Some time ago I was asked by the U.S. General Services Administration to write an article describing how I envision the role of public sector CIOs. The article has now been published (Role of the Public Sector CIO) along side articles by Karen Evans, John Suffolk, Bill Vajda, Teri Takai, P.K. Agarwal, Jerry Mechling, Ken Cochrane and other influential leaders in government. I highlighted four priorities: infusing web 2.0 principles into government service delivery strategies, wikifying the public sector workplace, providing an infrastructure of large-scale digital engagement, and tackling the thorny issues of security and privacy. If you don’t care to read the entire article, I’ve posted the punchline below:

Transforming the structures of government from command-and-control hierarchies to innovative and agile networks of public and private participants is proving to be a major challenge. Deep and resilient legacies combine to frustrate progress. Common obstacles to change include conflicting timeframes and motives, particularly between the public service and politicians; a lack of incentives to innovate; and the absence of urgency in many quarters.

Persuasion has long been one of government’s most crucial powers, and CIOs will be called upon to master the art. Some early challenges will include:

• Persuading agencies to experiment with Web 2.0 technologies and new strategies for delivering services;
• Persuading managers that social networking technologies are not a distraction but an essential tool in today’s workplace;
• Persuading customers that data sharing will result in greater convenience and higher quality services.

It is truly a time when government either plays an active and positive role in its own transformation or change will happen to it. The transformation process is at the same time exhilarating and painful, but the price of inaction is a lost opportunity for government to redefine its role in a new golden age of democracy. Public sector CIOs can and should be leaders in driving this change.