Dan Chenok

Cybersecurity has evolved from a conversation among technologists in server rooms to a substantial dialog between industry leaders and policy makers on the international stage. There is an almost universal recognition of the importance of managing risks associated with doing business in the digital age of the 21st century, and three decades of not adapting to modern technical and security capabilities to overcome.

Since the turn of the millennium, pandemics, heat waves, wildfires, floods, cyberattacks, supply chain interruptions, and other crises have deeply stressed governments, communities, businesses, and individuals around the world. This cascade of catastrophic events raises fundamental questions about how governments can anticipate, prepare for, and respond to these and other shocks yet to come.

The IBM Center for The Business of Government and the IBM Institute for Business Value, in partnership with the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and a range of other partners, launched an initiative last year to help government leaders identify core capabilities critical to building resilience in the face of “future shocks,” where collaborative action to address anticipated threats requires focus and cooperation across a broad ecosystem of partners and stakeholders.

Blog Co-Author: Virginia Huth currently serves as the SES Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Regulatory and Oversight Systems in the Office of Technology Transformation Services at the U.S. General Services Administration, which is overseeing the modernization of the eRulemaking system. Virginia is writing in her personal capacity; her opinions are her own and do not represent the views of the GSA.

Guest Author: Ross Autry, Strategic Partnership Executive - US Federal Consulting, IBM

Guest Bloggers: Bradley K. Kistler, Associate Partner and Maggie Pool, Managing Consultant - US Federal Talent Transformation, IBM

All of these points hold true today; however, shared services providers are now faced with new customer needs focused on employee experience, creating stress on existing technology and operating models.

New threats and domains for warfare include cyber and space, along with disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum. Dealing with these issues necessitates an enhanced partnership across governments and within industry.  Achieving mission readiness is growing more complex and requires dynamic defense technology solutions.

Guest Blogger: Dr. William Brantley, Professor, Project Management Center of Excellence, University of Maryland and Lecturer, Department of Communication, University of Louisville

We are pleased to announce our latest round of awards for new reports on key public sector challenges, which respond to priorities identified in the Center's research agenda. Our content is intended to stimulate and accelerate the production of practical research that benefits public sector leaders and managers.

We expect the following reports to be published starting in early 2023.  Short summaries of each report follow:

Guest Bloggers: Troy Edgar, Partner - US Federal Finance and Supply Chain Transformation, IBM and Travis Edwards, Senior Managing Consultant, Federal Finance and Supply Chain Transformation

Executive Summary