Jonathan Roberts

I am so excited to share a big release: Today, Results for America has released “The Evaluation Policy Guide”, a new resource containing the best elements and key lessons learned from federal, state and local government policies that encourage and shape the use of evidence to improve the impact of government spending. Any government policymaker can use this resource to make better decisions and deliver faster results. No matter where you are in building your evaluation capacity, the Guide has everything you need to facilitate your team’s evaluation journey from start to finish, including: ✔ Resources on how to build support for an evaluation policy ✔ Free tools such as frameworks, practical exercises and examples ✔ Best practices to engage community members and deliver better outcomes for all residents Join the wave of government leaders investing in policies that make lives better, building trust with residents, and strengthening communities. Download the free guide today 👉 results4america.co/3KbIaqx

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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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For anyone interested in organizational culture - this important session will go beyond the hype and hyperbole and address not just how AI will affect what we do and how we do it, but how we work together.

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Today, the Department of Homeland Security announced the establishment of the Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board to advise the secretary on critical infrastructure risks. While a worthwhile initiative, the design of our current critical infrastrucure policy structure is a fundamental disservice to such efforts. Today, critical infrastrucure encompasses 16 industrial sectors, an unwieldy 60% or more of the U.S. economy, and a grab bag of non-critical assets including casinos, ride share vehicles and the cosmetics industry. For a small committee of 22, this unwieldy scope will strain priorities, waste time, and distract focus from the core systems that really matter. Effectively securing our critical infrastrucure demand we set the priorities, shrink policy scope, and finally determine what is indeed the most critical and the most deserving of DHS’s limited resources. https://lnkd.in/eXdRveWB

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The Bipartisan Senate #AI Working Group unveiled their AI Roadmap. Their focus areas are spot on: fostering #innovation, enhancing #workforce development, and implementing a risk-based approach to #AIgovernance and #responsibleAI. In my latest blog, I explore the key elements of this roadmap, including: 🤝 Promoting public-private partnerships to mitigate AI risks. 🔩 Securing funding for AI initiatives at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) 🎓 Creating incentives for employers to integrate #technology and #reskilling, and for workers to pursue #retraining.

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Improving FOIA should have been at the center of a 5th #OpenGov U.S. national action plan in 2022, but this White House chose to prioritize equity plans & commitments over restoring transparency & accountability in accord with the mandates of Congress & the petitions of civil society advocates. https://lnkd.in/eXC3PP76 The ongoing lack of oversight of FOIA in Congress is paired with an appalling lack of oversight of open government and US participation in the Open Government Partnership: https://lnkd.in/gz3CEuvy

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I had the opportunity to join Mathematica's CEO, Paul Decker, for their On the Evidence podcast. In this episode, we deep-dive on the importance of data and research in supporting the Partnership's mission to make the federal government more effective. We also discuss how data can be used as a management tool to identify areas of success and improvement and to provide a roadmap for investments to enhance the government's performance. See the full episode here: https://bit.ly/3UYwn56

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💰 FUNDING ALERT! 💰 In today's evolving R&D landscape, minority-serving institutions face an increasing need to diversify their revenue streams.  Securing federal contracts is a critical strategy for advancing R&D capacities and driving innovation. We’re excited to invite you to participate in the MSI Contract Readiness Prize, aimed at increasing equity in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) contracting for Historically Black Colleges (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs). The prize offers up to 💲300K, and VentureWell is hosting a 4-part webinar series and office hours to help applicants prepare. Webinar & Office Hour Dates: 📚 Federal Contracting Basics: June 26 at 3pm ET ✍🏽 Create a Winning Capability Statement: July 24 at 3pm ET 🖥 DOE Contract Forecasting & DOE Resources: August 28 at 3 pm ET 🌟 Win the Bid - the DOE Contract Landscape: September 18 at 3 pm ET 🏫 Office Hours: June 28 - September 27 ➡️ Register Here: https://bit.ly/4eeyCsy  #DOE #MSI #Contracting #Innovation #FederalFunding #ResearchAndDevelopment #Innovation #UniversityFunding

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Governments are recognizing that in order to stay relevant and effectively meet the needs of their citizens, they need to hire individuals who understand the digital landscape, are creative, and and are passionate about making a positive impact in their communities. But some still have outdated hiring practices and may need to make adjustments in order to attract and retain Gen Z employees. This should include offering more flexible work arrangements, opportunities for professional development and growth, and creating a more inclusive and diverse workplace culture.

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Still, the response to AI from both policymakers and Congress requires far more urgency. We must discard the often-unstated presumption that an AI-driven solution is necessarily preferable or inevitable. Instead we must ask ourselves, as a threshold question, whether an AI tool or model is sufficiently accurate, accountable, transparent, fair, and safe to be used in this way. And we must ensure that deployers of AI tools—in both government and the private sector—understand, train for, and communicate publicly about limitations and biases. — From my remarks to the NAIAC yesterday (full text at link below)

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A majority of Americans feel there is not only a place for #AI in government, but an important one. I was happy to provide some perspective to this piece by StateScoop on the KPMG US American Perspectives Survey. One of the most interesting findings was that over half of respondents said they believe the use of #GenAI “is important” for improving the services delivered by #government agencies, such as healthcare benefits and motor vehicle services. While this optimism about #emergingtech shows promise for agency adoption, the survey revealed some interesting generational differences in enthusiasm around them – 46% of Gen Z and 37% of millennial respondents said government agencies were adequately using technology to improve their interactions with the public, whereas just 23% of Gen X and 25% of baby boomers felt similarly. Continue reading for more highlights from the survey: https://lnkd.in/ePxSAdTd To read more about government leveraging technology read Tomorrow’s Government Today: https://lnkd.in/eaCQfkkj #AIinGovernment #GovernmentServices #ModernGovernment #PublicServices #GenerationalDifferences #TechnologyAdoption #KPMGGovernment #AmericanPerspectivesSurvey #StateScoop

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"Chevron deference" is dead. Now What? Check out the article I co-authored with Foundation for Government Accountability's CEO, Tarren Bragdon, published, today, in The Washington Times. Through the Loper Bright decision, SCOTUS has reclaimed its judicial power "to say what the law is." It is now time for Congress to reclaim its legislative power and power of the purse to rein in out-of-control government spending, reduce inflation, and restore fiscal sanity. It's time for Congress to pass the REINS Act. https://lnkd.in/eHkncSw2

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‼️ FCC Invites Comments on Tentative Findings for CVAA Biennial Report to Congress Comments Due: August 30, 2024 On July 16, 2024, the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau released a Public Notice inviting public comment on the tentative findings for the Commission’s Twenty-First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) Biennial Report to Congress, which is due to Congress by October 8, 2024. The Public Notice invites public comment on the Commission’s tentative findings on: Compliance with the accessibility requirements for telecommunications and advanced communications services and equipment, and Internet browsers built into mobile phones; Whether accessibility barriers exist with respect to new communications technologies; and The effect of the CVAA’s accessibility recordkeeping and enforcement requirements on the development and deployment of new communications technologies. Interested parties may file comments by accessing the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System at https://lnkd.in/gYMRdTE3. All filings must reference CG Docket No. 10-213. People with disabilities who need assistance to file comments online may request assistance by email to FCC504@fcc.gov. Link to the Public Notice: https://lnkd.in/guaDs93b For general information about the CVAA, visit https://www.fcc.gov/cvaa. For further information, please contact Stephen Wang, Disability Rights Office (DRO), Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) at (202) 418-1634, or Stephen.Wang@fcc.gov; or Molly Burgdorf, DRO, CGB, at (202) 418-2173 or Molly.Burgdorf@fcc.gov. Individuals who use videophones and are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL) may call the FCC’s ASL Consumer Support Line at (844) 432‐2275

Flagging Federal Registry notice seems akin to tuning into a Congressional Roll Call on C-SPAN, but this is the State Department’s attempt to lean on the #privatesector, #academia, and #thinktanks by establishing Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC). Written comments are due on August 15, 2024, at 5 PM ET, and I hope we can benefit from broad experience and insights to set these up to modernize our systems, operations, and the field of diplomacy. The goal is to create mechanisms for the State Department to benefit from deep technical research that isn't normally associated with the field of #diplomacy and #foreignaffairs. #doingbusinesswithdepartmentofstate #modernization

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Here is an event https://lnkd.in/e_gZmUWZ by a reputable organization with great relevance and potential value for many working at the intersection of data and policy.

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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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Great discussion on the critical value of a neurodiverse workforce!

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