FEDERAL SECTOR REPORT

Boost in IT Spending
Services Acquisition Reform?
Technology to Fight Terrorists
Link of the Month

SECURITY TO BOOST IT SPENDING

Concern about security may boost federal spending for information technology (IT). The industry-oriented Government Electronics and Information Technology Association expects the Department of Transportation spending for IT to rise at an annual rate of 8.2% between Fiscal Year 2001 (which just ended on September 30th) and Fiscal Year 2007. Other leaders in IT budget boosts would be the Departments of Justice, State, and Health and Human Services ... all with annual rates of increase that top 5%.

SERVICES ACQUISITION REFORM?

Federal spending on procurement has shifted from products to services. In Fiscal Year 1990, the government spent $70 billion on service contracts but the value has grown to over $87 billion in Fiscal Year 2000. U.S. Representative Tom Davis wants to update procurement laws to reflect this fact and talks of introducing the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA). If passed, the legislation would formalize new types of contracts like those we discussed in the P2C2 Group's last newsletter ... such as share-in-savings agreements and performance-based contracts. Davis also talks of emphasizing training for procurement officials, authorizing state/local governments to buy from GSA schedules, and establishing the position of Chief Procurement Officers. Background information about SARA was introduced at his May 2001 hearings:
http://www.house.gov/reform/tapps/hearings/5-22-01/5_22OpeningStatement.htm.

TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT TERRORISTS

The Pentagon is seeking technology to fight terrorists. As reported in The Washington Post, a Pentagon spokesman said the unusually broad request is an attempt to get innovative ideas from sources that might not otherwise have direct access to the Pentagon -- small companies, even individuals with imaginative solutions -- and quickly put them in place.

David Breese, an information technology consultant based in northern Virginia, sent me the Pentagon's wish list of sought-after systems and technologies to fight terrorism. One-page proposals are due by December 23rd for solutions that could be in place within 12 to 18 months. David added that "here is your chance to do a good deed. I received the following Pentagon request from the Northern Virginia Technology Council."

The Pentagon wants proposals for technologies to fight terrorism that can be deployed in the next 12 to 18 months, especially in areas such as the following:

• Sensors that allow monitoring of military targets and civilians
• Technology that enables authorities to identify faces in a crowd
• A comprehensive video system for tracking a single individual
• A system for tracking people using their voice print
• Portable polygraph machines for use at airports and other transportation centers
• A massive information base and data-mining tools to spot suspicious behavior.

• A method to determine whether a suspect has worked with weapons of mass destruction by looking for symptoms of less-than-lethal exposure to chemical warfare agents, radiation from nuclear weapons and biological agents
• A system to detect chemical warfare agents, biological warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals before they can be reached in a terrorist attack
• A portable, battery-powered device to test water for biological warfare agents
• A database that can be used to track and evaluate the purchase of materials associated with biological or chemical warfare, including equipment, machinery and raw materials, and to spot unusual behavior, such as unusually large purchases of a potentially dangerous material. The system would also track use of credit cards, checks or purchase orders.

• A system, including ground-penetrating radar, acoustics and unconventional reconnaissance, for detecting underground shelters or concealed caves where terrorists are hiding
• A warning system that identifies electromagnetic emissions or an acoustic system to alert U.S. forces of enemy personnel or vehicles
• Lightweight personal armor that stops both bullets and knife penetration
• An accurate, easy-to-use system that can "see" through walls and works at night.

LINK OF THE MONTH

One of the more delightful web sites that I have discovered is http://www.justgive.org/. It is an online catalog of hundreds of worthwhile charities and nonprofit causes. The technology of the Internet is used effectively to make giving easy. The nonprofits are described briefly ... you will recognize many of these organizations, and the proportion of your gift that will actually be delivered for services (as opposed to fundraising and administration) is reported. www.justgive.org has its own funding sources, so that 100% of your contribution is passed through to your designated nonprofit. The website also promises a summary so you can deduct your giving from taxes. Of course, you can also charge your giving to your credit card.

The holiday season will soon be upon us, and I will probably give my brother and nieces contributions in their names to charities. Frankly I'm tired of sending the fruit-nut-cheese-and-jam baskets anyway. Given a year of distress in this country and around the world, contributions to worthwhile causes may be the more comforting gift.

CONSULTING SERVICES

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