April 30, 2009 By Tod Newcombe, Editor
Vivek Kundra, President Barack Obama's new federal CIO, spoke to some old and familiar colleagues Thursday when he addressed the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) during their midyear conference in Baltimore. The one-time chief technology officer of the District of Columbia began by acknowledging the important contributions made by state IT leaders during the president's transition period prior to his inauguration.
"We had multiple conversations with CIOs across the country, talking about how do we advance a 21st-century technology agenda to move the country forward, and how do we ensure that we are taking into consideration what it takes when it comes to interacting with the American people," said Kundra. He worked on the administration's transition team for technology before his appointment as the nation's first federal CIO.
With $787 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Kundra touched on the key issue that intersects IT with the federal government's stimulus plan: transparency.
"How do you ensure that you have the right technologies that enable that transparency?" he asked. Kundra answered by pointing to the guidance the transition team received from state CIOs, in terms of setting an architecture and standards to ensure transparency has a chance for success.
Kundra then alluded to one of the reasons he got the job less than two months ago: He pointed out that he has now served at every level of government except tribal, and also has a background in private-sector IT.
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