Federal agency chief information officers want to concentrate on integrating information technology systems with business processes, not necessarily on transparency and performance management initiatives, finds an annual survey of federal CIOs.

The 2010 edition, released March 23 by TechAmerica and Grant Thornton, asked more than 40 federal CIOs about which initiatives will provide greatest value and what they consider the greatest barriers to increased effectiveness.

Number one on their list of greatest value projects was "integrating systems and processes." In fifth place, the last place, was "transparency and performance management initiatives."

As for barriers, a shortage of time dedicated to strategic thinking and planning ranked first, while "aligning IT efforts with agency goals" came in last. "New externally directed initiatives" was the second greatest barrier, according to the survey.

"In our opinion, this 'new initiatives' issue reflects the significant change in direction and strategy introduced by the Obama administration, especially with respect to open and transparent government. This is not to say that the new initiatives are bad; it simply means that they consume a good deal of CIOs' time," authors of the report write.

When it comes to transparency, some CIOs told report authors that current efforts lack clarity. "There is too much trial and error in current initiatives," several CIOs said.

"I will know what open and transparent government is when I see it," said one. Only a minority of CIOs said that money spent on transparent government would be better used for direct improvements to government operations, however.

For more:
- check out the report, "Transparency and Transformation Through Technology" (.pdf)

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