The federal Chief Information Officers Council has released a report that includes an independent analysis of the current federal information technology environment as well as recommendations for the new administration.The CIO Council said it collaborated with two contractor teams to produce content for the “State of Federal Information Technology” report.
A REI Systems-Incapsulate partnership focused on agencies’ perspective and the current policy landscape while a Gartner another research on how to apply lessons and practices from non-federal organizations.
Both industry teams also interviewed government chief information officers, chief information security officers and other federal IT leaders.
The report outlines 13 recommendations based on findings from interviews as well as government data, reports and testimony to help the new administration boost federal IT.
The council recommended agencies and CIOs to adopt best practices from the private sector and measure the success of IT projects through customer experience instead of “traditional” measures such as cost savings or data center closures.
The Office of Management and Budget‘s Office of the Federal CIO should create a data analysis and research team that will coordinate and oversee data collection efforts, the report noted.
According to the council, OMB should establish a customer-oriented approach for the development and implementation of government-wide policies; hire and retain personnel with agency-based and government-wide experience; and foster CIO engagement with the acquisition, human resources and financial community.
The report also called on OMB to designate the CIO Council as the official government center for IT knowledge management; work with Congress to establish a central source of IT funds; provide common cybersecurity resources for agencies; and partner with oversight groups to optimize data quality.
The council urged the new administration to foster collaboration between the procurement community, CIOs and
industry; clarify the role of CIOs and other IT-related positions; establish a framework for federal IT strategy; and create a centralized IT system for small agencies.
