Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA)’s Post

It's the Friday after the 4th of July, so let's channel that holiday energy and finish the week strong — with Resolution! Happy Friday, team! #FridayMotivation #FederalGovernment #Government #FederalContracting #Consulting #IT #InformationTechnology #Technology #Training #Education #Instruction #InformationSystems #FacilityManagement #ClinicalServices #FourthofJuly #4thofJuly

Could the government's new L&D plans be the solution to England's 'fractured skills landscape'? 🤔 Skills England is set to unite central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions to meet the skills we need in the next decade, with a special focus on construction and healthcare, to develop skilled workforces to support sustainable growth in every region. What do you think of this new initiative? Is this a step in the right direction, or do we need to be doing more to plug the skills gap? Let us know in the comments 👇 https://lnkd.in/efvrc-bc #SkillsEngland #SkillsGap #SkillsDevelopment

Plan for an active summer on the regulatory front. 🔏📖 From Title IX to FAFSA to modifications in labor rules, preparing, meeting, and maintaining compliance with US federal government deadlines is critical. The American Council on Education created an executive summary outlining 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬. https://lnkd.in/ezTm6GP9 In addition, a 𝐔𝐒 𝐄𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐃𝐎𝐄) 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒. This regulation applies to students who hold student loan debt and utilize federal financial aid. 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐎𝐄 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞:  https://lnkd.in/gWDHkP7b 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐤? • Stay informed through publications like HigherEdRisk • Consult with experts. • Engage with professional organizations like American Council on Education. • Partner with legal counsel and your risk management department. Regulations are often complex to decipher and they impact institutions cross-functionally. Developing 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 to share knowledge, leverage common concerns, and embrace collaboration will further improve your organization's resiliency in this dynamic environment. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧? #FAFSA #risk #education #higheredrisk #regulations #compliance

Academies - are your member appointments or resignations being performed correctly? Our latest blog looks at Companies Act legislation which stipulates a key filing component which many academy trusts are not following. 🤯 Want to know more? Click the link below ⤵️ https://lnkd.in/eaDUt9Jp #academies #governance #companiesact #TrusteeBoard #SchoolGovernance #AcademyTrusts

Public Servant Training CTA #57 (in progress) https://lnkd.in/gHBCzgzV The Federal Government has introduced the non-mandatory “Indigenous Learning Series” for all public service employees although not all the course content aligns with the specific “Actions” identified in C2A # 57. Provinces, Territories and Municipalities are at different degrees of commitment and implementation.

Summary of the Department for Business & Trade’s draft new code of practice for fire and rehire (dismissal and re-engagement) situations. https://lnkd.in/eRMpVjDp #UKschools #UKAcademies #UKEducation #educationHR #education #educationmanagement #sbm #schoolbusinessmanager #headteachers #schools #CEFMLtd

I'm slightly conflicted over compulsory national service. On one hand I think service is a net positive and builds skills that seem to be lacking at moment. OTOH know from Italian in laws how traumatic it was for some of them. But also, look at Israel. So much innovation straight line back to IDF service. I am not pro aggression, I'm not a hawk but I also know it is naive to assume that the world is not what it is and that there are bad actors out there. I think a well crafted policy that allows for further skills building / education and is applied even handedly might be worth consideration. But I wouldn't make it only about military service. How about the NHS, social care, education, HMRC, civil service etc. Allows fresh eyes to gain experience but also see where bureaucracy has led to leakage and wastage. If those that serve are then empowered to solve, then maybe we get to a place where the UK can work. Idealistic, I know. But we have a swathe of disengaged people who have ultimately given up any agency in their lives. Let's hand the agency back so that they can be part of the change they want to be. We might even create some generational businesses as a result.

✨ New from State Authorization Network (SAN) ✨ #ProfessionalLicensure Requirements Handbook (2024): #ImplementationHandbook for Institutional Compliance with the Federal Regulations (2nd edition)! The #Handbook includes a discussion of the requirements under the most recent #FinalRegulations which were released on October 31, 2023. These #federalrules directly link #institutionalcompliance with state laws and regulations to eligibility to participate in federal financial aid under Title IV of the #HigherEducation Act of 1965, HEA programs. The rules now reference both licensure and disclosures in the same section. Download the Handbook today: https://lnkd.in/ecEFYU5K

As the incoming Administration attempts to cut personnel and spending, both admirable goals as there are numerous efficiencies to be gained, they will run into a "Wall of NO" from career government officials, especially in the GS-13 to SES levels. The power of "NO" of these individuals is almost incomprehensible to the uninitiated and those who presume that any organization would seek to be efficient and high functioning. To overcome this "Wall of NO," the Administration and its appointees will need two things, backbones of steel and a way to defeat the NO. I propose a three-part test to be employed every time they receive a NO to get to the WHY behind the NO. Essentially appointees need to know if they are getting a NO because of Law, Policy, or Myth. When confronted with the NO, the first test is to see if the NO is coming out of statute or regulation based on statute. If the answer is yes, make the person show the citation and verify that there are no exceptions or waiver authority regarding the restriction. If it is against law, law can be changed if it's important through the NDAA (for example regarding the DoD) or through revised regulation, but law must be respected until change is enacted. This will be the least likely valid WHY that appointees will receive, maybe 5% of the time. Next, if the NO is not because of Law, is it because of Policy? If it is, again, whose policy is it and are there exceptions or waivers that can be used, if so, use them. If it's a previous Administration's policy, that can be changed immediately by the person who holds the authority. This will be the valid why about 20% of the time, but is easily overcome. Finally, is the NO because of Myth? Myth is the power of the administrative state. A GS-13 through SES can say NO and spend a career rarely being questioned as to why, so they can say NO simply because they don't want to do something and reference vague examples of how this was previously tried and it led to disastrous consequences or someone did this before and was fired because of it. When you press to test, invariably, you will find that the myth can rarely be quantified and what you've really run into is the institutional laziness of "this is the way we've always done it" or "this is how I was trained to do it and I'll get in trouble if I deviate from the way my boss wants it done." The most insidious lair of the Myth lies in legal and contract review shops where many program managers have just submitted to the Myth over time instead of pressing for change when they should. From my experience, change agents will run into the Myth around 75% of the time. For the incoming Administration...steel your resolve and prepare to battle the Wall of NO with these tools, defeating the Myth and the Policy rationale will allow you to rapidly achieve your policy goals without running afoul of the Law.