Wed.Jun 26, 2024

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AWS announces $50 million Generative AI Impact Initiative for public sector organizations

AWS Public Sector

Today, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the AWS Public Sector Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Impact Initiative. The two-year, $50 million investment is designed to help public sector organizations – and those that directly support their technology needs – to accelerate innovation in support of critical missions using AWS generative AI services and infrastructure, such as Amazon Bedrock , Amazon Q , Amazon SageMaker , AWS HealthScribe , AWS Trainium , and AWS Inferentia.

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The power of procurement data: How one villager unveiled a corruption scandal

Open Contracting Partnership

By Torplus Yomnak, Co-Founder of HAND Social Enterprise and the Director of the Knowledge Hub for Regional Anti-Corruption and Good Governance Collaboration (KRAC) In May 2021, amid the pandemic lockdowns, a villager in Thailand took a stroll on the outskirts of their town, making an unexpected discovery that would stir the local community. There, on an overgrown, vacant plot of land, hidden among tall weeds, stood rows of ornately decorated solar lamp posts.

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Highlights from the 2024 AWS Summit Washington, DC keynote

AWS Public Sector

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) innovation and inspiration dominated today’s AWS Summit Washington, DC keynote. But there was no shortage of newsworthy moments and key takeaways that extended beyond generative AI. Dave Levy , vice president of Worldwide Public Sector at Amazon Web Services (AWS), delivered the DC Summit keynote. Levy was joined onstage by three special guests who helped him set the tone for the annual two-day event that brings the public sector cloud community together i

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Air Force Under Secretary Melissa Dalton to Keynote Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Air Defense Summit

GovCon Wire

Who Is Melissa Dalton? Melissa Dalton currently serves as under secretary of the Air Force, a role she assumed in May. In this position, she oversees the organizing, training and equipping of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force to aid global military operations.

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How to Create a Blueprint for Fleet Resilience

Speaker: Jeff Dickinson - President and CEO of Railgistixs Transport, Supply Chain and Logistics Thought Leader

Despite the ongoing transformation of the supply chain and logistics landscape, the steadfast importance of carrier safety remains a core principle. From prioritizing preventative maintenance to optimizing fleet utilization, the fundamentals persist. If you’re overlooking and neglecting essential safety precautions today, this could result in expensive repairs and potential safety hazards in the future. 🚧 Join Jeff Dickinson for a conversation on how to mitigate risk, enforce compliance,

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Energy Department Awards TRANSCOM Technical Support Services Contract to CCS-Ivory Cloud Joint Venture

ExecutiveBiz

The Department of Energy has announced awarding the DOE Transportation Tracking and Communications System Technical Support Services contract to CCS-Ivory Cloud Joint Venture. The up to $15 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract will run from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2029, and feature firm-fixed-price task orders, the DOE said Tuesday.

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Amy Johanek Takes on VP of Federal Role at Okta

GovCon Wire

Amy Johanek, formerly area vice president for federal civilian agencies at Splunk, has been appointed VP of federal at identity and access management company Okta (Nasdaq: OKTA), according to her LinkedIn post.

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BREAKING: Justices Say Bribery Law Doesn't Criminalize Gratuities

Government Contracts

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the scope of a federal bribery law frequently used in public corruption prosecutions, in a 6-3 ruling in favor of a former Indiana mayor who argued the law only criminalizes quid pro quo bribery and not rewards given after an official action has been taken.

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Report: Boeing Proposes Funding Spirit AeroSystems Reacquisition With Stock

ExecutiveBiz

Boeing initially planned to reacquire Spirit AeroSystems in an all-cash transaction but made a last-minute move by proposing to fund its purchase of the aircraft parts manufacturer using mostly company stock, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

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GSA moves forward on overhaul of FedRAMP priorities

FedScoop

Is it possible to move mountains, both “practically and bureaucratically,” within six months of a new political appointment in civic technology? Half a year into his tenure as executive director for cloud strategy within the General Services Administration’s Technology and Transformation Services, Eric Mill believes that he and his team have done just that.

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Supreme Court Bribery Ruling Limits Government's 'Arsenal'

Government Contracts

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Wednesday limiting the reach of a federal bribery law has removed a "novel" tool that prosecutors employed in a wide range of public corruption cases and could result in fewer prosecutions of state and local officials, experts say.

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5 Things to Know About Quantum Computing

GovLoop

Andrew Wilson is Chief of the Quantum Physics Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), which is developing quantum technology that aims to improve timekeeping and atomic clocks — a perhaps under-appreciated but core NIST mission. While it’s true that quantum computing is complicated, Wilson offers several thoughts that help clarify where quantum is today.

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What happens when a company that didn’t bid files an award protest?

Federal News Network

In a long-running case, a vendor of computer vision software protested a National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency award to systems integrator CACI, which was going to develop its own computer vision software. The protester, Percipient, had not bid. But Percipient did file in the Court of Federal Claims on the basis that the government is obligated to use commercially available products.

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American Home Protect Ordered to Pay Whistleblower $185K in Wages and Retaliation Damages

Whistleblower Network News

On June 20, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it has ordered American Home Protect LLC to reinstate and pay back wages and compensatory damages to a whistleblower who was fired after reporting deceptive business practices to upper management. American Home Protect LLC is based in Plano, Texas and its parent company, Porch Group Inc. is based in Seattle, Washington.

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The HALO Trust is working with AWS to clear mines faster and save lives in the world’s conflict zones

AWS Public Sector

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is investing $4 million to support the work of the HALO Trust and trial the use of artificial intelligence (AI) with drone imagery to locate minefields and other explosive remnants of war in Ukraine. Innovating with AWS will enable HALO to make wider use of the high-resolution drone footage it collects, including testing machine learning (ML) models for identifying mines.

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IRS Whistleblowers Led to Over $337 Million in Collections in FY 2023

Whistleblower Network News

On June 24, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Office of the Whistleblower released its Annual Report for the 2023 Fiscal Year. During FY 2023, the IRS Whistleblower Program awarded $88.7 million to whistleblowers based on the $337 million the agency was able to collect thanks to whistleblower disclosures. “The IRS appreciates the valuable assistance it has received from whistleblowers and the tremendous support the whistleblower practitioner community provides to the IRS Whistleblower Program,

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Virgin Galactic and others become operational with FAA’s space-age air traffic tool

FedScoop

Three more companies have started using the Federal Aviation Administration’s Space Data Integrator, a tool designed to prepare air traffic controllers for the space age, the agency said on Wednesday. The FAA announced that Firefly, Virgin Galactic, and Sierra Space have become operational with the program. The move is notable because the platform is supposed to help alleviate the impact of rocket launches on commercial flight schedules — an ongoing problem, particularly in Florida and along the

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OHA Rules Company Remains Eligible for Award of Small Business Set-Aside Schedule Orders Even After Acquisition by a Large Business

Government Contract Insights

The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) has yet again clarified that a company’s size change in connection with a merger-and-acquisition event generally does not prevent the company from continuing to bid on set-aside orders under its General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) contract.

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Management Mistakes to Avoid

GovLoop

It can be stressful to figure out the do’s and don’ts of a supervisory role in your agency – how do you know if you’re on the right track as you lead your team? During the latest New Supervisors in Government Community of Practice session , we invited Erin Muru, MBA, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, Director of Human Resources FDIC, Office of Inspector General, to talk about the top things you should avoid doing as a government supervisor.

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NASA appears to step back from the term ‘artificial general intelligence’ 

FedScoop

The terminology NASA once used to refer to artificial general intelligence has changed, the space agency said in response to questions from FedScoop about emails obtained through a public records request, signaling the ways that science-focused federal agencies might be discussing emerging technologies in the age of generative AI. Building artificial general intelligence — a powerful form of AI that could theoretically rival humans — is still a distant goal, but remains a key objective of compan

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NASA, IBM Seek to Enhance Scientific Research With INDUS Large Language Models

ExecutiveBiz

IBM and NASA’s Interagency Implementation and Advanced Concepts Team have developed a set of large language models designed to improve scientific research by providing researchers with improved access to large volumes of specialized knowledge and enabling them to extract relevant information from diverse data sources.

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OSTP unveils implementation dates for federal agency public access policies for R&D

FedScoop

The White House this week released an updated report to Congress on the status of federal research investments, research integrity and the peer review process, unveiling an implementation timeline for R&D policies that coincides with open access publishing of federally funded research. As part of ongoing efforts to expand access research and sustain global leadership in R&D, the Office of Science and Technology Policy said its updated agency public access policies will go into effect by

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Top Cyber Execs to Watch in 2024

WashngtonExec

The cyber threat landscape is constantly evolving — creating new challenges, expanding vulnerabilities and leading to more sophisticated hacks and breaches. Government and industry alike are in a never-ending fight to preemptively detect threats, constantly protecting and actively defending systems, networks and enterprise-wide IT infrastructures. As the federal and private sectors modernize legacy systems and [.

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GAO Protest Sustain: Flawed Price Realism Analysis

SmallGovCon

We often see price realism in protests when the protester is making the claim that the awardee’s price, which was lower than the protester’s price, is low enough that the awardee would not be able to perform the work as solicited. Most often, GAO will determine that the agency’s price realism analysis was acceptable. However, in Criterion Corporation , B-422309 (Apr 16, 2024), the agency determined that the lowest priced offeror’s price was too low, and that the company could not pos

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Carahsoft to Serve as Public Sector Distributor for ClearML AI Offering; Michael Adams Quoted

ExecutiveBiz

Carahsoft Technology will distribute the end-to-end and open-source artificial intelligence platform of software developer ClearML to the public sector under a partnership agreement. In a statement Tuesday, Michael Adams, sales director at Carahsoft, said, “ClearML’s AI Platform streamlines [machine learning operations] and [large language model operations] processes, facilitating rapid development and secure deployments.

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DOD’s Randy Resnick Presented With 2024 Wash100 Award

GovCon Wire

Randy Resnick, director of the Zero Trust Portfolio Management Office within the Department of Defense’s Office of the Chief Information Officer, accepted his 2024 Wash100 Award during the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Cyber Summit. Executive Mosaic CEO and Wash100 Founder Jim Garrettson presented the recognition.

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Groundswell Implements Workday Cloud-Based Platform for Federal Agency

ExecutiveBiz

Groundswell has implemented Workday‘s cloud-based enterprise resource planning service for a U.S. federal agency with a global workforce and international mission. Deploying the Workday Government Cloud platform replaces an outdated on-premises personnel database, allowing decentralized decision-making as it enables thousands of staff members to access and manage their data independently, Groundswell said Tuesday.

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Taking the Mystery Out of DCAA’s Incurred Cost Audits

Redstone Government Consulting

So, you have been notified by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) that they plan on performing an incurred cost audit. What comes next? How is this audit being performed? You are probably not going to get this background from your DCAA auditor. This article will go over the process that will be applied to take a little of the “mystery” away.

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GM Defense Supports Department of Defense Program to Evaluate Automotive Batteries for Potential Military Applications

ExecutiveBiz

General Motors‘ defense business arm has partnered with the University of Texas at Arlington Pulsed Power and Energy Laboratory and Naval Surface Warfare Center Philadelphia Division to assess commercial automotive batteries for potential military applications.

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JAMS Publishes Artificial Intelligence Arbitration Rules, but Are They Fit for Purpose?

Kluwer Arbitration

On 23 April 2024, JAMS announced its Artificial Intelligence Disputes Clause and Rules (“ JAMS AI Rules ”), effective 15 April 2024. According to JAMS , these Rules “reflect the latest developments and trends in the ADR space and address the rise in usage and development of AI systems and smart contracts.” Today, artificial intelligence (“AI”) is a worldwide hot topic, including within arbitration.

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DHA Seeks Comments on Solicitation Terms for PEO Medical Systems Strategic Adviser Support

ExecutiveBiz

The Defense Health Agency is seeking industry feedback on the performance work statement and other elements of an upcoming solicitation for strategic adviser support services meant to benefit Program Executive Office Medical Systems/J-6 Chief Information Officer, which provides the agency with advice on all matters related to Military Health Systems IT.

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How to Start a Strategic Sourcing Process (with My Proven 7-Step Plan)

Art of Procurement

If you work in procurement, you’ve probably seen many variations of a strategic sourcing process. With so many options available, The post How to Start a Strategic Sourcing Process (with My Proven 7-Step Plan) appeared first on Art of Procurement.

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Washington Headquarters Services Awards Engineering, Technical Support Services Contract to Riverside Research Institute

ExecutiveBiz

Riverside Research Institute will provide the Defense Innovation Unit with engineering and technical support services under a $26.2 million hybrid firm-fixed-price, time-and-materials contract from Washington Headquarters Services.

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How to Create a Category Profile for Strategic Sourcing

Art of Procurement

One of the first things you need to do in a new strategic sourcing project is to assess the internal. The post How to Create a Category Profile for Strategic Sourcing appeared first on Art of Procurement.

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Claims Court Says USAID Wrongly Cut JV From $800M Deal

Government Contracts

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has ruled that the U.S. Agency for International Development was wrong to rescind a joint venture's slot on an $800 million support services procurement after one of its members was suspended from federal contracting.

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Q4 do’s and don’ts

Federal News Network

Larry Allen, president, Allen Federal Business Partners This week on Amtower Off Center , host Mark Amtower is joined by Larry Allen, president of Allen Federal Business Partners and a regular on Federal News Network. The wide-ranging conversation covers: Q4 do’s and don’ts Issues around the GSA Schedule program, including why many do not require a Schedule The delay in Alliant 3 and issues surrounding the awarding of IDIQs Why contractors need to be agile now more than ever The post

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After Covering For Ex, Man Gets 53 Months For PPP Scheme

Government Contracts

A Georgia man who pled guilty to being a key player in an $11 million pandemic loan fraud ring was hit with a 53-month prison term Wednesday, a sentence that wasn't helped after a federal judge found he lied on the stand testifying for his ex-wife and co-conspirator at her trial earlier this year.

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