DOD taking renewed interest in blockchain amid COVID-19 pandemic

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Midst the COVID-19 pandemic, health executives in the Defense Department are once again looking at the potential use cases for blockchain. The distribution ledger technology has seen pockets of implementation in federal health agencies. On Wednesday, Bruce Doll, the assistant vice president for technology research and Innovation at DoD’s Uniformed Services University, said that the Military Health System should consider blockchain for everything from credentialing providers at clinics to tracking the distribution of a COVID vaccine as part of Operation Warp Speed.

Doll said on Wednesday during a virtual health IT conference hosted by Federal Computer Week that “You certainly want to be in a situation where you are able to track, whether it’s from Pfizer or Moderna, all the way to delivery to the patient, what is actually the quality of that series of steps.”

By using machine learning and AI, Doll said defense health agencies could clean and evaluate its fitness for use to reduce the risk of bad data making its way into the blockchain. “The idea of identifying friend or foe is elemental to environments that we work in, and then those identifications may only take seconds before a decision has to be made,” Doll said. “Having blockchain operating in that environment, so that you can actually have commands that can be conveyed forward in the field and then evaluated for correctness… would be a great advantage.”

The report proposed the DoD consider using blockchain to reduce single points in failure on the battlefield or in emergency decision-making situations. The commissioned report also recommended that DoD consider blockchain to improve the efficiency of its logistics and supply chains.

The Department of Health and Human Services has pioneered the use of blockchain in government. HHS in 2018 gained the first authority to operate an a blockchain and AI-powered tool called HHS Accelerate.

Author: Chandni Mandaviya

Reference:https://federalnewsnetwork.com/big-data/2020/12/dod-taking-renewed-interest-in-blockchain-amid-covid-19-pandemic/

NEWARK’S SABRE88, LLC NAMED ONE OF NATION’S FASTEST-GROWING FIRMS IN UNDER-RESOURCED COMMUNITIES

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Company included in Initiative for a Competitive Inner City

IC 100 Ranking

Newark, December 9, 2020 – The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) announced that Newark’s Sabre88 is a winner of the 2020 Inner City 100 (IC100) award which recognizes the 100 fastest-growing firms in under-resourced communities across America. The winners were picked based on revenue growth and job creation during the four-year period from 2015 to 2019.

Winners were revealed at the 2020 ICIC National Conference held virtually on December 8th. The full list is available here. Sabre88, led by CEO Robert Cottingham Jr., was ranked #46 based on its four-year revenue growth rate of 147.42% and job creation of 36. Sabre88 is the only New Jersey business to make the list.

“This is a proud moment for us to be included on the IC100 list,” said Robert Cottingham Jr. “This is another proof point that what we are doing is working. It is incredibly rewarding to be recognized alongside leaders from so many industries across the county.” 

In order to measure the impact of COVID-19 and the resulting economic crisis, ICIC conducted an in-depth survey of winners – gathering information on the companies’ estimated 2020 end-of-year revenue versus 2019, estimated 2020 end-of-year employment versus 2019, and information on a company leader’s approach to leading through the COVID-19 crisis.

Each winner shared stories of how they had to pivot due to the pandemic, from transitioning manufacturing centers to produce PPE, to learning how to sell virtually for the first time, to even holding free office hours with tech experts on a weekly basis – countless examples of innovation, grit, and resilience.

In addition to the survey, ICIC has collected demographic data on all the winners as well as metrics around revenue growth and job creation, included below.

2020 IC100 Winners by the Numbers:

  • Average Company Age: 17
  • Cities Represented: 56
  • States Represented: 29
  • Industries Represented: 25
  • Woman-Owned/Led: 42
  • BIPOC-Owned/Led: 51
  • Veteran-Owned/Led: 7
  • First-Time Winner: 71
  • Hall of Famers (will have won the IC100 for at least 5 times, including this year): 15
  • Average Four-Year Revenue Growth Rate: 310%
  • Average 2019 Revenue: $8,986,862.31
  • Total Jobs Created: 3,230
  • Total Employed by IC100 Winners in 2019 (year-end number): 7240

These numbers bear out some encouraging trends. This year’s IC100 list had the highest number of women-owned/led companies, an increase of eight companies from 2019 and 17 since 2015. The 2020 list also contains the highest ever number of BIPOC-owned/led companies, marking an increase of seven since 2019 and 11 since 2015.

“IC100 companies are forces of economic opportunity, optimism and transformation in their communities, and it’s an honor to recognize Sabre88’s leadership,” said ICIC CEO Steve Grossman. “Especially during this incredibly challenging time, as small business owners reckon with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, these pioneering entrepreneurs have demonstrated a deep commitment to and passion for their local communities.”

IC100 Methodology: Recognizing that concentrated poverty exists within metropolitan areas outside of big cities (and that poverty overall is suburbanizing), ICIC has revised its definition of an inner city (or under-resourced area) to encompass large areas of concentrated poverty in suburbs and smaller central cities as well as the large cities on which it has historically focused. The new inner-city definition that it has developed includes large low-income, high-poverty areas located in the urban and suburban parts of all but the smallest metropolitan areas.  Every year, ICIC identifies, ranks, and awards the 100 fastest growing businesses located in America’s under-resourced communities. In 2020, companies were selected and ranked by revenue growth and job creation over the four-year period between 2015 and 2019.

About ICIC:

ICIC is a national nonprofit founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter. ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income and wealth for local residents.

Through its research on inner city economies, ICIC provides businesses, governments and investors with the most comprehensive and actionable information in the field about urban market opportunities. Now in its 26th year, the organization supports urban businesses through the Inner City 100, Inner City Capital Connections, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, and Santander Bank’s Cultivate Small Business program.

Learn more at www.icic.org or @icicorg. 

DoD to Procure Space Trash Removal

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Space Trash is a serious problem. Its mention may induce a chuckle from some, but space trash is indeed no laughing matter. The current estimates provided by NASA regarding the total amount of space debris in Earth-orbit totals 17.6 million pounds or 26,000 pieces satellites, rocks, metal, and other hazardous materials. This debris can cause significant damage to satellites and can be fatal to astronauts. Space trash can also fall to Earth.

From the US government’s perspective, space trash is a threat to national security. Lt. Gen. John Thompson, Space and Missiles Systems Center (SMSC), said, “Space debris is already a national security space issue. You’ve probably heard Department of Defense leaders talk about space not only being contested, but also congested.” With the formation of the Space Force and the completion of the Space Fence, a digital tracking mechanism capable of tracking items 10cm and larger, the DoD is investing in cleaning up space debris.

Leaders of the Space Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office (SRCO) and Space and Missiles Systems Center (SMSC) said during an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics event that they are interested in ways the commercial sector can help the military with junk floating around the Earth’s orbit. “I anticipate that in the commercial sector, and in the national security space sector, that orbital debris mitigation will become a huge effort going into the future,” said Lt. Thompson.

Although the list of civilian contractors capable of performing the requirement is currently small, the prospect of profits is space will undoubtedly drive entrepreneurs to look up. After all, the sky is no longer the limit!

Author: Paul McVeigh

Link: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2020/11/dod-wants-industrys-help-in-taking-out-space-trash/

Navy Claims New Records for Small Business Participation, Improved Overall Acquisition Efficiency

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2020 was a record-breaking fiscal year by the U.S. Department of the Navy for the goods and services invested into small businesses despite the onset of COVID-19. To augment efficiency of the Navy acquisition corps, James F. Geurts, the assistant secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition, plans to promote a narrative of investing more money into contracts with less contracting action.

Geurts stated, “Over $17 billion directly to small businesses as a prime. We not only met our kind of demanding goals but exceeded them, not only at the overall level but in sub-categories,” on a recent phone call to reporters in October.

In exactitude, $17.33 billion was invested into small businesses by the Navy this year and all percentage goals for prime contract awards were exceeded. A goal of 15.61% was outlined for allocation for small business prime contracts awards, but 16.46% was obtained.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) have been actively trying to make it easier for small businesses to participate in contracts, especially since the beginning of the pandemic.

“We used to kind of say, here’s what we need, and we’d then see what they would come up with. We kind of flipped that around and we’ve now started asking small businesses, hey, what do you got, to try to actually see what they’re thinking,” said Lorin Selby, head of the ONR.

As a result of this new methodology, the ONR now obtains around 115 proposals for programs, a significant increase from the 12 proposals they would typically obtain. Also, the ONR now requires about 10 pages of information within proposals, a significant decrease from the 10 pages they would typically ask for. There has also been a decrease in the number of days spent evaluating contracts by the ONR, from 45 to 9 days.

A concept called “Fed Mall” has been set up by the Defense Logistics Agency in which small businesses with federal contracts can sell goods and services in a virtual marketplace as well as purchase goods and services at discounted prices.

The Department of the Navy has been acting with the underlying goal of improving acquisition efficiency and small business participation.

Author: Donna Sunny

Link:

Navy Claims New Records for Small Business Participation, Improved Overall Acquisition Efficiency

Consolidation of Mentor- Protégé Programs and other Government Contracting Amendments

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The U.S Small Business Administration (SBA) initiated a review of their regulations in order to determine which might be revised or eliminated because of government wide regulatory reform initiative. As a result, 8(a) Business Development (BD) Mentor-Protégé Program and the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program merges in order to eliminate unnecessary duplication of functions within SBA. This eliminates the requirement that 8(a) Participants seeking to be awarded an 8(a) contract as a joint venture submit the joint venture agreement to SBA for review and approval prior to contract award, revises several 8(a) BD program regulations to reduce unnecessary or excessive burdens on 8(a) Participants, and clarifies other related regulatory provisions to eliminate confusion among small businesses and procuring activities. This rule became effective on November 16, 2020, except for § 127.504 which went into effect October 16, 2020.

The proposed rule initially called for a 70-day comment period, with comments required to be made to SBA by January 17, 2020. SBA published a notice in the Federal Register on January 10, 2020, extending the comment period an additional 21 days to February 7, 2020. SBA considers tribal consultation meetings a valuable component of its deliberations and believes that these tribal consultation meetings allowed for constructive dialogue with the Tribal community, Tribal Leaders, Tribal Elders, elected members of Alaska Native Villages or their appointed representatives, and principals of tribally-owned and Alaska Native Corporation (ANC) owned firms participating in the 8(a) BD Program.

SBA held a Listening Session in Honolulu, HI to obtain comments and input from key 8(a) BD program stakeholders in the Hawaiian small business community, including 8(a) applicants and Participants owned by Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs). SBA received 189 timely comments, with a high percentage of commenters favouring the proposed changes during the proposed rule’s 91-day comment period. A substantial number of commenters applauded SBA’s effort to clarify and address misinterpretations of the rules. For the most part, the comments supported the substantive changes proposed by SBA. The Jobs Act was designed to protect the interests of small businesses and increase opportunities in the Federal marketplace. The Jobs Act was drafted by Congress in recognition of the fact that mentor-protégé programs serve an important business development function for small businesses and therefore included language authorizing SBA to establish separate mentor-protégé programs for the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern (SDVO SBC) Program, the HUBZone Program, and the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Start Printed Page 66147Program, each of which was modelled on SBA’s existing mentor-protégé program available to 8(a) Participants. Thereafter, on January 2, 2013, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA 2013), Public Law 112-239 was enacted. Section 1641 of the NDAA 2013 authorized SBA to establish a mentor-protégé program for all small business concerns. This section further provided that a small business mentor-protégé program must be identical to the 8(a) BD Mentor-Protégé Program, except that SBA could modify each program to the extent necessary, given the types of small business concerns to be included as protégés.

The explicit purpose of the 8(a) BD Mentor-Protégé relationship has been to enhance the capabilities of protégés and to improve their ability to successfully compete for both government and commercial contracts. All Small Mentor-Protégé Program is designed to require approved mentors to aid protégé firms so that they may enhance their capabilities, meet their business goals, and improve their ability to compete for contracts. If a protégé firm is an 8(a) Program Participant, a joint venture between the protégé and its mentor could seek any 8(a) contracts, regardless of whether the mentor-protégé agreement was approved through the 8(a) BD Mentor-Protégé Program or the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program. Moreover, a firm could be certified as an 8(a) Participant after its mentor-protégé relationship has been approved by SBA through the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program and be eligible for 8(a) contracts as a joint venture with its mentor once certified.

A mentor-protégé relationship approved by SBA through the 8(a) BD Mentor-Protégé Program will continue to operate as an SBA-approved mentor-protégé relationship under the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program. It will continue to have the same remaining time in the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program as it would have had under the 8(a) BD Mentor-Protégé Program if that Program continued. Any mentor-protégé relationship approved under the 8(a) BD Mentor-Protégé Program will count as one of the two lifetime mentor-protégé relationships that a small business may have under the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program. This rule also revises regulations pertaining to the 8(a) BD and size programs in order to further reduce unnecessary or excessive burdens on small businesses and to eliminate confusion or more clearly delineate SBA’s intent in certain regulations. Specifically, this rule makes additional changes to the size and socioeconomic status recertification requirements for orders issued against Multiple Award Contracts (MACs).

Reference : https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/16/2020-19428/consolidation-of-mentor-protg-programs-and-other-government-contracting-amendments

The four pillars of focus for the Army’s new technology office

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In the last two months the army split its technology management organization into two, creating a new office of the chief information officer and an office for the G6. Lt. Gen. John Morrison Jr., the deputy chief of staff, G-6, said Tuesday as part of this new organization reaching initial operating capability, its roles and goals are coming into focus. “The CIO is the principle advisor to the Secretary of the Army. They really focused on policy, governance and oversight. It’s all things IT related,” Morrison said during a conference call with reporters on Tuesday. “On the G6, it’s a little bit of a different focus. It’s really about strategy, network architectures and implementation of command control, communications, cyber operations and networks. The CIO establishes the policies. We are responsible for planning and actual implementation of those policies, and then supporting Army organizations worldwide as they actually go out and implement those policies.”

Morrison said he expects the G6 to reach full operating capability in fiscal 2021. “You’ve seen some things that are different. The mere fact that cyber operations are included in the G6 is not traditional. But it gets back to the notion of if you believe in combined arms maneuver in cyberspace to include electromagnetic spectrum, why would we separate that role and function?” he said. “There is work for us to do there. But I’d also submit to you that’s one of the lessons learned from the other services because that’s generally how they organized.”

Morrison said the G6 will focus its efforts across four pillars of effort. The four pillars are as follows:

Setting the unified network

The network also will be the Army’s contribution to the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) to ensure networks are interoperable and can share data. Morrison said it’s integrating the work of the cross-functional team with the tactical network and also focused on the notion of vertical integration. “If you buy into many of the things that we are working on from our modernization priorities or our operational framework—long range precision fire, deep persistent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), and multi-domain operations where cyber effects at the tactical level could be deployed just about anywhere on the globe—you need a unified network,” he said. “We have to stop talking about an enterprise network that is focused on modernizing our base, post, camp and installations and a tactical network that is very base, post and camp centric. We need to bring those two together so that we support where the Army is going from both a modernization and an operational warfighting construct.” Morrison also said the unified network must take into account new and emerging technologies like 5G and secure wireless.

Posturing our signal and cyber forces to operate for multi-domain operations

He said the effort must support the unified network and building additional cyber capacity to operate at the tactical echelons. “That means taking a look at the training. That means taking a look at the talent management. That means taking a look at the organizational framework that we are putting in place and as we learn, adjusting them over time,” he said. “That means making sure we have signal and cyber underpinned by intelligence, operating in a combined arms fashion in cyber space to include electromagnetic spectrum.”

Reforming and operationalizing cybersecurity processes

Morrison said he wants to review the risk management framework and see how the Army can move from a model that is less focused on bureaucracy and periodic reviews to one that is more focused on operational evaluations to ensure cybersecurity is a part of a system before it gets on the network.

Focus on implementation and execution across the network and cyber

The biggest challenge the G6 faces is hiring and training employees to have the right skillsets. He said the goal is to develop capabilities the Army needs with the right linkages back to the joint environment. “How do we harmonize joint investments in the joint tactical grid which supports the unified network, and how do we make sure we are leveraging all the investments so that we are effective as a joint force, as an Army, and fiscally efficient?” he said. Morrison said he has asked his staff to look at using all current hiring authorities to address these and other needs. G6 is in need of employees who understand the cloud services, data analytics and cybersecurity.

Author: Chandni Mandaviya

Reference: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/army/2020/10/the-four-pillars-of-focus-for-the-armys-new-technology-office/

DISA Success Says Small Business is Key

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The governmentwide small business contracting goal has been at 23% since 1997. Agencies have done well for the most part in meeting this goal in the last five years, though there are still many hurdles facing small business contractors as primes and subcontractors. One notable contract vehicle which makes this fact evident is 8(a) STARS II, though there have been many others that have gone awry.

The Defense Information Systems Agency’ (DISA) has taken a unique approach to small business contractors, one that puts them at the forefront and holds large firms accountable. In its SETI contract, DISA has taken steps to ensure that small businesses can and will be successful. For this effort, DISA was awarded the 2020 Verdure award from the Defense Department for demonstrating fresh approaches to balancing the development of efficient procurement methods and the utilization of small businesses.

What is so different about SETI? One prominent feature of this contract is the removal of the clearance barrier. To recap, security clearances have often served as a barrier to entry for many small businesses, as sponsorship is required to obtain a clearance. Here, DISA decided to be that sponsor for small businesses and joint ventures. Also, they have removed the requirement for the cost accounting certification. SETI also allows small businesses to submit for a requirement despite not being able fulfill every task on the SOW. This allowed DISA to reach more than 100 offerors, about 80% did not have experience with DISA.

This move by DISA to be more inclusive and accommodating to the small business contracting community has undoubtedly strengthened their pool of capable contractors but has tapped a well of ingenuity and innovation that would have previously been lost. Small businesses have been hailed by many administrations as the “engine that runs the economy,” and DISA is a prime example of that sentiment being a reality. Look for more agencies to follow suit.

Author: Paul McVeigh

Source: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2020/10/disa-sends-message-to-large-companies-meet-small-business-goals-or-risk-getting-off-ramped/

Pentagon officials see ‘troubling’ small business decline since COVID

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In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a decrease in the number of small businesses competing for contracts as disclosed by the Pentagon contracting arm. Although the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency has awarded lucrative contracts in response to COVID-19, it is questionable whether the department’s regular vendors, notably its small business vendors, have been substantially benefited.

Dwight Deneal, the director of the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency’s Office of Small Business Programs, conveyed that, “participation level from our supplier base’s standpoint has steadily declined” in reference to small businesses during a small business panel at the Association of the U.S. Army’s yearly meeting. To stimulate involvement from smaller suppliers, the Department of Defense has planned virtual outreach efforts for November. As of late, the Pentagon has faced controversy for awarding substantial contracts to inexperienced companies for disposable medical gowns as opposed to awarding them to vendors with considerable experience completing federal procurement contracts.

Furthermore, the Pentagon has faced contention for allocating $688 million for aircraft engine part suppliers, shipbuilding, electronics, and space launch services over implementing those funds to augment the nation’s medical supplies. Deneal did not mention either controversy at the small business panel and instead applauded the DLA’s commitment to reviving the domestic supply chains for personal protective equipment. This move, he communicated, would benefit not only the nation as a whole due to the pandemic but also would benefit small business suppliers.

In addition to the Department of Defense, there has been a decline in small business participation within the Navy, according to Jimmy Smith, the director of the Navy’s Office of Small Business Programs. To combat this, Smith will urge contracting officers to open a direct line of communication with small businesses. Also, he aims to ensure that large contractors will “flow work” to smaller partners.

Author: Donny Sunny

Source:

https://www.defensenews.com/2020/10/13/pentagon-officials-see-troubling-small-business-decline-since-covid/

DoD’s new data strategy

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Department of Defense, the Pentagon has finished drafting a new data management strategy and it is likely to release within next 30 days, the Defense Department’s chief information officer said Wednesday. The draft will attempt to answer some of the department’s key questions about becoming a “data-centric” organization , including how a more disciplined approach to data will impact the department’s acquisition programs and how to harness the vast amounts of data it already generates to train future artificial intelligence algorithms, Dana Deasy, the DoD CIO said.

Additionally, “The biggest challenge to getting the flywheel of AI really going across the department is data. And people say to me, ‘the Department of Defense has lots of data.’ Yes, but just having lots of data doesn’t mean it’s accessible,” he told reporters. “How do you secure it the right way? What are the policies, the different classifications? How do you ingest it? … It comes from different sources in different formats. And what that data was originally created for maybe have slightly different purposes. So [the challenge] is curating that data in a way that it’s then usable for the algorithms to learn from.”

David Spirk conducted a “listening tour” across various DoD components to ensure the CIO’s office was asking and answering the right questions about data management.

“The things everybody constantly talked about — and that we needed to build our goals around — were, How do you ensure all data is visible? How do you make sure it’s accessible to everybody at the right classifications and authority levels, and how do you make sure it’s more understandable? How do you make sure that data is better linked? How do you make sure data is trustworthy?” Deasy said. “How do you make sure the data you’re working with is the right source? And then finally, how do you make sure that data is interoperable and secure?”

The forthcoming document will also mark the first time the department has had a full data first time the department has had a full data maturity model that involves every level of the department in a single approach to data governance, Spirk, said in a September interview with the Federal News Network. The data strategy is emerging at the same time the Joint Chiefs of Staff are restructuring their approach to thinking about data requirements for weapons systems.

Gen. John Hyten, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, said last month that the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC), which he chairs, will soon begin promulgating joint standards for data interoperability. The new approach will insist that the military services comply with the standards from the beginning of a new system’s development, rather than letting them develop platforms first and send them to the JROC for validation of what they’ve already done.

“They’re not going to be the traditional requirements and capability description documents and capability production documents that you’ve looked at for years,” Hyten said. “They’re going to be capability attributes that programs have to have. If you do not meet those, you don’t meet the job requirements, and therefore you don’t get through the gate and you don’t get money.”

Reference:

DoD finishes new data strategy, publication expected this month

The Pentagon: Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell (DA2C) – Born of COVID-19

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COVID-19 has changed the world in many ways, not excluding the United States’ federal procurement strategies. During the pandemic, the US federal government spent nearly $17 billion on COVID-related contracts. Due to the overwhelming nature of this beast, a new assisted acquisition organization has been born from the Joint Acquisition Task Force the Pentagon set up. This task force was responsible for acquiring $3 billion in contracts and agreements for other agencies, namely HHS and FEMA.

Starting in 2021, the Joint Acquisition Task Force (JATF) will become the Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell (DA2C) and will be part of the existing Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell (JRAC). Besides the $3 billion in contracts the JATF helped process for end items like personal protective equipment, it also helped HHS use the new Defense Production Act authorities that department gained under the CARES Act to help build domestic production capacity for critical medical items.

DA2C will serve an entity responsible for building and maintaining interagency relationships and fostering swift assisted acquisitions support services. Stacy Cummings, the assistant secretary of Defense for acquisition enablers, states, “With our hundreds of thousands of acquisition professionals, we’re in a position to respond quickly and robustly. But we do need to have that framework and frankly, that trust, to quickly establish the ability to take the authorization and appropriation another executive branch department receives from Congress and take advantage of the depth and breadth of capability DoD can bring to a crisis. So the lesson learned was that we need to always be thinking about how we support the interagency process and be that one stop shop.”

Author: Paul McVeigh

Source: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2020/09/pentagon-transitioning-its-covid-19-acquisition-task-force-to-permanent-office/