Dan Chenok

Our Center recently collaborated with the IBM Institute for Business Value on work with thought leaders across government, industry, academic, and the nonprofit sectors to drive an online global conversation about the future of Government around the world, the “Gov2025 Jam.”  This dialogue explored five key issues representing some of the most pressing challenges facing governments and societies today.

The American Society for Public Administration hosted Center author Professor Sukumar Ganapati of Florida International University to speak on his report, “Adopting Agile in State and Local Governments.” Center Director Dan Chenok helped to launch the session as Professor Ganapati described Agile, Agile in government, and Agile beyond technocracy.   Read a summary here.

(Contributors:  Adam Gilbride, Associate Partner, IBM United Kingdom and Matt Warshaw, Director, US Government Centers, IBM)

The term “Other Transaction Authority” (OTA) stems from statutory provisions that allow certain federal agencies to enter into transactions with commercial entities using nontraditional procurement methods and contract terms. While OTAs have been around in NASA since 1958 and within the Department of Defense since 1989, they have experienced significant growth in recent years following expansion under the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Governments and societies continue to face the unforeseen and unprecedented challenges of responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. The experiences of the last 18 months have pointed to the importance of well-managed actions at the local, national, and cross-border levels.

Blog Co-Author: Tom Suder, Founder & President, Advanced Technology Academic Research Center (ATARC)

“Over the past two to five years we’ve really seen a migration of artificial intelligence from the lab out into operations.”

This blog is co-authored by Tim Paydos, Vice President & General Manager, Government Industry, Global Markets, IBM

In a post-pandemic world, homeland security and border control agencies are being tasked with transforming how they respond and operate in a highly digitalized environment, while ensuring safety and prosperity of citizens and country. Critical challenges that agencies face include increasing volume of incidents and emergencies, overly complex trade processes, and threats to borders and customs.  Governments can leverage data, AI, and other emerging technologies to address these challenges.

We are pleased to announce our latest round of awards for new reports on key public sector challenges, which respond to priorities identified in the Center's research agenda. Our content is intended to stimulate and accelerate the production of practical research that benefits public sector leaders and managers.

We expect the following reports to be published starting in early 2022.  Short summaries of each report follow:

In the more than six decades since “Other Transactions Authority” (OTA) was authorized, OTAs have become a vital part of the Department of Defense (DOD) research process, and are now increasingly used by other agencies seeking to drive innovation through their programs and services. OTAs follow statutory provisions that allow certain federal agencies to enter into transactions with commercial entities using nontraditional procurement methods and contract terms.

The greater prevalence of OTAs has raised a number of questions about their use, including: