Fourth, establish a dual reporting status for this position, first to the secretary and second to the deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget or, better yet, a new special assistant to the president. For starters, members of this interagency management group would frame a common operating environment, create standards, develop and implement a digital signature standard, and see to data and infrastructure security. Include state and local representatives and perhaps a few private sector individuals on this council. Such an organization would create ownership, a sense of being part of something important and larger than stovepiped departmental functions. It would create an environment for e-government to work.
Procurement also needs further reform.
Today agencies and departments buy and sell goods to themselves and other agencies and departments. A better way would be an independent General Services Administration housing a highly skilled procurement work force managing the majority of procurement vehicles. With this model, CIOs would have real power within their organizations and also be part of a larger e-government program. The so-called seat at the table is important because cultures at the federal level are strong. But at its core, e-government is about recalibrating government to the immediate needs of a new economy.