Dan Chenok

A series of posts from the former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Al Shaffer, looks at pathways to drive innovation and modernization for national defense.

In a forthcoming report, AI in State Government: Balancing Innovation, Efficiency, and Risk, authors Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene provide a timely and comprehensive examination of how AI is being integrated into state operations. The report highlights both the promise and the challenges of adopting these technologies, emphasizing the need to preserve transparency, accountability, and human judgment in the process. 

The conversation delved into how agencies can establish effective C-SCRM programs, the emerging threats they need to tackle, the role of automation, and the standards or KPIs that can help assess progress and ensure high ROI.

An international convening of procurement leaders on driving acquisition as a strategic priority for governments in addressing national goals, hosted by OECD and preceded by a session on buying Generative AI.  A well-attended and highly engaged set of discussions with US government and industry leaders on new ideas at the annual National Contract Management World Congress.

Julia Carboni's new report, "Collaborative Public Engagement for Building Trust in Government," synthesizes valuable insights from Carboni's original blog post series, distilling them into a practical guide. Her report emphasizes the importance of community voices and local strengths in shaping public policy and achieving civic goals.

The Opportunity Project (TOP), housed at the U.S. Department of Commerce, has for 10 years served as a model for using data and agile approaches to address problems identified by government agencies. TOP has facilitated the creation of hundreds of digital tools that address critical issues across a broad range of key mission areas in multiple agencies.

Blog Author: Al Himler, former Chief Technology Officer of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management

I left Federal service recently where I held the position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and have joined IBM as a Master Solutions Architect with the Hybrid Cloud Transformation team.

Contributors for this blog are Bridget Deary, Partner, IBM Consulting Federal, Mark Fisk, Partner, IBM Consulting Federal, Chuck Royal, Associate Partner, IBM Consulting Federal, and Tony Vachino, Associate Partner, IBM Consulting Federal.

At the "Recommendations for Improving Payment Integrity" roundtable, participants discussed strategies for enhancing the integrity of government payments (see our first overview post on how AI and emerging technologies can support such strategies).

Agile government, characterized by flexibility, adaptability, and responsiveness, has emerged as a compelling strategy for achieving success amidst complex and rapid change in the public sector. However, transitioning to such a model necessitates a shift in leadership paradigms.