A Playbook for CIO-Enabled Innovation in the Federal Government

In the federal government, for example, agencies have begun to designate chief technology officers, chief innovation officers, chief data officers, entrepreneurs-in-residence, and similar roles to promote new approaches to innovation. But because many innovations are rooted in the use of technology, agency Chief Information Officers (CIOs) can play a strong role as well. Furthermore, the new Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act creates a statutory requirement for CIOs to help lead agency IT innovation efforts.

For this report, Drs. Dawson and Denford interviewed nearly a dozen senior leaders, most of whom currently or recently served as Federal CIOs in a wide range of federal agencies. The report identifies how these leaders undertook technology innovation initiatives, such as moving agency operations to a cloud environment. They also distilled a series of recommendations for fostering CIO-enabled innovation in other agencies.

This report builds on the Center’s continuing focus on bringing innovation to government, including:

• Creating a Balanced Portfolio of Information Technology Metrics by Kevin Desouza
• A Guide for Making Innovation Offices Work by Rachel Burstein and Alissa Black
• The Persistence of Innovation in Government: A Guide for Innovative Public Servants by Sandford Borins

We hope this report serves as an inspiration to CIOs and innovators everywhere in government.

Read the Federal Computer Week article on the report.