2013: The road ahead

There are important initiatives underway that can't be set aside, despite budget obstacles. Find out how far along each one is, and its prospects for progress in the coming year.

 

Nobody doubts that 2013 is going to be a tough year for the federal government. While Congress managed to avert the January “fiscal cliff,” the deal deferred most budget decisions until new high-stakes deadlines in February, March and April.

Still, there are important policy and technology initiatives under way in the federal government that will continue to unfold, tight funding or not. The increased attention to every dime spent means those initiatives will be subject to more questions and challenges from lawmakers, watchdog groups and the public. Yet they are too crucial to the government’s mission and too integral to its success to be put aside.

Here, FCW examines some of those critical areas and gauges the prospects for real progress in the year ahead. Click the links at right to read the individual stories.