11/17/08 03:32 pm ET
It might just be that the name of the new CTO is less important than we think.
A key message of the Obama campaign and soon-to-be presidency is that government shouldn't be about individuals, it should be about all of us. And if Obama's campaign was about anything, it was about enabling many people to participate via information technology. Take his Web site, for example. Never has it been so easy to work for and donate to a political campaign, no matter who you are. And never has a campaign so quickly converted visitors to supporters. These folks are all about involvement.
So here's a hunch: Under Obama, the Web/social networking team will be more important than the federal CTO. And making heretofore hidden and inscrutable tons of federal data available to and usable by everyone will be more important than the CTO's policy pronouncements. Why data? Because it reveals what is happening in the real world most programs are designed to affect, and because understanding it and applying it and combining it can reveal patterns and trends and deliver insights about the way government is working and ways it can work better.
For a set of small examples of how opening government data to citizens can produce better services look here.
Yes, I did just send you to the government of the District of Columbia for a vision of better government. Shocking, no? Not so much, if you've been following the truly impressive rise of DC's CTO, Vivek Kundra. He's all about crowdsourcing government and he is a whiz at opening things up and letting citizens play.
Key example: the Citywide Data Warehouse where up-to-date stats on everything from crime to road kill are available to all. In fact, that's how all the great mash-ups in the Apps for Democracy contest linked-to above were created. Companies and just plain folks thought up new ways to combine data feeds and Google Earth or cell phones (mostly) to create new software applications to help anyone living in or visiting DC. All of us being smarter than any one of us in action.
And that's why the name of the CTO is becoming less important. Before it even has begun, the Obama presidency already has unleashed an outpouring of ideas and enthusiasm and idealism from people across America who suddenly feel, well, downright enfranchised. I can't imagine that the president-elect will come into office and suddenly morph into a top-down leader whose lieutenants hold fast to the reins. To achieve the kind of technology goals you can read on the Obama Web site will take far more than just one person's vision and talent. It will take an entire administration's worth of openness and daring and adventurousness and rambunctiousness. And it will take an entire country's willingness to pull together, share, collaborate.
Instead, I'll bet the new administration will be opening up the books and casting sunshine on agency records and data wherever possible. In so doing, no doubt it will spur the kind of innovation Kundra has. Why, I'll bet that Google will figure out a way to mash its search results with CDC data to predict the course of the annual flu season even faster than the epidemiologists have in the past. Oops, blink, already happening!
I suppose you could argue that DC's technology revolution and newfound openness couldn't have happened without great leadership, and therefore the CTO really is important after all. OK, if you still want to play the name game, remember Vivek Kundra's.
COMMENTS
The DC Government CTO is a very bright man with a team of very bright co-workers that he has masterly leveraged to build a legacy and a name for DC Government. He deserves a strong look because of his exceptional leadership capabilities. He must not let the notoriety and a novice nature lead him to arrogance if he decides to join the FEDS or if President Elect Obama decides to recruit him do to his connections with Fenty.
Just have to ensure when in the Federal Space he balances his innovative strategies with SECURITY FIRST in mind so that the cyber-threats of social engineering is not taken advantage of my this ever growing terrorist threat. That uses the GOOGLE OPEN CLOUD to make America weak.
APPS for Democracy is good for the public... but it can be a dangerous thing if not secured and scrutinized for the common defense.
Old Soldier 11/30/08 06:51 pm ET
I hope the Obama administration chooses someone, like Kundra, who has already successfully demonstrated a fresh approach to "changing" our government.
Kim Baker 11/20/08 08:15 pm ET
Now if the Obama Administration will let goverment workers choose between iMac's over crappy Dell boxes we can really get work done!!!
John Jira 11/18/08 09:51 am ET
How about getting the people we already have in positions such as CIO and let them do their jobs instead of coming up with some other BS title that will employ another high ranking individual who can muddy the waters even more?!
Bill 11/18/08 08:35 am ET
Thanks, Anne for a nice article. I was involved in judging Apps for Democracy, and I cannot say a single bad thing about it. Amazing example of how a little can do a lot and how the government can open up to the people. @cheeky_geeky
Mark Drapeau 11/18/08 08:24 am ET
Hear! Hear!
Kevin Curry 11/17/08 04:57 pm ET