Federal Chief Information Officer and Wash100 Award winner Gregory Barbaccia has issued a memo to government agency CIOs outlining his priorities for 2026, Federal News Network reported Friday. Among the dozen priorities discussed in the memo — which FNN had obtained — are those that appear to bolster the ability of CIOs to oversee the manner in which their respective agencies acquire technologies.
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How Does the Memo Strengthen the CIO’s Role in Technology Acquisition?
In one part of the memo, Barbaccia flags the practice by some agencies of incorporating into solicitations requirements of dubious relevance, saying such requirements “inadvertently, or intentionally, box out new entrants.” To the agency CIOs, he said, “Please share with your contracting counterparts that they could expect a call from me requiring clarification about how an eligibility requirement directly and specifically impacts the potential success of a project.”
Elsewhere in the memo, Barbaccia expressed his intent to foster a deeper engagement with technology vendors by, among other things, advocating for common agency challenges and aligning industry support to where it is most needed via the establishment of a unified government CIO perspective.
The federal CIO also called for regular meetings with leaders of technology suppliers and expressed his support for changes to procurement practices and regulations governing small businesses aiming for government IT contracts.
Government IT Leadership and Acquisition Priorities
The memo is the latest of Barbaccia’s pronouncements concerning government IT leadership and acquisition priorities. In May last year, the federal CIO sent out an email outlining 16 operating principles for IT leaders of government agencies. In that email, Barbaccia called on government CIOs to build trust, exercise good judgment when performing their duties and own the outcome of their decisions.
“This is not a typical government shop. We are here to fix what’s broken and build what’s missing,” Barbaccia said regarding the role of being CIO in a government agency.
Harmonizing with that statement, Barbaccia announced in June via email that he would prefer to speak with organizations that offer solutions rather than those that “define problems” — particularly research, advisory and strategy consulting companies. Barbaccia also advised government CIOs to cancel meetings with strategy firms or ask for a summary of solutions or deliverables they offer.
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