Obama: IT Improves Government

President Obama plans to send a memo to senior executives in government urging them to focus on the administration's Accountable Government Initiative, which aims to cut waste, reform contracting and close the information technology gap, among other goals. And IT is at the center of the reforms.

The Washington Post obtained a draft copy of the president's memo, which includes some specific remarks about the importance of IT in reforming how government works.

As the most senior managers in the federal government, you know how essential the work you and your colleagues do is to the nation. You also are aware what happens when your best efforts are thwarted by outdated technologies and outmoded ways of doing business. You understand the consequences of accepting billions of dollars in waste as the cost of doing business and allowing obsolete or under-performing programs to continue year after year.

The administration will rely on the new website Performance.gov to track managers' progress in meeting the initiative's goals, as federal Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients outlined in a Sept. 9 memo.

We have made this performance information accessible to all Federal managers through Performance.gov, and will be opening the site to the public later this fall. This one-stop shop for Federal performance information will provide access to management dashboards related to each performance strategy. It will also provide in-depth information on agency priority goals and key performance indicators, measures, and milestones. Performance.gov will provide unmatched transparency on government performance and will help create the clarity and the culture of accountability required to achieve meaningful improvements.