also supported by the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program. This funding is a huge step in rolling out broadband access nationwide, but there are many questions that need to be addressed to truly close the digital divide.

Where: Defining the Need

To effectively provide broadband, the government has to know where exactly it is needed. The Federal Communications Commission's broadband fabric map shows where fixed broadband access could be installed and has recently added more than one million new locations as well as removed over 1 million that were found to be mapped to structures such as garages and sheds. Being able to differentiate if an address is a residential or commercial building, a large property housing multiple families, or simply a storage shed is critical to ensuring that new broadband access is provided where it is actually needed. Agencies are working to combine this type of contextual data with the address mapping data to better plan broadband roll outs. Continue reading →

Meeting the Information Needs of Climate Change Weather Events

Posted on by

Climate change is having an impact on the number of flooding events across the world. From stronger hurricanes to rising ocean levels to more intense rain and snow events, flooding is growing in its impact on public safety. This winter's "atmospheric rivers" dumped unprecedented snow and rain on the west coast. As we move into spring and summer, those record-breaking snowpacks will melt causing huge amounts of water to run into already full lakes and rivers. Agencies at the local, state, and federal level are working to adapt decades old processes to meet the modern flood threat.

Forecasting without data

Forecasting models depend on historical data, but when you have unprecedented precipitation levels, historical data has limited impact on preparation and response plans. This lack of data is a problem even in routine weather events. There is more data for urban than rural areas thanks to the placement of radar towers, other sensors and IoT technology. This leaves blank spots in forecasting incoming weather and storm impacts for rural communities. Continue reading →