Survey: Fewer federal CIOs report directly to agency heads

Fewer chief information officers report directly to their agency heads, according to a recent survey, and some say that could mean government's top information technology officials have less of a voice in management decisions.

Significantly more CIOs reported to their chief financial officers in 2007 compared with the previous year, according to the Information Technology Association of America's 18th annual CIO survey. The report, which covered 46 CIOs and deputy CIOs across 30 agencies, also revealed that information security was still a top priority and that significantly fewer CIOs had been in their positions for more than four years.

"The law of the land says that the CIO must report to the secretary," Ed Meagher, the Interior Department's deputy CIO, said at a conference sponsored by the ITAA and Potomac Forum in Washington on Wednesday. "Unfortunately, most CIOs are moving down, not up the food chain. It has to do with culture and the fact that somebody's cheese is being moved by having the CIO at the table, making decisions about not just IT but spending priorities and processes that affect how they do the mission."

ITAA said the reason for the drop in direct reports could be that more CIOs were surveyed. Also, the trend of reporting to CFOs was consistent with that of the private sector, the group said. More than 80 percent of CIOs said they were part of their agency's executive management team, a figure consistent with 2006 results.

"I think what it really comes down to is whether or not there is support [for IT governance] at the most senior levels of an organization," said Simon Szykman, CIO at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. "If it's not there, nothing else matters. People go around processes, decisions are made where funding doesn't follow....it all comes down to senior leadership."

In identifying their top challenges, IT and cybersecurity came out on top, as they have for the past several years. Casey Coleman, CIO of the General Services Administration, and Szykman said they were heartened by recent progress in those areas, but Meagher was not so optimistic.

"The only meaningful metric is where we are today and where we need to be. That gap is huge, we need to close it," he said. "We've build a multitrillion-dollar economy on top of an academic game [the Internet], and essentially security hasn't kept up. Until the CIO is in the appropriate discussions, talking about security and why it's important, we're never going to get buy-in."

Other priorities CIOs noted were the mounting push toward standardization and consolidation, as well the IT workforce and its anticipated retirement wave in 2010. All three CIOs on the panel disagreed with the survey's findings that the government was having difficulty recruiting talent in the field. "I've read that today's youth is more interested in doing good things than making money," said Szykman. "Government service is looking more appealing to young people than in the past." He added that practices such as telecommuting, and flexible schedules and work policies could help to attract and retain future employees.

"I disagree with the survey. Working with the government is one of the greatest jobs around," said Meagher. "We give our young folks great opportunity; all they have to do is seize it. There is more than enough talent coming up, we have superstars behind us. What we've got to fix is that it takes a year to hire them."

The report also noted that 20 percent fewer CIOs surveyed had tenures of more than four years, compared with the previous year. Meagher said the intense workload and demands of the job contribute to turnover. But Szykman said the survey did not specify whether CIOs were leaving because of burnout or simply to pursue new challenges. ITAA acknowledged that the transition to a new presidential administration could be a significant factor.