As summer draws to a close, the GovNavigators pause to celebrate organized labor - the people who brought you the weekend! And in honor of the long weekend, we bring back the most popular episode of the GovNavigators Show to date - Recoding America with Jen Pahlka.

So grab a cold beverage of your choice, sit back, relax, and enjoy the Labor Day holiday!

Show Notes

Dowager Countess of Grantham

Kings Dominion Law

History of Labor Day

Recoding America: Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better

Friend of the show Charles Cooper, Managing Partner and Founder of Brumidi Group is back by popular demand! Charles joins Robert and Adam to discuss the overflowing fall agenda for Congress as the August recess draws to a close. From appropriations and the potential for a government shutdown to the farm bill, NDAA, tax extenders, Chinese tariffs, and the Senate appointment process, they cover a lot of ground.

Robert and Adam also lean on the GovNavigators intern (and give a h/t to Wayne's World) to flashback to Charles's previous appearance to determine if his prediction turned out to be true.

Show Notes:

Eric Katz GovExec article: Slashing the federal workforce and eliminating agencies: Takeaways from the first Republican presidential debate

Trust in government in the United States has dropped drastically since the 1960s, hovering as low as 20% in some recent surveys. Srikant Sastry, leader of Cherry Bekaert's Advisory Services and Ed DeSeve, Coordinator of the Agile Government Center at NAPA (and Senior Advisor at GovNavigators) join the show to talk about their recent op-ed in GovExec titled, "Trust in the federal government is in a tailspin. Here's how agencies can rebuild it."

Show Links:

Commission on PPBE Reform Interim Report

Circular A-11

Agile Government Center Framework

Treasury Seeks Greater Data Sharing in Interagency Plan to Curb Improper Payments

Robert and Adam stay light on their feet this week and wiggle out of a jam by rebroadcasting a previously recorded episode of the GovNavigators Podcast...I mean the GovNavigators Show.

Don't miss one of the original episodes when friends joined the show from far and wide. And shout out to late 1990's NBC execs for their "It's New to You" summer promo campaign.

This week, author and tech guru Jen Pahlka joins the GovNavigators Show to talk about her new book, Recoding America: Why Government is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better. The former Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States, Pahlka shares stories and insights about the unique structures in all levels of government in the U.S. that are holding us back.

Robert and Adam also dive into the continued efforts of the Biden Administration to get federal employees back to empty offices, acquisition improvements instituted by the Army, and the recently released National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy.

The GovNavigators welcome Jessica Lucas-Judy from the General Accountability Office to discuss Robert's favorite publication in all of government management: GAO's Duplication and Cost Savings report.

Robert and Adam also praise the nomination of friend of the program and former MD Governor Martin O'Malley to run the Social Security Administration and put some money on the line about the outcome of the appropriations process later this year.

Our long-time friend Jen Kerber joins the program with her partner-in-crime Jordan Burris from Socure to discuss the evolution of the challenge of online identify verification. Both former federal government officials working in the identify space, Jen and Jordan talk about some of the unique challenges to identify proofing and ways in which the government can continue to improve its systems of ensuring people can access online government services accurately and easily.

Agile methodologies have been used in software development for years. But how can we bring the same concepts of Agile software development to all aspects of government management?

Joseph Mitchell, Director of Strategic Initiatives & International Programs at the National Academy of Public Administration and Ed DeSeve, Executive Visiting Fellow at the IBM Center for the Business of Government, Coordinator for the Agile Government Center (and Senior Advisor at GovNavigators!) join the program to talk about the work they help lead at the Agile Government Center trying to answer that very question. 

Justin Baer, Vice President for Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis at ForsMarsh joins the GovNavigators Show to discuss evidence-based policymaking, program evaluation, and his love for randomized control trials. Robert and Adam also discuss with Justin his recent op-ed, which advises the IRS on the best ways to determine the effectiveness of its new Direct File tax services.

Show Notes:

Justin's NextGov Op-Ed: For IRS Direct File, Let Evidence Guide the Way

IRS Report to Congress on Direct File Tax Return System

Triple Lindy Reference

Happy Independence Day! In this special pop up episode, Robert and Adam share their plans for celebrating America's 247th birthday and reflect on how those plans will likely fall far short of how John Adams envisioned future generations marking the birth of our nation.

Enjoy the holiday all!

What is a QSMO Anyway? Does anyone really know? Long-time listener from the Bureau of the Fiscal Service Garen Behnke joins The GovNavigators Show to share the latest on the FM Quality Service Management Office.

Galen dives into what a QSMO is, what problems it is trying to solve, and some of the latest services available to agencies. #veronicacorningstone #FMQSMO

Well - that didn't take long. We're already recycling podcast guests (sort of)!

Friend of the program and certified favorite guest Katie Malague joins to discuss her work as the Principal Deputy Chief Operating Officer for Management at Federal Student Aid. Topics covered on this episode include horrible government job titles, the dismay of not being understood by your Alexa, how to build a great organization culture, and whether to acknowledge turds in the punch bowl. And don't miss our exploration of the contrasts in masculinity in Succession and Tedd Lasso.

Robert and Adam also cover the upcoming appropriations time crunch, the release of GAO's always hotly anticipated overlap and duplication report, and another significant cyber hack impacting multiple federal agencies.

This week on The GovNavigators Show, Jason Miller, Executive Editor of Federal News Network joins for an extended discussion of the latest news and headlines in government management, including Tik Tok bans, vacancies at OMB, and updates to the President's Management Agenda.

And in case you haven't heard, The GovNavigators Show is now also available each Monday at 1:00 pm ET on the radio at 1500 AM and online at Federal News Network.

Debt Deal’s done. Now we can go back to worrying about the specter of AI!

Tech Guru & AlphaAdvisors.xyz founder Kyle Murphy joins the GovNavigators to break down AI; what it means for you & government in a way even we can understand. Essential listening.

The GovNavigators are taking a pause this Memorial Day to honor the sacrifice of all the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our country.

Max Stier, Founding President and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service and Brooke Bollyky, Managing Director and Partner, North America Public Sector Practice Lead at BCG join the GovNavigators Podcast to talk about the results of the 2022 Best Places to Work in Government report.

Robert and Adam also mark the 20th anniversary of the Chief Human Capital Officer's Council and debate the merits of the IRS taking on private sector software company TurboTax, among other competitors in the tax prep software space.

Friend of the show Matthew Cornelius joins the GovNavigators Podcast to reflect on his time on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and his contributions to federal IT policy over his career. He also dishes some dirt and shares shocking personal facts about his time in college.

Robert and Adam also cover breaking news out of GAO (?!), the battle of the bots, and debate who got the better invite to events celebrating the upcoming 20th anniversary of the Chief Human Capital Officers Council.

This week, Robert and Adam are joined by Doug Criscitello and Dr. Monique Mansoura, two of 34 renown experts who came together to sift through an enormous amount of information related to COVID to try to makes some sense of it all.

Doug and Monique share their insights and takeaways from a plain-spoken and clear sighted book the group published titled "Lessons from the COVID War."

This week on the GovNavigators Podcast, Robert and Adam discuss Speaker McCarthy's triumph taking all night to pass a bill that will never become law and OPM's release of its new data strategy. Also, former Federal CIO Tony Scott joins to talk about the importance of cyber resiliency.

And don’t sleep on the very end, when you’ll hear the first (but likely not the last) visit from the Office of Standards to the podcast.

Sandwiched between a discussion of the Professional Services Council annual conference, the release of the biennial GAO High Risk List, and a look at the week ahead, the GovNavigators talked with Independence Hydrogen's urbane CFO, Owen Barwell.

Owen walked Robert Shea and Adam Hughes through the journey from problem identification, study, and policy shaping to solution development using Independence Hydrogen's veteran-run effort to provide communities access to affordable, low-carbon hydrogen as an example.

Moving Dirt. Welding stuff. Government at work, indeed.