Dimiana Habtemariam, MPA

"Although Congress and federal agencies over the last decade have taken measures in response to Government Accountability Office (GAO) report recommendations to save the government billions of dollars, more actions are still needed to improve program effectiveness, according to a recent GAO annual report that specifically identified inefficiencies in federal programs, systems and services in 42 new topic areas." Read the full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/gksmAsfi #GAO #grants #funding #overlap #federalagencies

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As the deadline for all Defense Community Infrastructure Program proposals approaches (June 17), please remember that the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation has resources available to help with: 🔹 Program Eligibility: Understand the criteria and requirements for participation. 🔹 Frequently Asked Questions: Get answers to common questions and clear up any uncertainties. 🔹 Examples of Previously Funded Projects: View information about previously funding project designed to better installations and their surrounding communities. These resources are designed to help you navigate the application process with ease and confidence. The Notice of Funding Opportunity FAQ document below is an example of available resources. Visit the OLDCC website today (https://lnkd.in/gmfFHJv) to access these valuable resources! #infrastructure #nationalsecurity #onecommunity

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Reflecting on the deep insights shared by Robert Silvers, Under Secretary for Policy at U.S. Department of Homeland Security, at Silverado Policy Accelerator's Summit earlier this month! 🌟 Silvers' words shed light on the crucial importance of proactive leadership in fortifying our supply chains. Speaking on DHS' Supply Chain Resilience Center, Silvers articulated a strategic approach: "We are identifying the chokepoints in the systems, the highest risk points in the system, when it comes to critical supply chains. And we are gathering together all the key federal agencies, international partners, and industry partners, and saying, ‘What [will] the national action plan be for addressing this problem?’" Further, Silvers' notes that: "We’re trying to get everyone to do the right thing– and what it’s shown is that it’s possible to do it. That’s the key; what we’ve shown is that you can do the right thing and still keep legitimate commerce flowing– and that’s powerful." Check out the entire fireside chat with Rob Silvers on Silverado’s Youtube page: https://lnkd.in/enbh9JyJ #SilveradoPolicyAccelerator #WorldontheBrink #SupplyChain 

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📢 New Policy Brief Release We’re excited to share the PDRI/USAID-DRG/ISSER Policy Brief 2: High-Frequency Tracking of Civic Space Utilizing Domestic News Scraping and Large Language Model Classification. This study is funded through the Swift Expertise and Grounded Analytics Task Order by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Bureau. It is authored by Donald Moratz, Jeremy Springman, Serkant Adigüzel, Zung-Ru Lin, Diego Romero, Hanling Su, jitender swami, Rethis Togbedji GANSEY, Santiago Mateo Villamizar Chaparro, and PDRI - DevLab@Penn co-director Erik Wibbels, this brief introduces an innovative approach to tracking civic space more frequently and accurately through customized media scrapers and large language model classification. Key insights include: ➡ The use of monthly data from domestic media sources offers more timely civic space tracking than traditional annual indicators. ➡ International media often provides incomplete coverage, making domestic media essential for a comprehensive understanding of civic space. ➡ Human supervision plays a critical role in ensuring data accuracy, complementing automated scraping tools. ➡ Discrepancies between domestic and international media highlight the importance of utilizing local sources for a more balanced view of civic activities. For a deeper dive into these findings and their policy implications: https://lnkd.in/gjgrMbct #PDRIDevLab #PolicyBrief #CivicSpace #DomesticNewsScraping #MLP #USAID #Research

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Check out this blog post from ncIMPACT Initiative that Beth and Jonathan wrote about utilizing technology to engage opportunity youth as part of #CarolinaAcross100!

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From a tailored funding discovery call to expert application writing, we simplify the process of accessing government funding. Speak with us today to accelerate your strategic priorities! Learn about Our Process: https://hubs.li/Q02wQbRK0

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From a tailored funding discovery call to expert application writing, we simplify the process of accessing government funding. Speak with us today to accelerate your strategic priorities! Learn about Our Process: https://hubs.li/Q02RnPDx0

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🚨 Federal Appropriations for FY24: A Disappointment for Nondefense Spending 🚨 After months of negotiations and multiple stopgap measures, President Biden has signed a $1.2 trillion federal appropriations package for FY24. While the bill includes increased pay for troops and federal employees, and funding boosts for veterans’ medical care and nutrition programs, there are significant disappointments in other critical areas. 🔴 Disproportionate Defense Spending: The FY24 budget allocates $842 billion for defense programs, reflecting a 3% increase, compared to $758 billion for nondefense activities, which received a 7% boost. This disproportionate allocation raises concerns about our national priorities, especially when essential nondefense sectors like education, healthcare, and infrastructure also require substantial investments. 🔴 Cuts to Key Initiatives: We are particularly disheartened by the failure to fund the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and the substantial cuts to climate change initiatives. With $621 million slashed from climate action and $53 million from diversity and inclusion training, this budget overlooks critical areas that are essential for long-term national and global security. 🔴 Missed Opportunities: The budget also reflects partisan concessions that sideline crucial programs, such as banning funds for IRS free tax filing software and limiting resources for climate-focused rules from the Biden administration. These cuts undermine efforts to address pressing issues like environmental sustainability and social equity. The Peace Economy Project believes in a balanced approach to federal spending that equally prioritizes defense and nondefense needs. It is crucial that we advocate for a budget that supports comprehensive security, environmental protection, and social justice. 📖 Read the full article to learn more about the FY24 federal appropriations and join us in advocating for a more equitable allocation of resources: https://lnkd.in/gfe7a2Dx #FederalBudget #DefenseSpending #ClimateChange #DiversityAndInclusion #PeaceEconomyProject #SocialJustice

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SPECIAL BRIEFING ANNOUNCEMENT! SAM.gov: Responding to 400% Increase in RFIs & Sources Sought Join us at 1 PM ET on November 21st for this special briefing on recent federal spending news! Since 11/6/24 (Election Day), over 3,700 RFI (Request for Information) Sources Sought have been posted on SAM.gov representing a 423% increase over last year's postings during the same time period on SAM.gov. This means unprecedented opportunities for Small Businesses for direct contracts, teaming and sub-to-prime. By proactively actively leveraging SAM.gov notices and accompanying information, your business can engage federal buyers early, before they decide their acquisition strategy. In addition, by knowing before the RFP, you can secure subcontracting or teaming opportunities, and gain a competitive edge in the federal marketplace. This briefing will review the fundamentals of your RFI/Sources Sought response: 1) How to search SAM.gov and not miss notices 2) Understanding what they need from you 3) Proving Yourself to Buyers Don't miss this unique opportunity to learn about what's currently happening in the federal spending sphere—sign up now! https://zurl.co/kZuA #Govbrief #GovernmentContracting #GovernmentContracts #GovernmentOpportunities #ContractingTips #FederalProcurement #FederalContracting #FederalContracts #FederalContractors #Federal #BusinessOpportunities #smallbusiness #govcon #b2g #briefing #webinar #webinars #training #tutorial #specialannouncement #specialbriefing #breakingnews #federalnews #samgov #opportunity #opportunities

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🚨 New Issue Alert! Issue 3, Volume 34 📚 Explore "A new measure of US public agency policy discretion" by Natalie L Smith & Susan Yackee. The article introduces a new measure of agency policy discretion. Using data from the American State Administrators Project and trigonometry, the authors calculate discretion area scores for 8,955 state agencies from 1978 to 2018. This measure is evaluated through construct validation assessments, providing an innovative and generalizable method to advance research in organizational behavior, public administration, and bureaucratic decision-making. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gtJRwz3S Public Management Research Association (PMRA) Roskilde University Stephan Grimmelikhuijsen Seulki Lee Michael Siciliano Gabriela Lotta Nathan Favero Ana-Maria Dimand, LL.B., Ph.D. Melissa Falkær Olsen Martin B. Carstensen Kim Sass Mikkelsen Ole Helby Petersen

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I'm keeping an open mind about the potential for AI to impact CBRN threats and generally encourage efforts to measure these issues in order to ground the conversation and minimize often-fantastical dooms-day scenarios. That said, evidence that AI is meaningfully changing current CBRN threat levels is lacking and probably overstated. Beyond this report, DHS must consider how to best prioritize its limited AI bandwidth. With a fixed budget, any excess money spent on mitigating or analyzing these hypotheticals nessesarily comes at the expense of other, evidence-backed priorities. Rather than over-invest in AI-CBRN issues, DHS should spend on the following: 1. Cybersecurity and other evidence-based challenges: while early days, there is indeed evidence that AI has changed the cyber game. In the past year spear phishing increase 1,200%, machine translation improved the quality of social engineering attacks, and state backed actors have used LLMs to generate operational malware. While not quite a crisis, this is a meaningful change that could portend a real challenge if capabilities continue to improve. Rather than chase CBRN 'what ifs,' resources should focus on this very real, evidence-backed challenge. 2. Preparing for the unknown: Its still early days, the tech is changing rapidly, and its uncertain what challenges will be the core AI issues of the coming years. Rather than overinvest resources on CBRN threats, DHS should invest in the agility and capacity needed to quickly identify and react to a range of unexpected, emergent challenges. The first step is state capcaity, DHS should focus on upskilling and hiring to build a work force that not only understands AI, but AI's intersection in a broad diversity of domains. Second is regulatory flexibility, DHS should actively analyze its rules to ensure it can act with minimal bureaucratic delay if we see a black swan AI development. Third is vigilance, DHS should foster the infrastructure, such as Information Sharing and Analysis Centers, needed to quickly identify unexpected changes in the threat environment. It is indeed worthwhile for the Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction office to analyze how AI could impact their work. Without evidence, however, this shouldn't become a preoccupation. As the DHS proceeds it should focus limited bandwidth on proven challenges and for all else, build the threat-agnostic capacity needed to act with agility.

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 My latest in Federal News Network discussing key priorities for the newly created Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board. 1. I might sound like a broken record - but the first step will be to prioritize targets. "Critical infrastructure" has massive scope and members should concentrate core systems including the grid, water, energy, transportation, and healthcare. Focusing on these essential areas will allow for deep consideration and effective action. 2. Prioritize preparation for cyber. Focus on analyzing existing regulations, identifying gaps, opportunities for harmonization, and ensuring government agencies are adequately resourced to address potential AI-related threats. While such threats have yet to emerge in force, policy should focus less on trying to avert specific threats and instead on preparing for unknown. We don't know what may come down the line but building the capacity for nimble analysis and well-resourced action will be key to future success. 3. Prioritize Diffusion. Recognize AI's potential to improve reliability and efficiency in critical infrastructure by studying bottlenecks, regulations, and research needs that hold back success. AI applications such as predicting wind power supply, detecting downed powerlines, and augmenting cyber defenses could significantly benefit these systems. By concentrating on these priorities and developing clear strategies, the AI Safety and Security Board can ensure much needed trust and maximum AI success in our nation's most essential systems, leading to a more prosperous future. https://lnkd.in/eRrZKSew

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How can we protect elections and democracy in a critical political year? The Bulletin's September magazine, published today, strives to help citizens and public officials alike reduce threats to democracy and preserve representative governance. Read the introduction by John Mecklin and Dan Drollette Jr: https://lnkd.in/eKVjwVS9

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Want to land Government contracts? 🎯 The CMC GovCon Taskforce host several workshops that discuss the ins and outs of government contracting. From bidding strategies to contract requirements, our experts always share invaluable insights. CMC and Military Affairs Committee Member, Taylor Aune with Edward Jones! Connect with Central Maryland Chamber to learn more and explore more government contracting opportunities. #GovCon #FortMeade #BusinessOpportunities #GovernmentContracts #SmallBusiness #CMC

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DID YOU KNOW?: 17 states elect the governor and lt. governor separately in the general election, allowing the possibility for governors and their successors to be of different political parties. Learn more about methods of election from NLGA: https://lnkd.in/dzT9uK3.

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