One of the ways the council has made an impact is to give an issue or an idea its stamp of approval, Baker said. He points to the administration s e-government initiatives as an example. The council, he said, was instrumental in the launch of FirstGov, a project announced in June to create a single Internet portal to federal services, programs and information Three council members sit on FirstGov s board of directors. In addition, the council raised awareness among agencies and Congress on the need to secure government networks, Web sites and other IT infrastructure, said Jim Flyzik, vice chairman of the council and CIO at the Treasury Department. Congress still hasn t given us the funding we need, but it was the council that made them aware of it.
Security is now on the table.
But other chief information officers think the council needs more clout and a bigger role in setting government IT policies. Daryl White, chief information officer at the Interior Department, believes the council should be an independent body with the authority to decide IT policies. I learn a lot of best practices. We need to be more than that, White said. Flyzik agrees the council should have a bigger voice.