CIO council strategic plan emphasizes workforce issues

The government's interagency panel of leading information technology officials on Wednesday released a broad three-year strategic plan for strengthening governmentwide IT management.

The first goal of the Chief Information Officers Council is to develop a "cadre of highly capable IT professionals" with the skills necessary to meet agencies' needs. Other goals include delivering information securely and quickly, developing interoperable IT systems across government and establishing an integrated federal IT infrastructure.

The 28-page document indicated that the council intends to conduct governmentwide IT workforce capability surveys in fiscal 2008 and in fiscal 2010, in an attempt to help agencies understand the capabilities of IT employees.

The plan also said the council will champion the Bush administration's effort to streamline back-end IT systems in areas such as human resources and financial management across government, known as the lines of business initiative. IT functions performed "with little differentiation across many, if not all, agencies," can be standardized through shared solutions, according to the strategy.

"Reducing the number of redundant systems decreases both cost and risk while reducing distractions from the performance of agency core missions," the plan stated. "Competitive selection among public and private service providers will leverage economies of scale, reduce costs and increase the quality and consistency of service."

The three-year strategy represents the culmination of efforts by council members and their volunteer staff during the past five months. The council's executive committee approved it on Jan. 5 and distributed it at a Jan. 17 meeting.

President Bush "is committed to making government more effective, and by utilizing and expanding information technology, we can improve services and deliver results for our citizens," said Clay Johnson, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget and executive chair of the council. "This strategy outlines the activities for the CIO Council to do just that."

The plan was developed by a group of experts within government, led by Michelle Schmith, performance leadership and management team leader within the Navy Department's chief information office. David Wennergren, deputy Defense Department CIO and vice chair of the council, appointed Schmith to lead the group.

"Outcome-oriented goals coupled with performance management plans will help to ensure that the council's efforts continue to provide great value to the nation," Wennergren said.

Karen Evans, OMB's administrator for e-government and information technology and director of the CIO council, said the plan represents the council's collective thinking on how to best pursue and achieve important goals. She said the CIO Council's committees -- IT workforce, architecture and infrastructure, and best practices -- will develop more detailed performance plans based on the document.