[Open letter to the new federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra and new federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra]
Gentlemen:
Below are given 10 specific reccommentations with respect to IT policy initiatives which the Obama Administration might consider, to help make the federal government more efficient, effective, transparent, and useful.
As one of its last official acts, on January 14th, 2009, the previous Administration released a study by Dr. Marburger's OSTP, entitled "Harnessing the Power of Digital Data for Science and Society". Its recommendations should be implemented, but it doesnt go nearly far enough; a follow-on study should be undertaken immediately with a broader - and more specific - mandate.
The following suggestions are vendor-independent and do not entail large new investments in hardware or dramatic changes in the deployed computer infrastructure of any federal agency.