This report outlines the results of a workshop discussion on Trusted Workforce 2.0 (TW 2.0) implementation and academic initiatives to educate and train today and tomorrow’s cleared government contracting workforce. George Mason University's Center for Government Contracting and Institute for Digital InnovAtion partnered to facilitate a roundtable discussion on March 31, 2022 with senior federal officials responsible for TW 2.0—the new federal security clearance process. In addition to government officials, discussion participants included senior representatives of small, mid-tier, and large companies with cleared workforces as well as George Mason faculty engaged in preparing the future digital government contracting workforce.
This report outlines the workshop discussion; identifies key takeaways from the workshop; and makes recommendations for potential follow-on activities. Readers will understand and appreciate
- The interagency collaboration that is driving TW 2.0 implementation for government and business;
- How TW 2.0 efforts to use data analysis to increase visibility and transparency have dramatically reduced backlogs for security clearance applications;
- What academia can do to develop tomorrow’s digital workforce; and
- What work remains to be done, particularly in the area of acquisition and cleared personnel.
As will become evident in the report, Trusted Workforce 2.0 is a game changer for the cleared government contracting community. We look forward to your feedback and to setting up future workshop discussions on critical government contracting issues in the coming months.