Words from Vivek Kundra

Based on the audio excerpts, Vivek Kundra, Federal CIO, plans to help push Federal IT towards more transparency and accountability. He talks about how he and the administration are transforming the role of technology in government — away from spending on infrastructure, and toward spending on its customer, the American people.

There are the four goals behind his work. First, Transparency and Open Government – President Obama has already signed a memo on the principles that government should be open, collaborative and participatory. Second, Engaging Citizens – beyond transparency and providing information that the private sector can use to innovate, the government should provide ways for citizens to actually be involved in daily government operations. Third, Lowering the Cost of Government Operations – Kundra wants to use technology more effectively by doing “a better job managing its more than 4 million employees and more than 10,000 IT systems”. Especially, he wants to change how investments are rationalized by focusing more on the outcomes and less on processes. The options to reduce the spending include greater adoption of cloud computing services and use of free and open-source technologies. Finally, Find the Innovative Path – the innovations that should be looked at need to focus on citizens, and be targeted towards providing services more efficiently. Technology should be thought of as an enabler, and a conduit towards the provision of services, rather than as a necessity in itself. Enabling Web 2.0 technology in government requires a change in mindset for many within government. These technologies focus on letting go of control, and being more collaborative and transparent in how government operations are conducted. Government must be more willing to take risks in order to innovate and become more efficient.