Summit Selected for Prestigious GSA Program Evaluation Services Subgroup
Summit Consulting, LLC, is proud to announce our selection to join the General Services Administration’s exclusive Program Evaluation Services subgroup under MAS Professional Services Category SIN 541611. This achievement underscores Summit’s expertise in evaluating complex federal programs.
As part of this highly selective subgroup, Summit gains access to significant federal investments in evaluation projects and the opportunity to collaborate closely with federal agencies. The rigorous selection process ensures that only firms with a proven track record and deep understanding of program evaluation are included, solidifying Summit’s leadership in the field. Summit has led multiple successful program evaluation engagements at agencies across the federal government, including the U.S. Small Business Administration, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, U.S. Department of Labor, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
White Paper: Opportunities and Challenges in Credit Program Shared Services
Federal credit is a valuable tool in advancing a host of policy priorities, including economic development, small business creation, homeownership, higher education, and infrastructure to support a 21st-century economy. Federal agencies are on the hook for effective implementation—establishing the people, processes, and systems necessary to manage the program in a manner that maximizes progress on policy goals while minimizing risk to the taxpayer.
Credit program administration requires highly specialized skills, experience, and capabilities. While some capabilities are specific to a given program or agency, others are common across federal credit programs of a similar type or sector. Where needs are similar, shared services enable agencies to realize economies of scale and efficiencies from using existing infrastructure to advance progress without increasing risk. However, the complexity of shared services can lead to delays, increased cost, or other risks for the credit agency. When successful, these collaborations save time and budget. When unsuccessful, efficiencies may not materialize and can result in greater risk and cost compared to working alone.
Technology Change Without Business Process Improvement Is Not Modernization: A Blog Series
This article is the first of five in our series “Improving IT Modernization Outcomes,” which unpacks the key strategic and operational characteristics that distinguish successful modernization programs from those that fall short of their potential.
Leaders in charge of high-profile federal IT modernization programs face significant pressure from the White House, Congress, and the public to deliver long-deferred next-generation solutions on aggressive timelines. This pressure can drive leaders to deprioritize activities not seen as directly improving the technical capabilities available to the program—including those related to business process improvement. The result can be a “rip and replace” mentality, which may automate legacy processes and practices without taking advantage of a once-in-a-decade opportunity to rethink how the organization does business and, more importantly, serves its customers.
Legislative changes impacting Title IV participants’ training and information needs challenged the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) with overhauling training for both participants and staff. The Summit team leveraged a broad range of strategic planning and design expertise across several areas, including visual design and universal course design, data analysis, and visualization. Through the team’s support, FSA was able to reduce development time and increase the capacity to deliver high-quality partner training for financial aid professionals at over 5,600 postsecondary schools nationwide.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a leading national philanthropy dedicated to taking bold leaps to transform health in our lifetime, aimed to identify capacity and financing gaps impacting the progress of water infrastructure projects amid unprecedented levels of federal investment. Summit organized a technical working group, identified subject-matter experts, and developed an internal report with recommendations for the foundation.
Survey data quality is crucial for any agency responsible for official statistics. At the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), improving survey data quality required hundreds of NASS analysts to spend hours hand-correcting survey responses and filling in missing data for more than 200 annual surveys. Summit designed, developed, and implemented Imputation, Deterministic Edits, And Logic (IDEAL), an enterprise-wide application that automates the editing and imputation of survey responses as part of a once-in-a-generation modernization effort.
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) plays a crucial role in the housing market by insuring mortgages for first-time homebuyers and elderly homeowners. To ensure the financial stability of its insured mortgage portfolio, FHA relies on advanced econometric and cash flow modeling. Summit has been a key partner in this effort, providing the expertise and tools necessary to forecast the financial performance of FHA’s Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund.
Curious about our other case studies? See more here.
Founding Partner Albert Lee and Senior Analyst Gunnar Ingle Present at Joint Statistical Meetings
On August 7, Summit founding partner Albert Lee and senior Analyst Gunnar Ingle presented “Rule-Based Data Validation and Reconciliation of Survey Responses” at the 2024 Joint Statistical Meetings in Portland, Oregon.
As one of the broadest conferences in the field, JSM covers everything from statistical applications to cutting-edge topics in analytics and data science. View Albert and Gunnar's presentation deck here.
Conferences & Partnerships
Summit Director Attends AGA PDT Conference
Director Sarah Cunningham represented Summit at the 2024 AGA PDT conference in Denver from July 14 to 17. AGA empowers financial professionals in government to advance sound practices, grow their expertise, and accelerate their careers.
Summit Director Meets with Industry Leaders at MISMO Fall Summit
On August 26–29, Summit director Josh Goldberg attended the MISMO Fall Summit in Reston, Virginia. Goldberg has more than 20 years of mortgage finance experience, as well as a deep focus on model development, validation, audit, credit risk management, stress testing, and valuation.
Three Summit Leaders Attend AGA Internal Control & Fraud Prevention Training
Directors Sarah Cunningham and Josh Goldberg, with senior consultant Timothy Uy, attended the AGA Internal Control & Fraud Prevention Training in Washington, D.C., on September 19–20. The team brought back knowledge and strategies to help our clients thrive by strengthening internal controls and mitigating fraud risks across the public and private sectors.
Summit Data Science Team Brings 15 Members to POSIT Conference in Seattle
Summit’s data science team, led by managers Olivia Hebner and Scott Senkier (above), sprang into action at the Posit PBC Conference on August 12–14 in Seattle. POSIT is an annual conference focused on the R and Python programming languages and their applications in data science. The conference featured workshops, talks, and networking opportunities for attendees, with a particular emphasis on fostering a sense of community among data science professionals.
All 15 members of the Summit team also made time to connect with their remote colleagues from around the United States and explore the beautiful city of Seattle!
Summit Leaders Gather Key Project Management Takeaways at PMI Global Summit in Los Angeles
Summit director Samuel Dugger, manager Kellen MacBeth, and senior consultant Derek Hills recently spent three days at the Project Management Institute’s Global Summit in Los Angeles from September 18 to 21. A key message of the conference was that the future is now: Project managers who don’t learn to augment their work with GenAI tools will be left behind; hybrid agile/waterfall is becoming the default across many projects; adaptive management for hybrid or remote project teams is critical; and metrics matter—defining objectives and KPIs at project start and implementing robust systems to track and take action based on project health and success data can substantially improve project success rates.
The Summit team also enjoyed hearing more about how PMOs can engage executives successfully to improve program and project outcomes, and they’re already plotting ways to apply their new knowledge within Summit Consulting and develop new offerings for our customers.
Montana Becomes First in the Nation to Launch BEAD Application Portal with Summit’s Support
Huge congratulations to the state of Montana for leading the nation as the first to launch a BEAD application portal! This incredible achievement showcases Montana’s dedication to expanding broadband access and ensuring every community has the digital tools they need to thrive.
At Summit, we’re thrilled to support this groundbreaking work that will bring reliable, high-speed internet to more Montanans, bridging the digital divide and creating new opportunities across the state. Want to learn more? Check out our case study on Summit’s involvement in this transformative project and see how we’re helping connect communities across Montana.
Welcoming Michael Rodriguez to the Summit Team
We’re thrilled to welcome Michael Rodriguez to the Summit Consulting team! With nearly 30 years of experience in IT, cybersecurity, and business analysis, Rodriguez brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise that will elevate our projects and enhance our services. His impressive career spans roles such as IT Cybersecurity Specialist at the U.S. Department of Energy, where he played a crucial role in the development and upgrade of systems managing a $38 billion portfolio.
Rodriguez’s accomplishments include leading the redesign of DOE’s loan monitoring system, significantly improving efficiency and security; earning the Award for Excellence for his contributions to the deployment of Microsoft Dynamics 365; and spearheading IT governance initiatives that streamlined processes and strengthened cybersecurity measures.
Rodriguez’s innovative approach and deep understanding of technology will be instrumental in driving our mission forward. We’re excited to have him on board and look forward to achieving great things together!
USDA Farm Production and Conservation Team Receives Glowing Feedback from the Client
At Summit, we strive to be a valuable advisor to our clients, delivering meaningful contributions that drive positive outcomes. We are excited to share some incredible feedback our USDA Farm Production and Conservation team received from the Farm Loan Program Office.
After nearly two years of hard work, farm loan policy changes that support building equity, saving for long-term needs, and making strategic operational investments went into effect on September 25, 2024, as part of the Enhancing Program Access and Delivery for Farm Loans rule. We are proud of the positive impact this work will have on the agricultural community and of the outstanding commitment our team has shown.
A special thank you to Assistant to the Deputy Administrator Houston Bruck for his kind words and recognition of our team’s efforts. It’s truly an honor to collaborate with USDA and support its mission to strengthen and empower farmers nationwide.
⚾Take Us Out to the Ball Game⚾
In what’s quickly becoming an annual tradition, Summit staff attended a Washington Nationals game in July. While the game didn’t go quite the way we hoped, we still got to have a wonderful time hanging with colleagues from across the company and enjoying the nice summer weather!
☔A Little Rain Couldn’t Stop Summit Field Day☔
We refused to let the remnants of Tropical Storm Debby spoil our field day (although it did mean we had to move inside)! In August, Summiteers took to the halls of our office for sack races, bean bag toss, tug-of-war, and delicious food and drinks. A great time was had by all, and we got to catch up and have some silly fun with our colleagues.
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