The Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO), Steve VanRoekel, released a strategy this week entailing a 12-month roadmap that will enable more efficient and coordinated digital service delivery from government agencies.
President Barack Obama issued an executive order in late April requiring executive departments and agencies to identify ways to use innovative technologies to streamline their delivery of services to lower costs, decrease service delivery times, and improve customer service.
“For far too long, the American people have been forced to navigate a labyrinth of information across different government programs in order to find the services they need,” said President Obama.
The plan, titled “Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Serve the American People,” requires agencies to establish central online resources for developers and fully utilize mobile and web-based technologies.
Todd Park, Federal CTO, and Steve VanRoekel, Federal CIO, highlighted the Presidential Innovation Fellows Program on May 23, which consists of five projects that go along with the government digital overhaul.
MyGov will be a prototype citizen-centric system that gives Americans access to information and services available through the federal government.
The Open Data Initiatives Program will stimulate the creation of new apps and services through workshops.
Blue Button for America will enable consumers to securely download electronic copies of their own health information.
RFP-EZ is a project that allows the federal government to procure innovative technology solutions from small, high-growth companies.
The 20% Campaign is a USAID-led initiative that seeks to move from cash to electronic payment mechanisms such as mobile devices and smart cards.
“For decades we’ve been locking government data up in paper files or non-searchable documents. This strategy marks a new data approach,” said VanRoekel.
The Obama administration hopes these programs will reduce waste, save taxpayer money, and improve current systems.
The president has directed each agency to implement the requirements of the strategy by this time next year.
“I think overall the Digital Strategy was very aggressive, which I am in favor. Two of the issues that I thought were the most impactful at first glance for mobile was the idea of a “FedRAMP” type set of security controls for mobile. Also, it promotes common APIs for systems which should make things far easier to develop mobile apps across government.” – Tom Suder, Founder and President of Mobilegov.
