Private financing initiatives might lessen agency budget woes

Private finance initiatives are an effective way to relieve budgetary pressure and enable agencies to move forward with infrastructure improvements, writes Stan Soloway.

Living with stovepipes

Effective executives learn to reap the benefits of stovepiped organizations while still enabling collaboration, writes blogger Steve Kelman.

Acquisition 2.0 can breathe new life into battered workforce

More online engagement with the private sector could help federal acquisition workers develop better solicitations in less time, according to one reader.

Qlarion call ushers in new federal solutions provider

CadenceQuest Inc. is spinning off its CadenceQuest Government Solutions unit into an independent company renamed Qlarion Inc. The new firm will continue to focus on providing business intelligence, data mining and data management solutions.

Alion to boost Coast Guard human resources, ship-design capabilities

Alion Science and Technology Corp. will help the Coast Guard improve its human resources capabilities; ship engineering design; and command, control, communications, computers and information technology acquisitions under a five-year, $9.5 million contract.

House passes bill to upgrade DOD acquisition workforce

The bill seeks to reform the 80 percent of the Defense Department's acquisition system that 2009's reform didn't touch, some lawmakers say.

Harris IT award keeps DOD commissaries well stocked

A new $35 million contract will permit Harris Corp. to continue to deliver network operations support to the Defense Commissary Agency and its distribution of commissary goods to nearly 12 million customers in military communities around the world.

Is VA the new model for managing IT?

After making headlines for putting 188 projects on the chopping block, VA CIO Roger Baker explains his philosophy behind managing IT contracts.

SBA leader vows to crack down on small-business fraud

SBA plans to become more aggressive in suspending and debarring companies from receiving federal contracts, the agency's administrator tells a House committee.

Senate committee chairman suggests killing Boeing's virtual fence

Sen. Joe Lieberman questions the future of the SBInet virtual fence system is a failure.

188 VA projects on the chopping block

The Veterans Affairs Department has extended its program management system to all 280 IT projects and suspended spending on two-thirds of them.

General Dynamics to assist Interior with resource management

General Dynamics Corp. will furnish a variety of information management services to the Interior Department under a task order potentially worth $10.5 million over five years.

Obama forms private-sector board to improve agency operations

A new advisory board will give Obama advice on improving agency operations, particularly in customer service, IT and productivity

DHS is missing documents on noncompetitive contracts, IG says

The Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has issued a report on a pattern of missing documentation in departmental files regarding contracts awarded without full and open competition in fiscal 2008.

L-3 to deliver counter-terrorism support services

A unit of L-3 Communications Corp. will furnish products and technical services to enhance federal information technology counter-terrorism capabilities under a five-year Navy contract.

2010's Top 10 contracts (so far)

We rank the 10 largest contracts awarded during the first three months of 2010.

SAIC's support award strengthens EPA information office

Science Applications International Corp. will provide technical services and information technology to the Environmental Protection Agency under a five-year contract that could be worth more than $26 million if all options are exercised.

DHS to hire 170 IT employees during next 18 months

Richard Spires, the CIO of the Homeland Security Department, said today his IT workforce will almost double by October 2011.

Consensus is growing for the reform of flawed FISMA

Government and private-sector experts say agencies need to adopt real-time, enterprise-based risk management to secure the nation’s information infrastructures.

SAIC task order will triage Walter Reed IT services

Science Applications International Corp. will provide information technology services to Walter Reed Army Medical Center under a contract that could be worth $26 million.