automation | The Contracting Education Academy

October 7, 2019 By cs

New OFPP administrator seeks to reduce risks of federal contracting through AI, robotics

Michael Wooten became the 15^th administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy about six weeks ago. More importantly, he became the first permanent head of federal procurement during the Trump administration.

In his first two public speeches last week, Wooten hit all the expected notes that an OFPP administrator is supposed to reach — building on existing efforts like category management, upskilling the workforce, unlocking technology to create innovation and harnessing acquisition data to turn it into business intelligence.

“There is a considerable alignment that supports what we are doing. This is a good time to be the administrator. There are a lot of people who are cheerleading, saying ‘go, go go and do things for us.’ It’s a good time to cut regulations that get in our way and I’m happy about that,” Wooten said at the Tech Trends conference sponsored by the Professional Services Council in Washington, D.C. “This is a good time to skill up the workforce. I have a mindset that we need to help the workforce shift to the right or use those human judgement skills as opposed to the rote stuff that software can do.”

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/reporters-notebook-jason-miller/2019/09/new-ofpp-administrator-seeks-to-reduce-risks-of-federal-contracting-through-ai-robotics/

July 17, 2019 By AMK

Pentagon aims to expedite security clearance process with $75 million award

Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC won a $75 million other transaction agreement on May 14 to continue modernization of the federal security clearance process, in particular with machine learning and related technology.

The Defense Security Service and Defense Information Systems Agency awarded the 24-month OTA, which covers improvements to National Background Investigation Services information technology.

Perspecta will help DSS — which will eventually be renamed the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency — expedite background investigations, adjudications, continuous vetting and insider-threat programs by creating a Security Enterprise Architecture and Data Services prototype.

When a new employee or transfer needs clearance, the prototype will use machine learning and natural language processing to pull from disparate data sources to fill out form information. Previously a full investigative package was prepared manually and handed over for adjudication.

Keep reading article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/security-clearances-perspecta-enterprise-solutions-ota/

May 14, 2019 By AMK

Agencies are ‘stepping up’ to prepare the workforce for AI

The government as a whole doesn’t have a set strategy for how they plan to prepare federal workers for the changes that artificial intelligence will cause in their jobs, but agencies are on board with individual efforts to educate and train their own workforces, according to Lynne Parker, assistant director for artificial intelligence at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

“Agencies are stepping up on their own to create opportunities for people to maybe enroll in a short-term learning course where they can gain skills in IT areas or cybersecurity areas or AI areas,” said Parker at an April 18 National Academy of Public Administration event. “Because each agency knows the kinds of skills and the kinds of work that they do, they’re best suited to create these training programs.”

The Trump administration has been adamant that their pursuit of technological advancement is not designed to displace workers that are already at government agencies, but rather to free up time spent on repetitive tasks so they can focus on problems of greater mission importance.

“It’s quite likely that most of us will have some tasks or parts of our jobs that will be impacted by technology, AI, automation and so forth,” Parker said. “I don’t think most of us need to fear completely losing our jobs, but our jobs will change. Now that’s not to say that there aren’t some areas where AI is particularly well-suited that there may be some impact in the sense at the job goes away. Most studies say that is a small percentage.”

Keep reading article at: https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/2019/04/18/agencies-are-stepping-up-to-prepare-the-workforce-for-ai/

April 4, 2018 By AMK

How GSA turned an automation project into a acquisition time-saver

As the federal government looks to modernize the way it buys things, making the process faster and cost-effective, the General Services Administration (GSA) is looking at ways to automate aspects of the automation process.

Jeff Lau, the acting regional commissioner for the Northeast and Caribbean region of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service, says robotic process automation (RPA) could save the acquisition workforce from having to waste time on administrative “cutting and pasting” tasks.

Those automation tools, he said, could help contracting officers at a time when the workforce is shrinking.

“I’ve seen the workforce shrink over the last five-to-10 years. When I first started my career at GSA, there was a lot more opportunity to do training. Now we’re heads-down, doing the work, because if they’re not doing the work, who else is? I think there’s an opportunity for us to provide training with their freed-up time, to develop them into a more well-rounded acquisition workforce,” Lau said last week at an event sponsored by the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC).

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/technology-main/2018/03/how-gsa-turned-an-automation-project-into-a-acquisition-time-saver/

June 11, 2012 By AMK

CACI International awarded $165 million Defense contract to automate procurement

Technology service provider CACI International Inc. was awarded a $165 million prime contract to provide software to automate procurement at the Defense Department, the company announced Tuesday.

Arlington, Va.-based CACI will provide information technology tools to help Pentagon acquisition agents coordinate financial logistics and contracting more effectively. The contract is for five years.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.nextgov.com/defense/2012/06/caci-international-awarded-165-million-defense-contract-automate-procurement/56089/?oref=ng-flyin.

Michael Wooten became the 15th administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy about six weeks ago. More importantly, he became the first permanent head of federal procurement during the Trump administration.

Perspecta Enterprise Solutions LLC won a $75 million other transaction agreement on May 14 to continue modernization of the federal security clearance process, in particular with machine learning and related technology.

As the federal government looks to modernize the way it buys things, making the process faster and cost-effective, the General Services Administration (GSA) is looking at ways to automate aspects of the automation process.

Search this Website

Michael Wooten became the 15^th administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy about six weeks ago. More importantly, he became the first permanent head of federal procurement during the Trump administration.