There’s some new help in town for incoming chief technology officers thanks to the Council for Excellence in Government. The council recently formed a first-of-its-kind network to support effective information technology and digital government approaches in the public sector. The network, with a long name and snappy acronym — Chief Information Officers, Senior Advisors to Government Executives, or CIO SAGE — counts among its members more than 25 former federal, state and local chief information officers. Characterized by the council as “public sector CIO all-stars,” the group’s distinctive knowledge and expertise in technology management issues will be leveraged and shared to assist incoming and new government CIOs.
“Former government CIOs — the folks who have ‘been there and done that’— are an incredible and too-often underutilized resource,” said Patricia McGinnis, president and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government. “That is exactly why we created a smart way to match their unique experience to government’s current critical needs. At the center of e-government innovation are the chief information officers … To help them do their job more effectively, and to help them serve the public more efficiently, they need the wise counsel and benefit of experience of professionals who know the ropes. And that’s what CIO SAGE is all about.”
CIO SAGE will:
• assist, advise, and mentor incoming public sector CIOs on successful technology/business alignment and outcomes
• create a haven for thought leadership, information exchanges, and innovative thinking among existing and former local, state and federal sector CIOs
• share and build on valuable “lessons learned” and discuss foundational activities essential to integrating strategies for e-government service delivery and support, and
• help incoming CIOs successfully recognize customer and business-centric needs and demands behind digital government and promote these to other government decision-makers.
Members of CIO SAGE all have a successful IT leadership track record, and have held a CIO title (or equivalent) in federal, state or local government. They are now in the private or nonprofit sectors working for various technology and consulting companies, have their own businesses or are retired.
The Council for Excellence in Government is a national, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization whose members have served as senior public sector officials. Founded in 1983, its mission is to improve the performance of government by strengthening results-oriented management and creative leadership in the public sector, and build understanding in government by focusing public discussion on its role and responsibilities.
(For more information on SAGE, contact Danielle Germaine at dgermain@excelgov.org or visit the council’s Web site at www.excelgov.org.)
