GovCIO Media & Research Podcasts

The third episode in this Storytelling Miniseries for federal leaders discusses bridging gaps across generations in the workplace. Whether you're a rising star or a experienced leader, finding common ground is essential for success. NASA's Brittany Chappell, Department of Veterans Affairs' Laura Manning and Verizon's Rose Mata dive into key topics including work-life balance, the power of an authentic elevator pitch and how to tailor your story to different professional settings. They also provide practical tips for pacing your career, embracing self-care and creating executive presence — all areas these leaders think are critical to elevating careers in federal technology.

Artificial Intelligence is empowering the Small Business Innovation Research Development Center at the National Cancer Institute to save the lives of women who have been diagnosed with common cancers. Brittany Connors, SBIR director of investor relations at NCI, discussed how she is working with startups to develop the technology that better detects breast cancer and cervical cancer in their early stages. Connors also highlighted NCI's partnerships with biotech companies and the progress that is being made with the world's first AI-driven platform that uses an automated ultrasound to screen for breast cancer without radiation.

CBP Acting Executive Assistant Commissioner Diane Sabatino discussed her vision for emerging technologies the agency is adopting at the nation's ports, entries and borders to streamline how it monitors movement of people and goods into the country. She broke down how the agency is leveraging data it collects at the border and using artificial intelligence and biometrics to alleviate administrative burdens, sift through and siphon data, and better equip CBP officers with tools to identify and respond to threats.

Department of Labor Chief AI Officer Mangala Kuppa outlined how her role is shaping the agency's artificial intelligence strategy. She discussed the principles around AI that the agency is adhering to while developing and adopting the emerging technology. Kuppa also discussed DOL's nine AI workstreams, how she rose to the position of CAIO, and the department's priorities around AI education and workforce training. She also broke down how she has fostered collaboration between the agency, shareholders and industry to better develop an AI ecosystem.

In this special Bonus Episode 2.5 of the "Storytelling Miniseries," we're thrilled to welcome the captivating Elizabeth Barry as our guest speaker. Elizabeth brings a wealth of expertise in communication and leadership, known for her dynamic storytelling and ability to use powerful analogies to connect with audiences. With a speaking style that not only entertains but educates and inspires, she will provide insights on how to harness the storyteller within and become a more effective, mindful communicator. Join us as Elizabeth shares her unique approach to communication, offering tips and strategies for personal growth and leadership through storytelling. Whether you're looking to improve how you present your ideas or want to make a lasting impact in your professional or personal life, this episode will give you the tools you need to transform how you tell your story. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the most sought-after speakers in transformative leadership.

The Department of Veterans Affairs' prior pilot shuttling veterans to appointments is now a live program. The Uber-Health Connect Initiative addresses one of the biggest barriers to access for veterans across the country: transportation. Though they might be eligible for care, veterans getting to and from appointments often encounter difficulty or roadblocks because of lack of ability to drive or they just don't have reliable infrastructure in remote and rural areas. Veterans Health Administration Chief of Innovation Indra Sandal and Veterans Transportation Program Director Benjamin Williams discuss the program's journey from pilot to live program. They share updates and lessons learned, discuss the technical undertaking around its dashboards and APIs, and highlight the future of the program.

The growing need for timely, accurate and detailed data about the American people and economy poses new demands on the U.S. Census Bureau. To adapt to modern data requirements and sourcing, the bureau is transforming the way it leverages emerging technologies. While the agency continues traditional surveys, it is increasingly leveraging administrative data, business data and other innovations to create a better statistical snapshot of American life. Census Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer Ron Jarmin outlines how the bureau is expanding its data collection, using AI to make Census staff more efficient and spearheading modernization efforts to better meet 21st century data needs.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) processes petabytes of data in its operations, and that amount of data is only expected to grow. At DoDIIS in Omaha, NGA CIO Mark Chatelain told GovCIO Media & Research that artificial intelligence and machine learning are improving data processing so humans can focus on analyzing it for targeting, warning and support. Chatelain also discussed the latest developments in NGA's zero trust journey, the agency's partnership with the private sector and the future of geospatial intelligence.

Protecting the critical data that enables the Defense Intelligence Agency's (DIA) to maintain its information advantage is at the core of the agency's mission. At DoDIIS in Omaha, DIA CISO Tim Sydnor and Senior Technical Advisor Stephen Kensinger told GovCIO Media & Research that the agency needs data to have integrity and accuracy for it to be actionable to DIA's mission. Sydnor and Kensinger also discussed how DIA works with other intelligence community and Defense Department elements, how artificial intelligence is being used at DIA and how the agency is hiring, training and retaining a cybersecurity workforce.

In this episode, we're diving into the power of authentic storytelling. Join us as we speak with our guests: Jothi Dugar, CISO at NIH Center for IT, and Andrea Fletcher, chief digital strategy officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. They explore how sharing your true story — including the good, the bad and the ugly — can help you build stronger connections, empower others and create lasting impact in your career. They also discuss the importance of owning your experiences and how storytelling can be a tool for personal and professional growth. Following along to learn how authenticity can be a key to unlocking your leadership potential.

The National Cancer Institute's new Artificial Intelligence Resource (AIR) program is helping clinicians better diagnose and treat cancer patients. AIR enables researchers to build AI models that help to better detect cancer through imaging and determine the best treatment options. Dr. Baris Turkbey, senior clinician and radiologist with the Molecular Imaging Branch at NCI, explained the role AI algorithms play in classifying bone lesions in metastatic prostate cancer as well as how AI impacts the radiation dose in CT scans. Turkbey also shares details about a new concept NCI is researching called multimodal AI, which processes data from multiple modalities and sources to create more robust outputs.

Data is integral to the intelligence community's operations. IC Chief Data Officer Lori Wade is working to shift from system-centric to data-centric operations to meet evolving national security needs. At DoDIIS in Omaha, Wade spoke to GovCIO Media & Research about implementing a data-centric architecture with common data standards and services. She also discussed how the IC is using AI responsibly, including training AI models with trusted and properly labeled data, building guardrails and human oversight into models and scaling AI solutions.

Technology is transforming the way the Navy collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence, as well as helping get information to the warfighter as quickly as possible. At DoDIIS in Omaha, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations Intelligence Division CIO Christopher Page Deputy Director said that AI gives the Navy an advantage by increasing the volume, variety, velocity and veracity of collected data. The Navy's Information Superiority Vision is bolstering this mission. Page unpacks the latest developments across the data sharing initiative and how the Navy is moving intelligence safely through networks to support the national security mission.

Indopacom Cyberspace Operations – Integrated Planning Element (CO-IPE) Director Capt. Ron Arellano also serves as a liaison naval officer for U.S. Cyber Command. His role carries a lot of insight into cybersecurity posture and translating policy to ensure an integrated partner environment. Arellano discussed at AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific in Honolulu some of his key priorities and challenges in cybersecurity operations within the Indo-Pacific theater. He emphasized the importance of building strong relationships with allies, partners and local government agencies to enhance the security of shared systems and infrastructure. He also cited the need to integrate cyberspace operations across all Indopacom activities, moving away from the traditional siloed approach. He discusses how leveraging emerging technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence will help the command keep pace with the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape.

NAVWAR Chief Engineer Robert Wolborsky said the Navy is using emerging technology like 5G and proliferated low-Earth orbit (PLEO) satellites to deliver data and information to the warfighter anywhere on the sea. Wolborsky, who sat down with us at AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific in Honolulu this week, said the lessons learned from the service's 4G experience have driven the Navy's approach to 5G. He spoke on his desire to stay ahead of the power curve with the capability. The Navy is fielding 5G pilots called tranches to find ways to deliver connectivity and capability in any environment and over long distances.

DISA has been seeing a lot of excitement across Defense Department partners around its Joint Operational Edge (JOE) commercial cloud capability. Its Product Owner Matt Quinn from J9 Hosting and Compute joined us at AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific in Honolulu to discuss JOE's progress in the year since it went live. Quinn discussed lessons learned as DISA extends the cloud beyond the continental United States to the operational edge. He also outlined what considerations the agency will make moving into the next year amid other cloud computing capabilities it is providing to the military services.

Department of the Navy Deputy Principal Cyber Advisor Josh Reiter unpacked the Navy's cyber strategy at AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific in Honolulu this week. He highlighted its seven lines of effort that contribute to maintaining the Navy's operational efficiency across people, critical infrastructure and data. The Navy is shifting from a compliance mindset to one of cyber readiness, and expanding its view of cybersecurity as less of a traditional IT problem to more of a operational technology issue. He said this approach is incorporating more visibility into critical infrastructure, as Navy ships are like small cities with infrastructure that needs maintenance. He also shared how the department is attracting and retaining cyber talent, calling the people "our most important asset."

Defense Innovation Unit is on a mission to bring in innovative technology to the military services and combatant commands quickly. Cyber Senior Project Manager Dwayne Florenzie brings a wealth of experience from the private sector to DIU's cyber and telecom portfolio that is prioritizing bringing 5G connectivity to the military globally. At AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific in Honolulu this week, Florenzie shares how the increased funding DIU has received over the past year is setting the organization up to accelerate partnerships across the services within various portfolios. He shares how collaboration is starting to increase between the portfolios especially as artificial intelligence takes hold across different capabilities. Florenzie also shares the growth that is left in the 5G industry and the potential it has to revolutionize communications and support military operations.

Defense Innovation Unit AI Technical Director Chris Murphy has a dual-hatted role also serving as the organization's embed at Indo-Pacific Command. DIU's embed program pairs technologists with combatant commands to field technology more quickly. Murphy at AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific highlights this commercial integration role and how he's focused on leveraging modeling and simulation capabilities from the commercial AI space to enable decision superiority. He discusses how he sees these efforts enabling rapid delivery of solutions and helping to scale technology innovation across the mission partner environment.

Coast Guard Deputy CIO and Chief Data and AI Officer Brian Campo joins us at AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific in Honolulu to share lessons learned for the service after completing a four-year "Tech Revolution" digital modernization plan. This four-year plan looked across the Coast Guard to see where investments could be made in connectivity, technology and improving the mission. Campo said even though the "revolution" is completed, the Coast Guard is still looking for opportunities to modernize and transform its IT portfolio away from simple IT solutions to larger contributions to its mission and the Defense Department's CJADC2 strategy.

Indopacom J2 CTO Ben Needles discusses the challenges and priorities of integrating various capabilities in the mission partner environment across the Indo-Pacific region. Needles described at AFCEA TechNet Indo-Pacific in Honolulu how his directorate is standardizing knowledge and data to prepare for leveraging emerging technologies like AI to enhance intelligence analysis and decision-making in the field. This, he said, would help the command avoid high costs associated with using other available large language models. Finally, he highlights the importance of testing and experimenting not only with technology, but also policies and other guidance.

Data security and information exchange are critical components that ensure collaboration with military allies globally. U.S. European Command (EUCOM) J-6 Cyber and C4 Director Maj. Gen. John Phillips spoke to GovCIO Media & Research at DoDIIS in Omaha this week about the complexities of defending U.S. cyberspace while in Europe in the digital age, including the importance of data interoperability across allies and partners. Phillips also said that Eucom and its partners are facing workforce concerns like training and retention, as well as the tiered training model for NATO and partner nations to enhance collective cyber defenses in Europe.

NASA has been undergoing an enterprise-wide digital transformation plan that leaders hope will change how the agency collaborates and innovates. One of these leaders co-founded NASA's digital service and is currently working on the testing platform for the agency's Artemis mission. Shawn Chittle discusses his extensive background at private sector software companies and how he uses this experience to drive key user-centric design principles that ultimately powers the technology behind NASA's space exploration mission. He discusses what it was like co-founding a digital service for such a large agency, his vision for the Artemis program and how he sees IT and data management evolving around legacy modernization.

The State Department employs thousands of civilian employees, including more than 15,000 foreign service officers and other diplomats across the globe. State Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer Matthew Graviss sees artificial intelligence helping them do their job more effectively. Graviss highlighted the agency's new research assistant for translation and other tasks for employees to create annual reports on religious freedom, climate and more. Graviss also discussed how State is driving ethical and responsible use of AI in diplomacy, hiring AI professionals and integrating better data practices in AI implementation.

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has launched a new program providing health care organizations a rapid and secure cyber solution that will protect their infrastructure from threats and prevent disruptions in patient care. ARPA-H Resilient Systems Program Manager Andrew Carney discusses the Universal Patching Intermediation for Autonomous Defense (UPGRADE) program and how it offers medical facilities protection from ransomware attacks by automatically providing proactive and scalable updates to their IT systems. Carney highlighted another ARPA-H program called the Digital Health Security Initiative (DIGIHEALS) that's addressing vulnerabilities in data security. He also shared details about the agency's collaborative efforts with its defense counterpart, DARPA.

The Department of Veterans Affairs' Innovation Unit brings novel solutions in health care to help save veterans and the VA time and money through low- to no-cost pilots. This includes pilots like Care Centra, an AI personalized health coach, that uses machine learning to track behaviors and nudge veterans to follow better health outcomes and reduce the number of in-person visits. The unit's Deputy Director Sarah MacDawutey discusses these pilots, how the unit works across the enterprise to test solutions in emerging technology like AI before they are deployed at scale and how she sees them benefitting veterans.

Leaders in federal technology point to storytelling as a key trait that has helped them excel in their careers. This first episode of our GovCast Storytelling Miniseries features a conversation exploring why storytelling is an essential tool to upskill women and to help them advance into leadership roles in the public sector. Guests include two members of the Women Tech Leaders Working Group: Transportation Department Association CIO for Resource Management/CFO Lucinda Wade and NIH Center for IT Chief of Enterprise Platform Services Mahua Mitra. Wade and Mitra discuss the art of crafting compelling narratives, the impact of authentic storytelling on your professional journey and how to use the technique to connect with and inspire others.

Explore how CISA and CMS are tackling open source software (OSS) security in government. CISA Technical Advisor Jack Cable shares insights on CISA's roadmap, best practices and efforts to secure OSS and promote open source program offices. CMS Digital Service Open Source Lead Remy DeCausemaker also discusses the strategic approach to creating an open-source program office, focusing on stakeholder engagement, security measures and regulatory guidance. Hear how these strategies are shaping the future of open source security and fostering collaboration.

Travelers around the world are seeing more opportunities to use digital documents to verify their identities at airports and other travel hubs. The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) is honing in on technologies that rely on biometrics and artificial intelligence to develop and create seamless solutions that cater to all travelers at these checkpoints. At Identity Week in Washington, D.C., TSA Capability Manager for Identity Management Jason Lim discussed how advancements in AI and machine learning are helping the industry innovate around facial recognition technology. He also highlighted some of the latest interoperability standards government should know about when implementing digital identity solutions.

Biometric technology has seen remarkable advancements in recent years, especially in areas like facial recognition. Arun Vemury, senior advisor for biometric and identity technologies at the Department of Homeland Security, shared how error rates in facial recognition have dropped tenfold over the past decade thanks to machine learning. He also highlighted the growing use of digital credentials such as mobile driver's licenses and emphasized the importance of rigorous testing to ensure these technologies' reliability. Vemury discussed the Remote Identity Validation Technology Demonstration (RIVTD) project, which evaluated technologies for credential validation, selfie-to-document matching and presentation attack detection, with some results available with Maryland Test Facility at https://mdtf.org/.

In August, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released a new draft of its Digital Identity Guidelines for the identity-proofing process. This covers technologies like digital wallets, passkeys and physical identification documents like REAL ID-compliant passports and drivers licenses. The draft outlines ways to boost privacy, accessibility and security during the identity-proofing process for those accessing government services and benefits. Ryan Galluzzo is the digital identity program lead at NIST. At Identity Week in Washington, D.C., he spoke about the guidelines, the interoperability work that powers these technologies, and the importance of balancing security and accessibility when implementing digital identity programs.

General Service Administration Executive Director of Cloud Strategy Eric Mill briefed updates for the newly focused FedRAMP program and associated advisories for cloud service providers. FedRAMP's Agile Delivery Pilot will help prepare the program for continuous assessments, a key part of FedRAMP 2.0's evolution. He also previews FedRAMP's Emerging Technology Prioritization Framework that will soon enable agencies to use generative AI. Mill discusses the agency's new automation hub, automation.gsa.gov, supporting cloud service providers creating and managing digital authorization packages. He also shares his priorities around real-time data sharing, APIs and secure software development.

The White House has made government cybersecurity hiring a priority, releasing a strategy in 2023 to address gaps. Agencies and their partners have stressed the need to build foundational cyber skills in Americans long-term. ISC2 is a professional association for cybersecurity pros, with more than 650,000 members. ISC2 Executive Vice President of Advocacy, Global Markets and Member Engagement Tara Wisniewski spoke about skills-based hiring in cybersecurity, how the regulatory process affects the workforce and how agencies can hire cyber pros easier.

The future of cybersecurity is changing as threats evolve. NIST's Cybersecurity Center of Excellence works with partners in the public and private sectors to address securing IT systems and critical infrastructure. Cherilyn Pascoe, director of NCCoE, at Billington Cyber Summit in Washington, D.C., discussed the center's collaboration with industry and government agencies, NIST's Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 and migrating to post-quantum cryptography standards to protect against quantum computer threats.

The Defense Information Systems Agency is harnessing artificial intelligence to secure multi-cloud environments. Effective monitoring capabilities for the cloud are critical to avoid bad actors from breaching vulnerabilities and to further secure the edge. DISA CTO and Emerging Technology Director Steve Wallace at Billington Cyber Summit in Washington, D.C., discussed how emerging technology is helping the Defense Department manage its multi-cloud environment, the value of AI amid legacy system modernization and the importance of embracing new technology to improve skill sets and tackle larger tech challenges.

National Science Foundation CDO and Chief AI Officer Dorothy Aronson is establishing a new organization that will unify departments within the agency. While the agency is standing up some critical efforts under the White House executive order such as the National AI Research Resource pilot, Aronson highlights some of her initial priorities for the role that include merging the CAIO, CDO and CISO under the Office of the CIO. Aronson also discusses the importance of preparing data for advanced analytics and AI as well as the significance of providing researchers with access to clean data layers.

A special initiative and data registry at the National Cancer Institute is helping researchers understand and treat rare childhood cancers. Dr. Mary Frances Wedekind, a pediatric oncologist and assistant research physician with the Pediatric Oncology Branch at NCI, explains how the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative follows children, teens and young adults for many years to collect key information about their cancer diagnosis, imaging and treatments. She added that the initiative along with the Rare Cancer Data Registry are critical to helping researchers access and analyze the clinical and genomic data that could potentially lead to more effective targeted therapies and new drug developments that could improve the standards of care for young patients.

Government's recent efforts to coordinate cybersecurity regulations have evolved as the threats have. A recent Government Accountability Office report examines the work that remains to support a longer-term strategy for juggling these policies across agencies. Dave Hinchman, director in GAO's IT and cybersecurity team, oversees the IT and cybersecurity workforce, cloud computing and IT modernization efforts. He discusses the recent report on cybersecurity, current cyber regulatory policies and how he's seen IT policy evolve.

Federal agencies are undergoing largescale transformation to meet White House directives on artificial intelligence development. This includes establishing chief AI officers to build implementation plans and programs. The AI GovCast monthly miniseries connects with these leaders across government to discuss how they are shaping their roles and where they see the promise for AI in their agencies. In this episode, catch up on what is happening with AI and CAIOs in the federal government.

As the nation's largest integrated health care provider, the Veterans Health Administration prioritizes how technology can address challenges in how it is delivering patient care and securing its infrastructure. Indra Sandal, chief of innovation at VHA in Tampa, Florida, breaks down how more than 300 participants collaborated and addressed challenges in a three-day hackathon. She highlights the takeaways from that hackathon and what it means for veterans. David Rhew, global chief medical officer at Microsoft, also discusses how the organization supported the hackathon and what lessons learned the public-private partnership has for the future of VA health care.

A recent National Cancer Institute study shows that a new targeted therapy can help prolong the time cancer patients are in remission. Called the ViPOR regimen, the non-chemotherapy treatment shrinks tumors of those who suffer from B-cell lymphoma. Dr. Christopher Melani, associate research physician with the Lymphoid Malignancies Branch in the Center for Cancer Research at NCI, highlights the importance of combining five therapies and administering them during a fixed cycle to maximize drug synergy and make tumors disappear. He also shares details about the second phase of the study that is expected to take place later this year as well as how precision medicine could potentially lead to a cure for all types of cancer.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has many public-facing apps that rely on application programming interfaces (APIs) for third-party developers creating software and services to veterans. Managing this ecosystem is VA's Lighthouse, where Deputy Director Andrew Fichter is constantly looking at innovating how to share and manage the data that fuels these apps. Fichter discusses how Lighthouse is serving veterans and why it is necessary for modernization of veterans services. Plus, he shares the future of these tools and how the program will evolve around emerging technology.

Climate change has a major impact on public health, especially for vulnerable communities. Rising temperatures, severe storms and other severe events can negatively affect health outcomes. Agencies are increasingly using data and technology for programs and tools to boost health equity. Dr. John Balbus, director of the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity at the Department of Health and Human Services, speaks about the ways that technology can be used to build resilience against climate-related negative health outcomes. He discusses his career, his role in shaping policies and his agency's Health Climate Outlook tool for predicting climate-related health risks.

Protecting sensitive information is critical to cybersecurity, but agencies need to learn to operate with fewer secrets in the aftermath of cybersecurity incidents. Sharing information about attacks within the community can help protect against future ones, according to Suzanne Spaulding, who formerly led the National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security. Spaulding discussed how a focus on transparency will be advantageous for national defense. She explained why this approach is necessary by highlighting the risks associated with keeping secrets. Spaulding also discussed the impact of CISA's Secure by Design Pledge on the global cybersecurity environment, noting how recent commitments from companies further contribute to the idea of transparency.

Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, telehealth and telemedicine have dramatically improved and widened the ability for the Department of Veterans Affairs to deliver health care to veterans. These technologies are revolutionary, but they also come with a higher risk of being compromised. VA Executive Director of Information Security Policy and Strategy Amber Pearson discusses the growing attack surface and how the agency is taking bolder steps to ensure patient data remains secure from threat actors.

Zero Trust is becoming a critical pillar of the department of Defense's cybersecurity strategy. The strategy, embodied by the motto of "never trust, always verify," demands a new outlook on cybersecurity. Randy Resnick discusses why Zero Trust is so important, how his office is working to reshape the way DOD employees view zero trust, and how clear standards can help the DOD and other agencies adopt zero trust in their operations.

From the battlefield to headquarters, the potential of 5G networks opens the door for new partnerships, strategies and emerging technologies. At TechNet Cyber, Defense Department 5G Cross Functional Team Director Juan Ramirez discusses how 5G unites the department under multiple interoperability efforts, prepares the warfighter for the fight of the future and enhances the cybersecurity of the DOD apparatus.

The military services are prioritizing developing technology in warfighting scenarios and fielding it quickly. At the Department of the Navy, officials are thinking about how to bring forward a set capabilities that can be interoperable throughout different scenarios while maintaining security. At AFCEA TechNet Cyber, Navy CIO Jane Rathbun discussed interoperability in the defense industry and platform standardization and cybersecurity.

The Defense Department's Fulcrum: DoD Information Technology (IT) Advancement Strategy unites many of DOD's cybersecurity strategies under one umbrella. It also provides a roadmap through 2029 for the DOD CIO's essential support of the National Defense Strategy. Robert Franzen, Deputy Customer Experience Officer at the DOD CIO's office, breaks down the department's recently unveiled Fulcrum and how it will support warfighters and the entirety of the Defense Department.

In an interview at the AWS Summit, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) Chief Scientist for AI Court Corley and Director of the Center for Cloud Computing Scott Godwin discussed their efforts to enhance research through AI and cloud computing. They emphasized providing foundational compute capabilities and access to cloud services for Energy Department researchers addressing critical issues like sustainable energy and national security. They also highlighted the rapid evolution of AI tools and the importance of data management across different domains. Both stressed the need for cultural adaptation within the scientific community to embrace new technologies while also ensuring they enable reliable and validated results.