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I recently had the privilege of attending the 2023 Professional Service Council’s Law Enforcement Conference, where senior executives from the government technology and professional services industry gathered to discuss critical law enforcement mission priorities and IT challenges on the horizon. While the conference covered a lot of ground, here are my top 3 takeaways from the event on how shared services and shared data are being leveraged in the law enforcement community.

Data Sharing is Improving but Still Faces Challenges. Timothy Langan, Executive Director of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch, was a keynote speaker at the event. Following his remarks, he was asked about demonstrated use cases of shared services or coordination with the FBI. Mr. Langan pointed to the successful sharing of data among the various elements of the Cyber Security Task Forces operating nationwide. However, he noted that additional “Lawful Access” to data and information currently protected by advanced encryption technologies is still a challenge. Mr. Langan noted that finding ways to share this data across law enforcement agencies while respecting individual constitutional and privacy rights would be a significant lift to the FBI’s investigative capabilities. I expect this is a topic we will hear more about when discussing inter-agency cooperation, dating sharing, and shared services.

Sharing Language Capabilities to Fight Crime. John Tien is the Deputy Secretary, the Department of Homeland Security. He spoke extensively about the networks that DHS is building to address the three largest crimes committed by Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCO): Human Smuggling, Human Trafficking, and Fentanyl Distribution. In addressing the audience, Deputy Secretary Tien asked for help in addressing the many deficits in linguistic capabilities that currently exist across the law enforcement community. Mr. Tien suggested that advances in technology and the ability to quickly parse and share foreign language materials across law enforcement partners will represent a significant breakthrough in the more efficient and effective use of law enforcement assets and human capital resources.

Shared Resources for Shared Effectiveness. Another panelist, Patrick McElwain, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Director for International Operations, talked about the increasing need for effective technology to plow through mountains of data and in the process allow for more efficient and effective use of DHS’ human capital talent. In addition, he suggested that the sharing of trained data analysts across agencies would be beneficial to the law enforcement community. This piqued my interest, as it is not an area we typically think about when we consider applicability for shared services. However, considering the interconnectivity of the modern marketplace (legitimate or criminal) and resultant data, one that makes perfect sense. It’s something else I expect we’ll hear more about as federal law enforcement agencies continue to adapt to the information economy.

If you would like to learn more about how shared services – or shared data – could benefit your organization, I would love to chat. You can reach me anytime at tim.rund@theclearing.com.

If you think you’ve been reading a lot about Shared Services lately, you’re right. Not only is it a topic near and dear to my heart, it’s an area with a lot of momentum behind it in the federal space – and one that many of our readers want to hear more about.

At a recent Shared Services Forum, we heard from GSA’s Office of Shared Solutions and Performance Improvement (OSSPI) on OSSPI’s performance management framework for shared services (see attached OSSPI “Performance Management Framework” presentation).

Credit: Shawn Perkins

Here are my key takeaways:

The OSSPI Team outlined the Performance Management Framework for adopting Shared Services. In particular, they shared the working addition to their Balance Scorecard for measuring the impact of Shared Services in IT Modernization. The subcategories for the IT Modernization Dimension on the Scorecard include: System Resiliency; Technology Management/Software Delivery; Data Interfaces/Customization; Human-Centered Design and Usability; Cyber Security; and IT Contract Consolidation. It’s exciting to not only see the increasing adoption of the Shared Services concept, but the continuing sophistication around implementation.
Attendees (myself included) shared feedback on the OSSPI’s approach to defining the dimensions of this scorecard. Our discussion mainly focused on being clear on what is the universally understood definition of “IT Modernization” and how can OSSPI coalesce a “dream team” of leaders (i.e., Government QSMOs) to enhance their approach to incorporating IT Modernization into the Scorecard. Again, exciting stuff that points to the thought going into modernizing and streamlining how the federal government operates.
As you likely know, we focus on a people-first consulting model here at the Clearing. To that end, my colleague Regina Perkins and I weighed in on the importance of considering customer experience when defining measurement. Not only can Shared Services result in greater efficiencies and cost savings, it can improve the human experience when securing services and vendors.

The March 2022 Shared Services Forum also included an update from the Grants Management Quality Services Management Organization (QSMO) team of Chad Clifford and Andrea Sampanis (see graphic).  If you are interested in learning more about the Shared Services Forum reach out to John Marshall of the Shared Services Leadership Coalition at JohnMarshall@sharedservicesnow.org.

As always, if you’re interested in chatting more about Shared Services or have topics you’d like covered in a future forum, reach out anytime at Tim.Rund@theclearing.com or call my cell 703.975.6098.

I had the privilege of attending the Shared Services & Outsourcing Network’s 26th annual Shared Services & Outsourcing Week in Orlando, FL. Shared services remain a hot topic among federal government leaders and there was no shortage of interesting discussions. I also enjoyed speaking with many of you during breaks in the action. In case you couldn’t make it to the conference, here are my top takeaways from the event.

CX by Any Other Name. Many attendees were talking about customer experience – they just weren’t calling it customer experience. I heard the words “customer engagement” mentioned numerous times. However, the context was less about engagement and more about the experience – or how to better make decisions based on the customer perspective to improve the experience with federal agencies. It was music to our ears. These conversations dovetail with the President’s CX-focused Executive Order and The Clearing’s belief that CX is critical to building a better government.
Better Decisions Through Data. I heard lots of conversations about making use of data to inform decision-making. In the past, the government didn’t have the right systems in place to capture large amounts of data and while still grappling with data being siloed by agencies things are changing. Aggregating that data equals a huge opportunity to understand what’s happening across government and will ultimately play a role in numerous federal initiatives – including the one mentioned above: customer experience.
AI and IA. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Intelligent Automation (IA) were hot topics. A lot of the talk centered around using technology to remove some repetitive manual tasks from government employees. This ties both of our previous bullets together. AI and IA require large amounts of data to be effective, while freeing workers from repetitive tasks allows for more time to focus on the customer and their experience. While there is a long way to go on both of these journeys, it’s amazing to see how much progress has been made and how each one of these capabilities builds and relies on the other.
Digital Workforce. The emergence  of digital workers, digital assistants and other new technologies will play an important role  in optimizing customer’s experience.  The evolving digital workforce is an exciting new area of exploration and development that was the focus of more than a few discussions during the course of the SSOW Conference.

As always, I’d love to chat with you about shared services or fill you in on more details from Orlando. You can reach me anytime at timothy.rund@theclearing.com or on my cell at 703.975.6098.