Research: Government 2.0
Government 2.0: Technology Leadership Redefined
Just days after taking office, President Barack Obama signed a memo directing his CTO to develop by the end of May recommendations for an Open Government Directive. Obama outlined three key goals to be furthered by this directive: increase transparency, provide more opportunities for citizens to participate in government and encourage collaboration among agencies. Obama's memo made it clear that technology was the driving means to accomplish these objectives, which together comprise what has been dubbed "Government 2.0."
Today, as the leaves change in Washington and stores begin stocking Halloween candy, we're still waiting to see the recommendations that were due in May. Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra, who is working with the director of OMB and the administrator of General Services on the project, says release is imminent. But the months-long delay is a clear indicator of just how difficult it will be to move toward the Government 2.0 ideal.
Difficult, and expensive at a time when public-sector budgets are already squeezed.
While Chopra says he does not expect the Open Government Directive to require a substantial, near-term investment in new technologies, heavy responsibilities will likely fall on the shoulders of agency and department CIOs when it comes to implementation. There are also fundamental policy issues that must be addressed if new technology platforms are to have any chance of success. In fact, our most recent InformationWeek Analytics Survey of 177 federal government technology professionals reveals a wide range of both technical and management challenges. Confronting them will require new ideas and approaches, and in this report, we’ll highlight issues and opportunities and discuss strategies real-world agency IT leaders can use to drive their organizations forward.
Table of Contents
4 Author's Bio
5 Executive Summary
6 Research Synopsis
7 Bold Visions
9 Mountains to Climb
11 The Good News
15 Help Wanted?
18 Procurement Reform
19 Action List for IT Leaders
20 Come Together
21 I'll Take One of Those
23 Processing the Future
24 Meeting the Challenge
25 Appendix
About the Author
Michael Biddick is president and CTO of Fusion PPT and an InformationWeek Analytics contributor. He has worked with hundreds of government and telecommunications service providers in the development of operational management solutions. Most recently he has supported the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Defense in the deployment of ITIL-based processes that are utilized to make their organizations more transparent and cost effective. Certified in several ITIL lifecycle service areas, Michael is also able to leverage over a decade of operational tool design and implementation experience with service desks, network management systems and consolidated management portals in making enterprise architecture decisions.
Prior to joining Fusion PPT, Michael spent 10 years with Windward IT Solutions and also worked with Booz Allen Hamilton in its Enterprise Network Services group, developing network management solutions for a wide variety of both government and commercial clients. He also served on the academic staff of the University of Wisconsin Law School as the Director of Technology, heading up all aspects of IT management for the organization.
Michael earned a Master of Science from Johns Hopkins University and a dual Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. As a contributing technology editor to InformationWeek and Network Computing, he has authored over 50 articles including reports on cloud computing, government IT strategies, SaaS, and IT process improvement.
