The Path Forward - How state and local government can overcome hurdles to cloud adoption

whitePaper | March 9, 2020

Our federal funding and policy priorities for the coming year reflect our public mission and our commitment to the public good, which are inextricably linked to the University’s historical partnership with the U.S. government. The federal government’s longstanding pledge to invest in research empowers the UW to bridge the gap between curiosity and research-driven discovery and is critical to the health and economic competitiveness of our nation. From regenerative medicine to cleanenergy technologies, new knowledge for a better world is the driving force behind what we do. Support from the federal establishment is critical to ensuring that our positive impact continues.

whitePaper | December 10, 2019

The Trump administration, members of Congress from both parties, and many states have introduced proposals to combat high drug prices. Too often missing from these reform efforts, however, is a clear understanding of a root cause of the crisis: the suppression of fair market competition through various forms of monopoly. This white paper examines and proposes solutions for the two main ways that monopoly drives up the costs and lowers the quality of prescription drugs: increasing corporate concentration in the pharmaceutical industry, and the monopoly markets for individual drugs created by a deeply flawed and increasingly abused patent and regulatory system.

whitePaper | December 19, 2019

The U.S. labor market is the strongest it has been in the last half century, as shown by economic data across various metrics. This is partly attributable to President Trump’s progrowth economic policies, the results of which are disproportionately benefiting Americans who were previously left behind. The Administration’s policies are boosting labor demand and lowering structural barriers to entering the labor market. This report provides evidence that this labor market has contributed to reduced inequality through an economic boom that is greatly benefiting historically disadvantaged groups. These groups are becoming more and more self-reliant through their economic activity, rather than remaining inactive in the labor market to qualify for means-tested government programs.

whitePaper | November 21, 2022

Cyber attacks and data breaches are at the forefront of the national agenda - and the issue isn’t going away. These types of attacks aren’t necessarily new, however the exponential increase in data combined with data ubiquity, the massive increase in Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, and the shift to remote work have expanded our attack surface, while also shifting the network load to the perimeterless internet.

whitePaper | January 29, 2020

Individual government contractors face more rigorous scrutiny, as private companies can monitor employee’s social media as part of their continuous vetting and insider threat protocols. However, despite the existence of a directive permitting them to do so, government agencies do not monitor their employees’ social media. Our interviews found this is due to a lack of clear guidance on how to implement the existing directives and security policies. This shortcoming can be remedied by government agencies agreeing upon a single common standard regarding the use of publicly available electronic information, specifically social media, for personnel security and insider threat purposes. The DNI, as Security Executive Agent for the government, must then develop guidelines for the implementation of this standard throughout the sector.

whitePaper | May 15, 2022

Long before the pandemic created a worldwide retreat from physical workplaces, governments around the world recognised the need to undertake a digital transformation of some kind. Many governments had started to build transformation strategies that would support the gradual adoption of digital technologies to improve efficiency, increase productivity and enable better resource management. The main goal behind these strategies was to create the next generation digital infrastructure that would improve the delivery of services to citizens, from personalised administrative services to tailored health services, safer care for all and customised education. Some governments had started the transformation process. Then the pandemic changed everything. Almost overnight, governments were forced into a new reality that didn’t fit with mid- and long-term digital transformation objectives. Shutdowns changed the world from a largely in-person experience to a virtual experience for government workers and citizens. Government workforces had to quickly move entirely to remote working and governments had to adapt to find new ways to deliver services to citizens. Luckily, the availability of digital tools made the shift possible. So, while the pandemic continued to impact society, governments at all levels were able to shift operations and service delivery online.