Growing agency talent is critical for modernization, Transportation’s IT head says
DOT CIO Pavan Pidugu speaks at Google Cloud Next in Las Vegas, Nevada. Adam Czarnecki/Staff
“When there is support and excitement, then you can do magic,” Pavan Pidugu, the Transportation Department’s chief digital and information officer, said about engaging personnel across the agency to drive meaningful IT modernization.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — Building out new technology capabilities within the Transportation Department is the relatively easy part of modernization; working to ensure that personnel have the resources and training they need to leverage the tools effectively is one of the real challenges, the agency’s digital and IT lead said on Monday.
During a keynote speech at GITEC 2026, Transportation’s chief digital and information officer, Pavan Pidugu, said the agency’s “1DOT” initiative has been focused on enhancing the efficiency of its IT infrastructure. Pidugu was a 2026 Fed100 winner for driving that initiative by unifying disparate internal organizations and systems into the streamlined 1DOT operating model.
“We're simplifying the way we work,” Pidugu said about the effort. “We're simplifying the assets that we have, the technology applications we have, and we are unifying our processes to make the best use of technology that's available today.”
While this includes streamlining processes through modernization — not an easy lift, by any means — Pidugu said “building the new technology probably is the easiest thing” when it comes to changing business-as-usual across Transportation.
“What are the challenges that we face today? While we are in this major transformational journey, there are lots of gaps, and our people, our processes need to change,” he said.
To not frustrate agency employees during this modernization effort, Pidugu said Transportation has been looking to use the process to build out opportunities for employees.
"We're going through a monumental and historic change that the department has never encountered or went through,” he added. “How can we make it fun? How can we help our people achieve their personal and professional goals?”
To accentuate this process, Pidugu said the agency is “creating lots of new opportunities for our workforce in growing our talent.”
Transportation’s most recent IT strategic plan, which delves into the 1DOT initiative, includes a focus on growing agency talent alongside the broader push to eliminate its technical debt.
The document says the agency is looking to accomplish this goal by pushing to “invest in our Federal workforce’s technical capability via skills assessments, targeted training (cloud-native, Agile, data/AI, security), rotations and mentorship, competency-based hiring, and performance-based recognition to retain and scale institutional expertise.”
To further empower its workforce and grow talent, Pidugu said Transportation has also been looking to industry to help with some of these efforts.
“Not everything can be done within the DOT in-house,” he added. “We're a small organization. We have limited resources as appropriated through the funding channels. There is a lot of work to be done, so we are trying to make sure, ‘where do we establish those partnerships with the industry?’ We're making sure what innovation we can influence in the industry to support our needs. And through those partnerships, we're just beginning.”
But, right now, Pidugu said internal buy-in from the entire department is the major key to success.
“There should be a lot of support from leadership all the way from the top,” he said. “There should be a lot of excitement all the way from the bottom also. When there is support and excitement, then you can do magic.”