Welcome to Nextgov. We believe you’ll find this site to be unlike any other covering the federal information technology community.

Technology is changing the way government operates and the kinds of challenges and controversies federal IT professionals face every day. Nextgov, as in the next-generation government, has been created to help all of the people involved in the development and use of technology in the federal arena manage through these changes.

As we have done for more than 10 years at our sister site GovernmentExecutive.com, we’ll bring you the latest federal IT news, written by the knowledgeable and talented reporting staffs of both Nextgov and Government Executive. The difference will be that the volume and breadth of the coverage of the federal IT community will increase. You’ll also find the latest IT management tips, advice and theories from inside the government as well as from the private sector and academia.

Nextgov doesn’t stop there. As you are aware, the online world is changing not only government but media. Just as the federal government has begun to test the waters of social networking, blogging and other online applications, Nextgov does too. Unlike traditional media, which feature one-way conversations from journalists and editors to readers, we’re opening the site to everyone involved in the process of procuring, managing and benefiting from IT systems -- federal IT managers, contractors, consultants and nontechnical program managers.

A founding principle behind Nextgov (and why its partnership with GovernmentExecutive.com is so vital) is to bring IT out of the IT shop and into the government “board room,” where information technology can inform and direct major public policy decisions and help set agency mission strategies. To learn exactly why this is so important to the future of government, read “The Forest and the Trees,” the cover story in the March 1 issue of Government Executive, written by Nextgov Senior Reporter Jill R. Aitoro.

Nextgov takes advantage of the Web’s ability to open up discussions among thousands, if not millions, of individuals. The Forum is an online community where you can join conversations on any IT subject. You can comment on the latest issues, ask a question of your colleagues or answer one. Want to find someone who may be able to solve that nagging technical problem? Post a question. Need advice on your career? Post a question. Puzzled by project management? Post a question. Then help others find answers to their tough problems. By doing so, you’ll tap into the depth of experience and talent across government and the private sector.

We also know that you have varied interests that go beyond IT. So, we’ve included an area in the Forum called Off-Topic, a place to go to talk about anything other than IT and government. While doing so, please follow our rules for posting comments: “By using this Service you agree not to post material that is obscene, harassing, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable."

We’re also excited about our group blog, called Tech Insider. We’ve pulled together some of the most experienced and respected leaders who collectively have hundreds of years’ experience managing IT in the federal government. They’ll post items on their areas of expertise, which include information security, IT management, new technologies, legal issues, politics, budgeting, workplace issues, risk management and much more. The Tech Insider bloggers not only will provide their latest insight into today’s IT news, but they will discuss online among themselves what their fellow bloggers are saying. We invite you to join in their discussions. This is your chance to tell these experts -- and your Nextgov colleagues -- your views.

Finally, Nextgov was developed to serve as a research tool for your work. Not only will we post stories written by Nextgov and Government Executive reporters, we’ll post stories throughout the day from other publications and newswires that cover the federal IT space. We want to make it as easy as possible for you to find the news you need to do your job -- no matter who publishes it. That means putting in one place all the links to news, features, videos, how-to articles, tips, advice columns and discussions.

In addition, we’ll also provide white papers from industry. You’ll also find tutorials on various subjects, such as upcoming screen casts on what makes a certain government Web sites popular and where in the country all the federal IT spending is going.

The interactive features won’t stop there. We already are working on the next version of Nextgov that will bring you more of what the online world can offer, such as self-assessment tests, benchmarking, career tools and chances to build communities of interests. We’ll learn what you like and what you don’t. In any case, please let us know what you think by e-mailing us -- or better yet, go into the Forum, start a thread and tell us. Don’t forget to offer solutions and ideas on how to make the site better.

We encourage you to make this your site, your community. With Nextgov, you now have the chance to play a role in where the federal IT is headed and to shape its agenda. Where this will lead, we can only imagine. This is an experiment, after all. But we invite you to join us and your colleagues to learn what the site can do to inform and educate not only you, but those outside of the traditional IT roles -- and possibly improve the way government works.

Let’s see what happens.

Allan Holmes
Executive Editor