Page 24 - FCW, August 30, 2016

Workforce
Tony Scott
A different caliber of person
The idea of the CIO as full business part- ner is not new, of course. In a 2010 road- map, the Partnership for Public Service noted that the Clinger-Cohen Act declares that “CIOs are responsible for providing advice and assistance to agency heads on IT acquisition and resource manage- ment; maintaining and facilitating the implementation of a sound and integrated IT architecture; monitoring performance of IT programs; using metrics to evalu- ate the performance of those programs; and modifying or terminating programs or projects, as necessary.”
That law, however, was implemented ineffectively at best. And former Commerce Department CIO Alan Balutis echoed Spires’ concerns about incumbents’ aptitude. Balutis, who is
now a distinguished fellow and senior director of Cisco’s North American pub- lic sector, told FCW that a good num- ber of CIOs still function as though they were directors of information resource management and charged primarily with keeping email and other internal systems up and running.
“It really wasn’t that long ago that you heard CIOs out on the circuit talking about...managing the internal depart- mental management systems” but not being responsible for mission IT, Balutis said.
In his former job at Commerce, he added, that mindset would have meant “I would have no responsibility as CIO for the patent system modernization, for the decennial census, for the National Weather Service’s
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August 30, 2016 FCW.COM
Federal digital transformation: What’s next for USDS an
BY KYMM McCABE
It’s no secret that exciting Digital Age technologies such as cloud, mobile and social media are allowing us to connect and cre- ate value across boundaries and changing the nature of human interaction and invention.
As a result, Americans
have new expectations and needs.They are no longer passive recipients of govern- ment services.They want to
be engaged actively, provided choices, afforded convenience and enlightened with content tailored to them.They expect information and value delivered in every interaction.
And government leaders are thinking differently about how their agencies engage with the public and with their employees so that those interactions are more consistent with everyday life outside the government ecosystem.Transitioning from Industrial Age business process- es to Digital Age agile, mobile,
flexible and data-driven solu- tions has become a high priority for government, but it is clearly a mammoth undertaking.
As the largest purchasing entity in the world, the U.S. government is not built to implement solutions at digital speed. The challenge is marked by a federal technology work- force that has nine workers over age 50 for every one under 30, according to the Professional Services Council. Millennials account for just 7 percent of the government workforce, com- pared to 34 percent representa- tion in the general economy and more than 50 percent at some leading companies.
Digital at an inflection point
Due in part to the scarcity of digital talent inside government and the pressures to move quickly, the General Services Administration created 18F
in spring 2014 — now part of GSA’s Technology Transforma-
tion Service (TTS) — and the White House launched the U.S. Digital Service (USDS)
in late summer of that year. Although 18F and USDS oper- ate somewhat differently, both foster digital transformation by helping agency leaders under- stand and implement new approaches, business models and technologies.
USDS provides rapid- response technology support when urgently needed, whereas 18F works with agencies to build digital understanding, test projects and develop contract vehicles to give the government access to private-sector partners that can help expand the gov- ernment’s capabilities and talent in desired digital areas.
18F and USDS provide criti- cal skill sets that complement the expertise of the technology industry. Government agencies sorely need a cadre of talented, digital-savvy professionals who can help them start or acceler- ate their digital transformation.
Without that expertise, agencies risk being mired in the Industrial Age — behind the times and behind other nations.
Lawmakers recently sought to learn more about the activi- ties and accomplishments of the now two-year-old 18F and USDS. A June 10 hearing held by the House Oversight and Government Reform Commit- tee’s IT Subcommittee shed some light on the potentially significant value those entities can bring to the government’s digital journey and the factors critical to realizing that value.
In testimony before the com- mittee, then-TTS Commissioner Phaedra Chrousos described an 18F initiative with the Depart- ment of Health and Human Services to revamp the agency’s request for proposals process from a waterfall-type approach to an agile, user-centered and open-platform framework.
USDS Administrator Mikey Dickerson highlighted USDS’ efforts to improve services