Government leaders must align the business of government with the tools it needs to perform effectively, efficiently and securely or risk seriously handicapping agencies from accomplishing their mission, declared a leading public-private partnership group.

In a report released Tuesday, the ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation asserted that information, and the technologies needed to collect and analyze it, will continue to play an increasingly crucial role in meeting the needs of citizens, as well as public sector managers.

As a result, agencies need to take greater steps to ensure that information technology, and the executives who manage it, are not merely an enabler of operations, but more fully aligned with government’s core objectives. The report is one of series of calls to action aimed at senior government leaders, issued by the American Council of Technology and the Industry Advisory Council.

The report redefines the role of the chief information officer, declaring that the CIO in today’s environment must serve as the agency’s Change agent, Innovator and Operations leader.

The CIO’s traditional role of managing data and overseeing IT investments and infrastructure has been complicated by the decentralized organizational structure of most departments, diffused budgets and a common lack of understanding about the power of technology to transform business processes, the report said.

These challenges all remain – but today, there is an even more acute need for transformational change powered by new technological capabilities.

The report recommended that agencies need to take three critical steps if CIO’s and agencies are to develop agile, outcome-based operations through technology:

1. Align business and information technology to meet the mission effectively. Specifically, agencies need to:

• Align political leadership and the CIO to the administration and the Secretary’s priorities. Build a strong collaborative partnership among the Deputy Secretary, the CIO and other executive leaders.
• Empower the CIO to oversee key and appropriate agency-wide strategic initiatives.
• Ensure the CIO has the requisite technical, management and customer service knowledge and skill, including the capability to understand organizational business needs and technology for mission units.
• Build the capability to construct innovative solutions to meet future needs, including assembling the optimal workforce to deliver those solutions.

2. Align business and information technology to meet the mission efficiently. Specifically, agencies need to:

• Align cost saving opportunities to the organization’s funding structure, cost structures, and investment lifecycles.
• Appoint the Deputy Secretary, CIO, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Acquisition Officer, other executive leaders as appropriate and senior program managers to an IT governance board.
• Authorize that board to make IT investment decisions consistent with the agency enterprise architecture, investment plan and cost savings strategy.
• Empower the CIO to lead the IT governance board and advise executive management on cost control, cost reduction, savings reinvestment and other efficiency opportunities – and hold the CIO accountable.

3. Align business and information technology to maintain a culture of continuity and vigilance on security. The threats to agency IT systems and their data – and their ability to function – are increasing exponentially. Aligning IT and business infuses a more inclusive culture of shared responsibility. Continuity and security are important to promote confidence by citizens who expect government services to available and accurate and trust that data provided to the government is held private and secure.

Agencies therefore need to:

• Conduct business continuity and security governance at the enterprise level.
• Monitor business continuity and security threats continuously against a business continuity plan that is updated often enough to ensure currency with information technology and threat advances.
• Maintain a culture of vigilance and security within the enterprise to reduce internal threats and the likelihood of human error.

As the demands on the CIO continue to grow, so must measures to ensure the CIO’s success. The report outlined the following critical success factors for a CIO if agencies are to address the challenges they face:

1. Hire the right person for the job.

2. Align political leadership and the CIO to clearly defined administration and departmental priorities and build a strong collaborative partnership among the top departmental management executives.

3. Empower the CIO to lead the department’s IT governance board, hold board members accountable, and manage processes that monitor the implementation of IT governance board decisions.

4. Empower the CIO to oversee key and appropriate agency or government-wide strategic initiatives.

The report was prepared by a group of more than 100 volunteers from government and industry to address some of the nation’s most pressing challenges, as part the ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation’s Quadrennial Government Technology Review. (Breaking Gov is a sponsoring member of the Institute for Innovation.)