Patrick Lyden

If you are a company or organization currently paying or looking for government relations, public affairs, or lobbying help in the Washington, DC area, don't pay the additional premium for the firm with the unnecessary office image in DC to support. Doing so is like Jim Croce continuing to put dimes into a pay phone to keep the connection going with the operator while a growing digital era takes hold. Instead look at smaller firms, like Avison Strategies, LLC, with similar experience, a much smaller fee structure and a business model focused on results, the latest AI and ML technology, and personal attention to reach people where they are and when it is needed. Retainers average $4,000-$5,000/month for firms like mine compared to $10,000-$15,000/month for firms like those. Office costs and the impact through association fallacy will make you overpay and results will frequently under deliver. Support a small business instead and see the difference.

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Electoral exprimentation has come to DC. We'll see if this can help invigorate Federal City's one-party, calcified governance system. https://lnkd.in/dn9AFh-m

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check out this excellent primer - I learned a lot, and it made me think more about the constraints any one set of tools, like watermarking, are dealing with if we ask them to solve for an underlying concept - like "trust".

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Register for Government Agency GSA: Step-by-Step Guide Getting into government contracts can be hard, but being on the General Services Administration (GSA) schedule helps. The GSA is a key buying agency for the U.S. government. It lets vendors show their products and services to many government agencies. First, businesses need to register. This means getting a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and signing up with the System for Award Management (SAM). This step makes sure your company is seen and ready for government contracts through the GSA's multiple award schedules. This article will walk you through the GSA registration process. You'll learn about the rules and what documents you need. It's helpful for both small businesses and experienced government contractors. This guide will help you understand the GSA process and get your company ready for government contracts. Understanding Government Agency GSA https://is.gd/tVDzSL #Federalprocurement #GovernmentContracts #GSAregistrationprocess

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Measure what matters?!?! 🤷‍♀️ Guess we’re tracking butts in seats, ID card swipes and occupancy rates as a metric for how we deliver our promise to the citizens of our great nation ⭐️ #federalgovernment #federalworkforce #telework #remotework #hybridwork #work #workflexibility #KPI #OKR #performance #productivity #office #measurewhatmatters

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Social Justice Organizer, Washington, DC The Social Justice Organizer is based in the Washington, DC area & has primary responsibility organizing activists nationwide & anchoring direct actions &legislative visits in DC.  As the Workers Circle’s point-person in our nation’s capital, the organizer will track priority federal legislation, opportunities for endorsement & advocacy. They will signal key moments in the life-cycle of priority legislation when grassroots action can be most impactful & skillfully craft grassroots actions to maximize the power of our multi-generational activist base, with particular emphasis on activists over 60 years of age.  The SJO will be the primary point person for Workers Circle’s grassroots coalition efforts with allied organizations to advance our work on democracy & voting rights in order to advance worker rights, economic justice, immigrant rights & racial justice. They will create & manage sign-on letters, contribute to planning & carrying out coalition actions & programs. Importantly, the SJO will anchor for Workers Circle’s participation in social justice actions in the DC-area, from protests outside the Supreme Court, to hearings on the Hill, to actions like the annual March on Washington.  They will also open new doors & strengthen existing relationships for the Workers Circle with Congress, the White House, & relevant federal agencies that demonstrate our grassroots power, legislative priorities, & Jewish values. SJO cultivates those relationships with staff, identifies important new people we should meet, closely tracks contacts, assesses opportunities and advising where our values and grassroots power can be marshaled to build a truly multiracial democracy and achieve the worker, immigrant and economic rights we need. SJO will advance the progressive values & vision of the Workers Circle. They must be able to assist in translating our approach to Jewish social justice using excellent interpersonal & communication skills as well as tailored, outreach approaches to build ongoing relationships both with the staff of key government offices & our activist base.  This is an exempt, full-time, union position, fully remote based in the Washington, DC area. Compensation $65,000-75,000 DOE, + excellent benefits package.    Ideal candidate possesses: ·     5-7 years of experience in start-up or grassroots organizing ·     Strategic thinker and tactician ·     Familiarity with federal legislative process and nonpartisan grassroots lobbying ·     Experience working with Congressional offices, the White House or Government Agencies ·     Fluent navigator of Jewish cultures & identities ·     Self-starter and accomplished project manager ·     Excellent public speaking & writing skills ·     Excellent listening skills, sound judgment & strong problem-solving skills ·     Experience working with senior activism is a plus. TO SEE the FULL JOB POST & TO APPLY, FOLLOW LINK BELOW - thanks! #progressiveorganizing #advocacy

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Be sure to join me on November 22nd to hear about potential shifts in AI policy with the upcoming changes to the U.S. administration in 2025. I will be discussing how Government organizations can align their technology strategy with evolving policy goals and learn how to effectively prepare their agencies for changes in AI oversight, security, and consumer protection. Equip yourself with the knowledge to lead your organization confidently through these transitions Join Gartner's complimentary webinar on 11/22 to understand how these changes might impact your tech strategy in sectors like government, healthcare, and financial services. Don't miss out: https://gtnr.it/4hMiWyo Gartner for IT | #GartnerIT #AI #Governance #Policy

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NEW EPISODE: Daniel Squadron of The States Project joins me to discuss the power of state legislatures, why everyone should pay attention to these down-ballot races this fall and how to get involved. https://lnkd.in/eq-We3T9

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Last week, we filed supplemental testimony with the United States Commission on Civil Rights on the use of Artificial Intelligence by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)-- we close them with a what we hope is a useful set of questions for DHS: 1) What stakeholder engagement is planned around specific use cases? 2) What empirical testing has been conducted with real-world users (e.g., has TSA measured whether or not airline passengers fully understand their ability to withhold consent at checkpoints to FRT uses? What evidence suggests that they do or do not feel at liberty to make a choice?) 3) What changes in biometric surveillance policy or other steps are DHS considering, if any, in light of the OMB EO? 4) What programs at DHS will likely receive waivers in December and what is the timeline for aligning those uses with the requirements of the EO? 5) What are the implications for FRT of Secretary Mayorkas’s new AI initiative? 6) What evidence of consent for data collection does DHS regarding its well-publicized collections of DMV and utility data that include US citizens? 7) Why does DHS feel a need to hold onto non-citizen data for an astonishing 75 years? 8) What training has been completed at this stage in terms of the timeline and what has yet to be done? 9) Does the planned training adequately capture the human factors and limitations of the tech use cases? Will the training be shared with the Commission? Has it been independently evaluated? 10) What are safety evaluations that have been conducted by DHS regarding risks to migrants and new, more hazardous corridors that may be created in light of the plan to expand DHS surveillance technologies and towers at the border? https://lnkd.in/eM3K7vm7

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I am proud to announce the release of our 2023-2024 impact report, which highlights the results of our work to build a better government and a stronger democracy. The report explores the difference we made for public servants, their agencies, and our good government allies over the past year and our future plans to help the federal government keep pace with the world. The health of our democracy depends on the ability of our government to connect with and deliver for the people it serves, regardless of partisan battles and election outcomes. At a time when our democracy faces several challenges, including low trust in public institutions, political polarization, and increasingly virulent attacks on the nonpartisan civil service, our accomplishments, and plans for the future are critical. Read the full report to learn more about our work.  https://lnkd.in/dPCZcTw6 

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The #SBP must publish voting history of #MonetaryPolicy Committee publicly--who voted for what--for a more transparent decisions making. Importantly, analysis of #MPC voting records can help assess how are external and SBP members thinking about future course of #inflation.

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I'm excited to share the release of Partnership for Public Service's 2024 State of Trust report! This research investigates public trust in our federal government and perceptions of non-elected public servants.    Despite an overall decline in public trust—only 23% of Americans trust government, down from 35% in 2022—there's a remarkable consensus across the political spectrum in favor of a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service. This consensus underscores the necessity for improved communication about the crucial work of public servants and the significance of an expert, apolitical civil service in a well-functioning democracy.    Key insights from the report:  - Stronger support for non-elected civil servants than for the federal government overall.  - Majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents oppose further politicization of civil service and support an apolitical workforce.  - 91% of Americans believe competent civil servants are essential for a strong democracy.  - 95% agree that civil servants should be hired and promoted based on merit, not political beliefs.    Why does this matter? Amid proposals to replace large swaths of our non-elected workforce with political appointees, it's crucial to understand public perceptions of civil servants. Our research highlights the importance of a nonpartisan, merit-based civil service to ensure that our government is trusted and effective. Replacing experts with political appointees will only reinforce the notion that the government is incompetent and unable to deliver on its promises.    Creating a better government that delivers for the American public is a collective responsibility. I invite you to read the full report and explore our Trust Dashboard for key data points, resources, and strategies to elevate public understanding of civil servants and foster a more effective government.    Read the report and visit our Trust Dashboard for more insights here: https://lnkd.in/gZ4GY847 #TrustInGovernment #StateOfTrust2024 #CivilService  

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A new monster report from the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s in-house think-tank, shows that “Open Topic” awards in the $4 billion Small Business Innovation Research program draw a larger number of technology companies to apply for funding, promoting competition and increase innovation. Open Topics enable businesses “to define problems and pitch innovative solutions... rather than soliciting only solutions to predefined problems,” GAO wrote. But, as technology companies have been complaining for years, GAO found that many of the “Open Topic” SBIR solicitations are actually just conventional topics in disguise, “narrowly defining needs and suggesting potential solutions.” GAO’s report says the Defense Department should clarify for its components what open topics actually are and how they differ from conventional topics, ensuring the awarding agencies “consistently release open topics that are more broadly defined than their conventional topics.” “We found that DOD may define some open topics too narrowly and miss opportunities to collect innovative proposals,” GAO wrote. The $4 billion SBIR program, run by the Small Business Administration and participating government agencies including DoD, HHS and DHS, acts in essence as a seed fund for technologies with the highest potential impact in the commercial and defense markets. Open Topics invite bidders to describe problems they have discovered and solutions they have developed, and augment and often surpass in impact the priorities the DoD advances on its own. Conventional topics, meanwhile, typically focus on well-understood problems in existing systems and can suggest a preferred technical approach targeted toward a favored potential bidder. That format gives preference to incumbents and SBIR mills, which are operations that treat SBIR funding as a perennial source of revenue, against commercial innovators. To quote Warren Katz, chairman of The Alliance for Commercial Technology in Government: “Open topics enable new ideas the DoD did not think of to be evaluated against things they thought they needed. Almost half of SBIR funding is now awarded via open topics, proving that the innovation ecosystem is coming up with surprise ideas DoD evaluated as superior to their own preconceived notions.” The Alliance represents startups in the commercial tech sector and advocates for policies that expand the government’s base of technology vendors, improve our government services, strengthen our national security. If you want to know more, contact me, Warren or Eric Blatt, the group’s executive director.

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Here's the best guide to date on what has been mandated, what's under specified, and how many more steps are needed to get "researcher access to data." Ends hopeful, but with a big to do list.

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The first step of making the promise of Gideon a reality is to understand the problem.

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There is a new model for government relations that focuses on coalition building and approaching policy as a stakeholder, not a vendor. Amit Elazari, Dr. J.S.D, CEO of OpenPolicy, and Tom Guarente, V.P. of External and Government Affairs at Armis, discuss this and more at the recent Billington Cybersecurity Summit, including how to work against the bias towards legacy contracts and technologies. Watch the full conversation below 👇 #Security #policy #fedIT #govcon #IT 

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