Intuitive decision support tools for public officials. Archiving and electronic records management. With most information now residing in electronic rather than physical files, issues such as record definition and content, version control, public access, and ongoing preservation affect the ability of government to function efficiently and maintain history and accountability. In subsequent discussions among the participants, a number of issues emerged that need to be addressed to make research collaborations more effective. Although academic research can have a significant influence on government practices, the government and research communities have very different value systems that need to be taken into account.
Government is risk-averse by design, and research is quite the opposite.
These competing values need to be addressed through the development of new models for informing and integrating practice and research. With the devolution of government services and increased demand for measurable performance at every level, all levels of government need to be accounted for in the research program. Since citizens and businesses most often interact with government at the state and local levels, the needs for intergovernmental support and research are significant. In order to be successful, the research program will need to address the technical, management, policy, and organizational factors that go into successful systems. With this diverse set of research questions and objectives, the research effort should include a variety of research methods, including case studies and experimental testbeds.