Posts Tagged: VA

Will VA certifications of SDVOSB go away? We in the Veteran’s community can only hope so

Recent contracting missteps, as reported by the Washington Business Journal (WBJ) and Microtech by the Washington Post, seem to have endangered the Veteran’s Affairs (VA) programs for certifying firms as either Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) or Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB). Although the current certification process is challenging enough, this recent issueRead… Read more »

Predicting Famine Through Analytics

Starving children have depended on warnings made by a federal interagency group that has worked together for more than 25 years to help international aid groups by predicting where famines in remote regions are occurring. The Famine Early Warning System is an interagency network among federal agencies and the United Nations that began in 1985,Read… Read more »

Collaborating to Make a Difference

The Department of Veterans Affairs has been in the cross-hairs of critics for delays in approving benefits for deserving veterans. Recent reports suggest that VA has turned the corner and is reducing its backlog. One factor: greater collaboration with veterans service organizations. In May, the VA announced a partnership with two veterans service organizations —Read… Read more »

Federal Agencies Leading by Example – The Federal Green Challenge

A great post by my colleague Lana Suarez about the 2013 Federal Green Challenge award winners. Has your agency joined the challenge yet? By Lana Suárez When I joined the Federal Green Challenge team in October 2011, I had no idea what I was getting in to but quickly realized this dynamic group of regionalRead… Read more »

VA’s CHCO resigns in wake of conference scandal – DorobekINSIDER 7 Stories

On GovLoop Insights’ DorobekINSIDER: Sick of going to one government bureaucracy for a service only to get passed along to another and yet another? Wonder why government doesn’t communicate across agencies to provide a centralized service to you? New Zealand came up with a solution. You’ll meet the man behind it. Click here for theRead… Read more »

Issue of the Week: Is it groundhog day? – A serious look at the latest conference scandal?

Welcome to GovLoop Insights Issue of the Week where each week, our goal is to find an issue — a person — an idea — then helped define the past 7-days… and we work to find an issue that will also will have an impact on the days, weeks and months ahead. And, as always,Read… Read more »

Government Needs to Go Open Source

Why is it so hard for government to look for resources that already exist? As someone who’s managed social media accounts for the government I understand the challenge. The inclination is still for the need to “own” and “create” rather than collaborate. Even when it comes to training videos or conference entertainment, there is noRead… Read more »

Unmanned Helicopter Reconnaissance Squadron One, Malware Campaign Against the Defense Industry, and More

Here is today’s federal cybersecurity and information technology news: The Navy is establishing Unmanned Helicopter Reconnaissance Squadron One (HUQ-1) effective October 1, 2012. More here. The Office of Management and Budget released an updated report stating that 318 data centers have been closed since 2010, 50 of them May. More here. The Defense Information SystemsRead… Read more »

GAO Report Signals Opportunity for Contractors in Agile Software Development

Applying agile software development methods to IT projects has been a hot topic as of late at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The agency recently unveiled a report highlighting its 32 tips for applying agile development to help improve how the federal government will develop and implement IT infrastructure projects. Specifically, these tips focus onRead… Read more »

Save the Hot Springs VA, Sign our Petition

AFGE is working with The Veterans Town to gather signatures for our online petition on Care2.com, a petition site that allows the public to access a wide range of petitions. Help the cause by signing the petition “Help Veterans- Save the Hot Springs VA!” by clicking on the link below. The Department of Veterans AffairsRead… Read more »