Weekly Round Up: July 14-18, 2025

Submitted by on Fri, 07/18/2025 - 14:53
Friday, July 18, 2025
Michael
Articles & insights of interest in public management & leadership for the week ending July 18, 2025

Technology

GAO Asks Congress to Require Agency IT Modernization Plans. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is recommending that Congress consider requiring major federal government agencies to develop modernization plans for legacy IT systems that have been identified as among those most in need of overhauling.  “Given OMB’s lack of action [since the recommendation is a decade old], Congress requiring federal agencies to develop modernization plans for critical legacy systems can expedite agencies’ efforts.” Those are some of the bigger takeaways from the public version of a GAO report issued today in which the agency flags what it sees as “11 of the most critical federal legacy systems” at 10 of the larger Federal government agencies.

USDA CIO Eyes Up to $20M in Savings Through DCAM Initiative. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is looking to streamline IT hardware management through its Departmental Computer Asset Management (DCAM) initiative, which USDA CIO Gary Washington predicts will save up to $20 million a year. He shared details on the coming initiative. “Right now, we spend about $55 million a year on hardware. So, we anticipate, when we fully implement this program, we will save annually, $15-$20 million a year,” Washington said. The CIO said those savings will come from consolidation, streamlining, and standardization, as well as competition through the USDA’s hardware procurements.

VA Eyes OIT Reorganization for ‘Critical’ Functions, GAO Raises Concerns. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is looking to reorganize its Office of Information and Technology (OIT) workforce to focus on critical IT functions, according to the VA’s acting Chief Information Officer (CIO) Eddie Pool. “We are reshaping OIT’s workforce to achieve veteran-facing outcomes with speed and precision,” Pool told lawmakers.

OPM’s digital retirement application is live. What that means for feds planning to retire. The new electronic retirement system promises a faster, more accurate process, but some users are still adjusting to the change.

Artificial Intelligence

Inside VA’s yearslong AI effort to uncover veterans at high risk of suicide. Faced with a decades-long epidemic of troublingly high veteran suicide rates, the Department of Veterans Affairs has been exploring the adoption and use of artificial intelligence to help identify veterans at an increased risk of self-harm. One study finding that the veteran suicide rate was around 37% higher than VA reported from 2014 through 2018. This article — the first in a series of pieces about VA’s embrace of AI to help prevent veteran suicides — is based on documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests and interviews with more than a dozen current and former VA officials and employees, researchers, veterans and veteran advocates over the past year. 

Leadership

5 Ways Leaders Can Communicate Power. An often overlooked aspect of successful leadership communication is speakers’ ability to convey power through their diction, phrasing, topics, and patterns. Research points to five techniques anyone can use to enhance their standing with followers. First, focus on action; yes, leaders deliberate but when explaining their decisions they should focus on execution. Second, replace concrete details with more abstract descriptions to show that you are looking at the big picture. Third, take responsibility for mistakes; owning problems is a sign of your ability to fix them and lead everyone to a brighter future. Fourth, assess others; powerful people are curious evaluators who don’t need to prove themselves. Finally, direct the spotlight; you communicate strength not by talking the most but by steering the conversation.

How CEOs Hone and Harness Their Intuition.  In the realm of executive decision-making, intuition is often misunderstood as impulsive or emotional, but it’s actually a nuanced and powerful process of integrating experience and data. Top-performing CEOs rely on intuition, treating it as a skill to be honed rather than a superpower, and use it to navigate ambiguous environments where traditional analysis falls short. By sharpening their intuition through structured reflection, contextual calibration, and quiet listening, leaders can gain a strategic edge in making high-stakes decisions.

Defense

DoD Moves Forward in Plans to Grow Drone Fleet. Pentagon leaders are fast-tracking efforts to cut the red tape and rapidly expand the U.S. military’s drone arsenal, with 18 newly developed, American-made drone prototypes being prepared for service. All 18 drones showcased have successfully completed the Defense Department’s (DoD) T-REX program – a rapid acquisition initiative for emerging technologies. The new systems use off-the-shelf parts and simplified manufacturing processes, making them faster and cheaper to produce. Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, explained that the department will continue to rapidly innovate and scale up production of drones and other systems, with cost, resilience, firepower, and range serving as the primary drivers.

General Services Administration (GSA)

GSA Chief Touts OneGov Strategy, Tells Industry ‘We’re Open for Business’. The General Services Administration (GSA) has teamed up with major tech companies under its new OneGov strategy, and GSA Acting Administrator Stephen Ehikian said that more deals are on the way as the agency signals it’s “open for business.” GSA rolled out the OneGov strategy in April with the aim of modernizing and streamlining federal IT and other acquisitions through standardized terms and pricing.

GSA plans to optimize operations following cost-cutting, agency head says. GSA’s acting head Stephen Ehikian said “phase two” of the agency’s approach will prioritize becoming “much more efficient, much more effective and [with] much more of an eye towards our stakeholders, which is the American taxpayer.”

Management

White House Selects Mark Calabria for Chief Statistician Role. The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has selected Mark Calabria. OMB Director Russell Vought appointed Calabria to the role on July 10. In his new role, Calabria will lead and coordinate the U.S. federal statistical agencies and activities. Calabria replaces Karin Orvis, who had served in the role since 2022. Calabria is currently a senior economist working in OMB and at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Accountability

GAO: CISA 15 Proves its Worth as Sunset Nears. As it nears its sunset date this fall, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) of 2015 has succeeded in improving federal agencies’ ability to share cyber threat data – a feat that would have been less likely without the law, according to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that highlights the law’s implementation successes. The GAO report details efforts to implement CISA 15, which encourages industry to share cyber threat indicators with the federal government and private sector partners. The law is due to expire in September without further congressional action.  

 

THIS WEEK @ THE CENTER 

RECENT BLOGS

ICYMI – Using Technology to Address Pressing Local Challenges: Conversations with Local Government Leaders at CivStart’s State of Govtech 2025.  The last in a series from the State of GovTech 2025, a hallmark event hosted by CivStart, Michael J. Keegan tells the stories of local government leaders who in their own way are leveraging technology and innovation to change the way they govern and the way they deliver the mission of government.