The federal government has dramatically picked up the pace of innovation within the past 24 months, says Forrester Research in a May 31 report for sale for $500.

The report references the emergence of social media, data transparency, mobile and cloud computing as evidence. It also cites the Office of Management and Budget's 25 points for information technology reform.

Pointing to specific examples, Forrester mentions Challenge.gov, Data.gov, Recovery.gov and FederalReporting.gov. For mobile applications it calls out m.fema.gov, a FEMA app to apply for benefits and check the status of applications, the IRS's IRS2GO, which allows users to track their refunds, get updates and follow the IRS twitter feed, and the Transportation Security Administration's app for information of security policies, airport status and delays.

It makes 25 recommendations for "ways to make government act more like a business," including "shifts from government time to technology time" and "cancellation of failing projects."

The report notes that the uncertain funding can make short-term planning difficult, that the 2 and 4 year political cycles can make long-term planning difficult, and that "change is scary, and inertia is easy."

"It goes without saying that available technology is continually advancing," the report concludes.

For more:
- go to the Forrester purchase site for the report

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