Welcome to this week's edition as we continue building a coalition of leaders from all across the public sector ecosystem. This weeks briefing includes:
This Week in DOGE: Opportunities for secure modernization continue being uncovered
AI and PubSec Innovation: The US Dep. of Treasury Leans in and Utah partners to enhance its AI governance framework
Digital Transformation: The vulnerabilities and costs of legacy systems continue being exposed
Public Policy: The Trump Administration has begun overhauling the FAR
Procurements and Partnerships: Google, GSA, and DOGE show the blueprint
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy: The Whole-of-Society approach continues gaining steam
Onward!
"This Week in DOGE": Efficiency and Fraud Prevention (relevant to FED 🏛️ readers)
The Department of Government Efficiency continues its mission to streamline operations and tackle waste, fraud, and abuse across federal programs. FedScoop reports on DOGE's engagement with the Office of Biometric Identity Management, including discussions around the complex HART program, highlighting the department's expanding influence on federal administrative functions.
A recent 60 MINUTES report brought the scale of fraud elimination into sharp focus, illustrating the immense task within government programs. While the report centered on federal fraud schemes, the methods employed by sophisticated criminal networks frequently impact state and local programs as well. The establishment of DOGE signals a renewed commitment to operational efficiency and fiscal integrity that creates both challenges and opportunities for agencies and their technology partners.
Key Concept: Operational Security (OPSEC)
The process of identifying critical information and determining actions to prevent adversaries from obtaining sensitive data that could compromise operations, balancing transparency needs with protection of essential assets.
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Artificial intelligence is increasingly viewed as key to modernizing government operations and improving service delivery. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently suggested that "AI could help offset potential IRS workforce cuts" by enhancing tax collection efficiency—signaling growing federal interest in AI for complex administrative tasks. The Secretary notes: "Through smarter IT and this AI boom, we can enhance collections" without relying on inexperienced staff.
At the state level, Utah has partnered with a nonprofit to strengthen its AI governance framework. This proactive approach indicates growing focus on ethical AI implementation to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability. Looking abroad provides instructive examples of successful government AI implementation. Wyatt Kash interviewed Estonia's Ambassador, highlighting their advanced use of AI to deliver integrated digital services to citizens, offering valuable lessons for U.S. agencies.
Key Concept: Responsible AI Governance
The establishment of frameworks for the ethical development, deployment, and monitoring of artificial intelligence systems, ensuring they operate transparently, fairly, and in alignment with organizational values and regulatory requirements.
One of the most persistent challenges for government agencies is the modernization of aging IT infrastructure that hinders efficiency, increases security risks, and complicates the adoption of modern digital services. An inspector general report revealed that widespread vulnerabilities within the VA's legacy KVault critical data system "could be catastrophic" if exploited. This underscores the urgent need for robust, secure data management solutions.
The Department of Defense is actively seeking ways to accelerate technology adoption through the Software Fast-Track (SWIFT) process, which aims to streamline software authorizations by examining risk criteria, current capabilities, and business practices. The Pentagon is actively seeking industry input on this initiative, creating opportunities for vendors to influence policy.
Key Concept: Technical Debt
The accumulated cost and complexity that results from choosing expedient technology solutions over optimal ones, creating systems that become increasingly difficult and expensive to maintain, secure, and enhance over time.
Public Policy: Data, Copyright, and Regulatory Changes (relevant to both FED 🏛️ & SLED 🛷 readers)
Significant shifts are underway in federal acquisition policy with potential ripple effects across all government levels. The Trump administration has begun overhauling the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to make procurement quicker, more efficient, and less burdensome. A new website, acquisition.gov/far-overhaul, provides details and solicits feedback, offering a chance to influence new acquisition policies.
The legal and policy implications of AI continue to evolve, particularly regarding copyright. Thomas Höppner discusses the US Copyright Office's report on AI training and copyright, followed by the unexpected firing of the Director. This development creates uncertainty for both government agencies and technology companies developing AI solutions.
Key Concept: Policy Cascading
The process by which federal policy changes flow downward to influence state and local government decisions, creating ripple effects that impact procurement priorities, funding availability, and program implementation at all levels.Key Concept: Policy Cascading
Procurement and Partnerships: Driving Efficiency and Inclusion (relevant to both FED 🏛️ & SLED 🛷 readers)
Efforts to make procurement more equitable are gaining momentum. Xavier Hughes of Prokur welcomes Sam Cornale as a thought partner, aligning on the goal of making government procurement more efficient, inclusive, and transparent. Meanwhile, Michael Garland highlights a productive partnership between GSA and Google, showcasing how collaboration with private sector innovators can yield significant benefits for federal operations.
Key Concept: Modern Procurement
The strategic use of technology, data analytics, and collaborative partnerships to transform government purchasing from a compliance-focused process into a value-creation function that enhances efficiency, transparency, and equitable access for diverse suppliers.
Data Privacy: Balancing Security and Innovation (relevant to both FED 🏛️ & SLED 🛷 readers)
As government agencies adopt more sophisticated data analysis tools and AI capabilities, the imperative to protect sensitive information grows stronger. The recent cybersecurity incidents highlight the interconnected nature of data vulnerabilities across public and private sectors. Agencies must implement robust data protection measures while still enabling innovation that drives improved service delivery.
Jen Easterly emphasizes that protecting sensitive data requires a whole-of-society approach, with government and industry sharing responsibility for safeguarding critical information. This collaborative model becomes even more essential as AI systems require vast datasets for training and operation, creating new privacy considerations at the intersection of innovation and security.
Key Concept: Privacy-Preserving Innovation
The development and implementation of advanced technologies that deliver improved capabilities while maintaining robust protections for sensitive data, often through techniques like differential privacy, federated learning, and secure multi-party computation.
Conclusion
This week's intelligence briefing highlights the interconnected challenges and opportunities facing both public sector leaders and their industry partners. From defending against sophisticated cyber threats to strategically adopting AI, modernizing legacy systems, navigating complex policy decisions, and reforming procurement, success requires collaborative approaches that leverage the strengths of both sectors. As workforce changes and policy reforms reshape the landscape, government agencies and technology providers must focus on shared goals of efficiency, security, and improved service delivery to forge productive partnerships that deliver meaningful results for citizens.
