Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel has requested government funds for a Digital Service project geared toward improving information technology delivery, FCW reported Thursday.
Adam Mazmanian writes the service will involve hiring outside professionals to form a technical team tasked to work on complex IT projects, with possible tie-ups with 18F, the General Service Administration’s own version of a lean startup dedicated to strengthen federal IT.
VanRoekel said the projects could involve developing compatible platforms, managing public-facing IT programs and looking at planned initiatives in advance such as the 2020 Census and Social Security Administration modernization.
“By bringing this team in to work with the agencies proactively to do a deep engagement, it’ll all be about figuring out where they are in-flight and then applying recommendations,†VanRoekel told reporters after a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on IT acquisition this week.
“It’s really about working side by side with them (to identify gaps, what approaches aren’t working, which solutions to take to address that and conduct regular check-ins to ensure transparency),” he added.
VanRoekel revealed that several tier-one contractors have already signified their intention to cooperate in the venture by lending consultation and analysis support on a project basis.
“We’ve talked to some leading, cutting edge private-sector companies about establishing programs where their sabbatical program could support a rotation in government,” he told the reporters.
