Watching President Obama being sworn in this morning on TV had a feel of watching history being made. Even from a distance, it’s hard not to feel a sense of renewal, hope, and a sombre but confident resilience to face the challenges ahead.
Those challenges are of course very real. Even as the President was being sworn in, the signs were clear. Such as the US stock markets dipping more than 5%, a record decline on an inauguration day. The British Pound sinking to levels last seen in 2001. Beyond the global economy, many challenges abound.
At the same time, there is plenty of advice on how to respond to these challenges. Many groups, both in the US and across the world, have added to the expectations of change by taking this as an opportunity to provide their thoughts on the agenda, directions, and values that the new US administration should follow.
One notable example is from the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council, consisting of the US Federal Government’s major CIOs. They have prepared a Transition Guide to initiate a dialogue with the new administration on ways to improve IT management and shape the future of government.
The Guide lists six opportunities for using technology and information to enhance government’s ability to serve citizens:
1. Empowering the Government through information sharing
2. Protecting the networks and systems required in the Information Age
3. Tapping the power of a collaborative citizenry
4. Leveraging scale-economies and combined expertise to achieve best practices and act as an “Enterprise”
5. Ensuring the Federal Government is an “Employer of Choice”
6. Focusing on environmental responsibility
If we were to ask the New Zealand Government’s CIOs for their list of opportunities “that strategically, effectively and efficiently uses IT to serve and protect our citizens”, it would probably not be very different. One likely addition is better value from increasingly limited resources (money and people).
With good advice plentiful, the challenge is not so much in knowing the right things to do. It is in the doing- producing tangible results; making a difference; and acting swiftly yet with purpose.
Looking ahead, that to me is the challenge we all have in 2009.
