Delivering Results that Matter to the Public: Leadership Actions for the New Administration
As the new administration prepares to take the reins of government, it’s important that they focus attention on the levers of good government that enable agencies to deliver results that matter to the public. Their President’s Management Agenda (PMA) will provide essential guidance to agencies and their private sector partners to continue to improve how government operates to deliver the results that the public needs and expects. We encourage the new administration to make a commitment to publishing a new PMA in the early stages of their administration. Between now and Inauguration Day, we will be releasing a series of specific recommendations for the new team to consider as they step into their new roles and accelerate the development of their PMA.
Publication Date:
ACT-IAC Innovation Projects
Institute for Innovation
The ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation provides a place for government and industry innovators to come together to address high-priority challenges and develop game-changing ideas.
ACT-IAC's National Use Case & Solutions Library (NUCSL)
The NUCSL is a public-private knowledge sharing initiative created to provide an easy, searchable database that captures successful implementations of emerging technologies which support the advancement of government
Accelerating Government with ACT-IAC: Tech Leadership & 2024 Innovation Awards Part 1
On this episode, host Dave Wennergren discusses leadership in the federal technology market and highlights from the 2024 ACT-IAC Innovation Awards.
Post-Solicitation Best Practices
ACT-IAC white paper entitled "Post Solicitation Best Practices" developed by the Acquisition Community of Interest (COI) summarizes best practices for government and industry to adopt (or continue) during the post-solicitation phase. These practices are intended to promote more transparent communication between government and industry and drive a deeper shared understanding of the acquisition process and timelines.
Innovation Focus
CHAMPIONING INNOVATION: An On-going Series
Hosted by Alexis Bonnell, USAF Research Lab CIO and Digital Director.
How World War II Bureaucratic Sabotage Endures in the Defense Department, and How to Fight Back
In an age where power hangs on technological advantage, America's greatest saboteur may be itself. A World War II sabotage manual from the predecessor to the CIA reveals how bureaucracy drains the Defense Department of purpose and delays progress. But there is hope: By treating time as a strategic weapon and embracing AI and other innovations, public servants can cut debilitating "toil," unlocking productivity and passion to secure America's advantage.
The article was originally published by the Texas National Security Review.
BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION: An On-going Series that explores opportunities for Federal private sector partnerships to accelerate time-to-value and mission outcome.
Hosted by Avi Bender, Managing Director of Bender Advisory Services LLC. Avi was formerly the Director of NTIS US Department of Commerce, the first CTO of the US Census Bureau, and the Director for Enterprise Architecture at the IRS
A Unified Strategy for Federal Agency Deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
INNOVATION LEADERSHIP: An On-going Series Hosted by Geoff Abbott, former Coast Guard Innovation Council chairman and best-selling author
Hosted by Geoff Abbott, former Coast Guard Innovation Council chairman and best-selling author.
Developing ‘Yodas’ – Intentionally expanding opportunities for those developing current and next generation leaders
This is the first of a two-part series which describes ‘Yodas’ (based on the Star Wars series), their key attributes, and how they serve the broader mission. Specifically, what they contribute, both directly to accomplish organizational goals and in the long term, developing Padawan, or Jedis-in-training - the next generation(s) of Jedi’s and Jedi Masters.
INNOVATION LEADERSHIP: An On-going Series Hosted by Geoff Abbott, former Coast Guard Innovation Council chairman and best-selling author
Hosted by Geoff Abbott, former Coast Guard Innovation Council chairman and best-selling author.
Back to the Future
Leveraging experienced alumni to impact leadership development in your organization.
BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION: An On-going Series that explores opportunities for Federal private sector partnerships to accelerate time-to-value and mission outcome.
Hosted by Avi Bender, Managing Director of Bender Advisory Services LLC. Avi was formerly the Director of NTIS US Department of Commerce, the first CTO of the US Census Bureau, and the Director for Enterprise Architecture at the IRS
Federal Employees and Contractors: Are You in Solution Sales?
importance of listening, understanding, communicating and persuading to provide effective solutions.
INNOVATION LEADERSHIP: An On-going Series Hosted by Geoff Abbott, former Coast Guard Innovation Council chairman and best-selling author
Hosted by Geoff Abbott, former Coast Guard Innovation Council chairman and best-selling author.
Influence for Organizational and Career Success (Part Two)
Dr. Geoff Abott, DBA; Captain, U.S. Coast Guard (Retired) and former Chairman of the Coast Guard Innovation Council, introduced a two part series on personal influence in leadership and innovation. In Part One, he explored why personal influence is powerful and how to develop it. In Part Two, he discusses how to effectively apply influence while managing up and leading ‘from the middle’. He offers tips for building strong relationships with different types of managers. He also explores criteria decision makers use to decide whether to support your ideas and new initiatives and Influence Strategies for leading from wherever you are in your organization.
BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION: An On-going Series that explores opportunities for Federal private sector partnerships to accelerate time-to-value and mission outcome.
Hosted by Avi Bender, Managing Director of Bender Advisory Services LLC. Avi was formerly the Director of NTIS US Department of Commerce, the first CTO of the US Census Bureau, and the Director for Enterprise Architecture at the IRS
Innovation & Federal Employees
Employees of the Federal government have incredible opportunities to drive innovation because the government is a target rich environment for digital transformation. In Avi Bender’s experience leading the innovation lab at the US Census Bureau, he placed emphasis on collaboration and greater inclusion of agency employees as individual innovators in the business process of the agency. He recommends a collaborative approach that enlists feds from all business units to process innovate through discipline-specific interest groups. These interest groups (much like ACT-IAC’s Communities of Interest) provide content and business expertise from practitioners..
COLLABORATION-TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION: A New Series
Hosted by: Judy Douglas, ACT-IAC Executive Committee; Industry Chair, ACT-IAC Collaboration Council; Fellow, National Academy for Public Administration
AI Paranoia. AI Promise. Humans Collaborate. Better Results.
Diana Zavala (Director, Analytics and Data Services, Peraton), Judy Douglas, and John Barnes (Director, Digital Strategy and Transformation, Peraton) writes about Humans can take advantage of our collective experience and knowledge with the help of AI to identify relevant implementations and partners.
CHAMPIONING INNOVATION: An On-going Series
Hosted by Alexis Bonnell, USAF Research Lab CIO and Digital Director.
The Illusion of Wisdom: The Critic Versus the Doer and Champion
Alexis Bonnell, USAF Research Lab CIO and Digital Director, shares her thoughts on the role of a critic – an individual who has emerged as a dominant presence in this modern era of constant information and relentless commentary.
INNOVATION LEADERSHIP: An On-going Series Hosted by Geoff Abbott, former Coast Guard Innovation Council chairman and best-selling author
Hosted by Geoff Abbott, former Coast Guard Innovation Council chairman and best-selling author.
Influence for Organizational and Career Success
The importance of developing personal influence to advance ideas.
Innovation in the News
Innovation and Economic Policy
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) report examines core focus areas in economic policy for the next administration.
Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST)
Department of Energy’s initiative for integrating AI into national security and energy innovation.
U.S. Air Force Research Lab IT Strategy
The Business of Government Hour host Michael J. Keegan talks with Alexis Bonnell, CIO and Director Digital Capabilities Directorate at the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory
Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Milestone
At the one-year mark, DIU looks back on progress made between the Defense Department (DoD) and the commercial technology sector, and the challenges ahead.
Recruitment Strategies
“The evolution of the Army requires a transformation of the way they recruit the modern soldier and leveraging innovation to recreate the soldier experience.”
Defense Innovation Board
The Defense Innovation Board advises Pentagon acquisition needs another reorganization.
Clean Energy Innovation & Price/Performance Parity
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation examines clean energy technology and a concept called P3.
Artificial Intelligence Sandbox
The MITRE Federal AI Sandbox was developed to provide better experimentation of next generation AI-enabled applications for the federal government.
Innovation in Defense | Policy Enablers | Transformation Journey
Recorded at the ACT-IAC Emerging Tech and Innovation Conference in Cambridge, MD, Fed Gov Today with Francis Rose speaks with three key figures in government innovation and transformation.
DHS Procurement Innovation Lab
Innovating the source selection process at the Department of Homeland Security by incorporating oral presentations
Industry Innovation Perspectives
Undersea Testing & Innovation
MITRE unveiled its BlueTech Lab, a cutting-edge maritime test facility for advancing undersea testing, innovation, and collaboration to further technologies to safeguard national, economic, and climate security.
Innovation’s Three Allies: Road-tested Tactics that Bolster Mission Results
Judy Douglas, chair “emeritus” of ACT-IAC’s Innovators Circle, and Alexis Bonnell, government innovator and former ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation advisor, reflect on their government and industry insights from the frontlines of transformation.
We are in an “exponential age.” Government must adapt rapidly and constantly, while navigating tsunamis of new ideas, technology, and information. This requires a proactive relationship with innovation and its potential to quickly integrate positive changes that improve mission results...
Recommendations to Modernize Federal Government Legacy Systems
The MITRE Corporation offers ten recommendations to help the federal government modernize legacy systems “to fully leverage technology and fulfill critical missions.”
Empower Federal CDOs to Drive Innovation
A recent MITRE survey of Chief Data Officer (CDO) organizations across the Federal Government identified the challenges faced by CDOs in implementing data strategies within their agencies.
Navigating the Innovation Ecosystem
The October 2022 edition of this newsletter featured an article on the Base Camp Program, developed in partnership between MITRE, the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN), and ATX Defense, to provide ‘learn by doing’ innovation acquisition instruction. As this six-month pilot closes out, are acquisition teams better prepared to navigate the innovation ecosystem?
Designing a Turnkey Digital Mosaic for Social Determinants of Health | Peraton
Digital health and data solutions are essential to helping federal agencies address social determinants of health (SDOH) and achieve other national policy objectives. Imagine the impact of a health system armed with the data to identify patients found to have the social risk factors associated with a chronic condition–enabling an asthma sufferer, for instance, to easily navigate to resources or incentives offering options for improved air quality and safe outlets for physical activity. What about a public health surveillance system that integrates genomics and social media mining into its big data analyses?
Combating the Growing Threat: How Public & Private Entities Can Fight Cybercrime