Innovation at Work in Government

Reading through the Federal IT media and even mainstream media we are seeing two words in close proximity fairly frequently - government and innovation. These two words once thought to be polar opposites are now enjoying a new relationship. On the whole, government agencies are being encouraged to step away from the, "this is how we've always done it" mentality and looking for ways to deliver government to the people in a more modern and efficient way. Much of this encouragement is in the form of mandates as well as out of necessity with aging legacy infrastructures.

So how is this innovation happening? First, there are organizations designed to help agencies make the shift from traditional government thinking to a more forward-leaning, private sector model of technology development and change management.[Tweet "How is innovation happening in #Government? #GovEventsBlog #Innovation"]

• President Obama launched 18F, an office within the General Services Administration, designed to help "other agencies fix technical problems, build products, and improve how government serves the public through technology." While there has been controversy around how this office delivered technology, it was a huge step in introducing a new way of looking at how the government can procure and build digital solutions.

• The Trump Administration has created the White House Office of Innovation, an organization looking beyond just technology and toward reforming policies and processes that can make an impact on the efficient and efficacy of government.

Second, there are mandates. These rulings work within the traditional confines of government setting rules and procedures around the desired change. Current key mandates driving innovation are:

• DATA Act - The Digital Accountability and Transparency Act aims to make Federal spending data more accessible, searchable, and reliable. The goal is to standardize how agencies collect and report spending data so that it can be collected and analyzed centrally for a more holistic look at how taxpayer dollars are spent. May 2017 is a key deadline for submitting data. While this deadline will be missed by a number of agencies, all are working toward the goal of standardized financial reporting.[Tweet "Key mandates driving government innovation: #DATAact and #DCOI. #GovEventsBlog"]

• Data Center Modernization -- The Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) "requires agencies to develop and report on data center strategies to consolidate inefficient infrastructure, optimize existing facilities, achieve cost savings, and transition to more efficient infrastructure, such as cloud services and inter-agency shared services." There are specific benchmarks related to optimal data center usage as well as energy usage required by those centers. Agencies will have to meet these required numbers in order to continue operating their centers and prove that capacity is maxed out before they can build new centers.

In order to meet modernization goals and mandates government is looking outside itself like never before. Traditionally, it was thought government only wanted to hear about case studies and use cases from other government agencies - commercial applications of technology would not apply to the unique environment of government. This mindset is changing. A recent study from Market Connections found that "insight from government thought leaders" ranked relatively low in terms of important content features for government buyers. Vendors hosting public sector events are bringing in private sector customers and executives to share their experiences and attendees are embracing the input.[Tweet "To meet modernization goals government is looking outside itself like never before. #GovEventsBlog"]

Innovation will continue to be a hot topic across government. A search on GovEvents finds around 60 upcoming events that mention the word innovation. Attending these and other events is one of the best ways to stay up-to-date on how government is changing and how you can introduce the innovation trend into your organization.