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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
Support for this project was provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. EIA-9809120 and by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.
Cover: Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Photo Library.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
National Academy of Sciences
National Academy of Engineering
Institute of Medicine
National Research Council
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
COMMITTEE ON COMPUTING AND COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH TO ENABLE BETTER USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN GOVERNMENT
WILLIAM L. SCHERLIS,
Carnegie Mellon University,
Chair
W. BRUCE CROFT,
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
DAVID DeWITT,
University of Wisconsin at Madison
SUSAN DUMAIS,
Microsoft Research
WILLIAM EDDY,
Carnegie Mellon University
EVE GRUNTFEST,
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
DAVID KEHRLEIN,
Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, State of California
SALLIE KELLER-McNULTY,
Los Alamos National Laboratory
MICHAEL R. NELSON,
IBM Corporation
CLIFFORD NEUMAN,
Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California
Staff
JON EISENBERG, Senior Program Officer and Study Director
MARJORY S. BLUMENTHAL, Director, CSTB
JANE GRIFFITH, Acting Director, CSTB (January 1998 through January 1999)
DAVID PADGHAM, Research Associate
JANET BRISCOE, Administrative Officer
COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD
DAVID D. CLARK,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Chair
DAVID BORTH,
Motorola Labs
JAMES CHIDDIX,
AOL Time Warner
JOHN M. CIOFFI,
Stanford University
ELAINE COHEN,
University of Utah
W. BRUCE CROFT,
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
THOMAS E. DARCIE,
AT&T Labs Research
JOSEPH FARRELL,
University of California at Berkeley
JEFFREY M. JAFFE,
Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
ANNA KARLIN,
University of Washington
BUTLER W. LAMPSON,
Microsoft Corporation
EDWARD D. LAZOWSKA,
University of Washington
DAVID LIDDLE,
U.S. Venture Partners
TOM M. MITCHELL,
Carnegie Mellon University
DONALD NORMAN,
Nielsen Norman Group
DAVID A. PATTERSON,
University of California at Berkeley
HENRY (HANK) PERRITT,
Chicago-Kent College of Law
BURTON SMITH,
Cray Inc.
TERRY SMITH,
University of California at Santa Barbara
LEE SPROULL,
New York University
JEANNETTE M. WING,
Carnegie Mellon University
MARJORY S. BLUMENTHAL, Director
HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Scientist
ALAN S. INOUYE, Senior Program Officer
JON EISENBERG, Senior Program Officer
LYNETTE I. MILLETT, Program Officer
CYNTHIA PATTERSON, Program Officer
STEVEN WOO, Program Officer
JANET BRISCOE, Administrative Officer
DAVID PADGHAM, Research Associate
MARGARET HUYNH, Senior Project Assistant
DAVID DRAKE, Senior Project Assistant
JANICE SABUDA, Senior Project Assistant
JENNIFER BISHOP, Senior Project Assistant
BRANDYE WILLIAMS, Staff Assistant
Preface
The emergence of the Internet and other electronic-commerce technologies has fundamentally altered the environment in which government delivers services to citizens, businesses, and other government entities. New expectations—that government will match the private sector in offering direct, rapid, round-the-clock access to information and services—are cultivating the growth of “e-government”: the application of information technology (IT) and associated changes in agency practices to develop more responsive, efficient, and accountable government operations while fostering a more informed and engaged citizenry.
The role of government with respect to IT research, development, and use has also been shifting. The private sector has eclipsed government leadership in many areas of IT adoption and use, even as government continues in its critical role as the principal agent for long-term IT basic research and innovation. Much like their counterparts in the private sector, many in government are actively experimenting with exploiting the new technologies to improve operations and the delivery of services. A wide range of ideas is emerging from these experiments, contributing to technology development, the improvement of business practices, a more streamlined government, and a more sophisticated public. Following September 11, 2001, a new mission, homeland defense, is placing new demands on IT capabilities and is heightening interest in such related areas as critical infrastructure protection.
As part of its Digital Government research program, the National Science Foundation (NSF) requested that the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) undertake a study of how IT research could contribute more effectively to the activities and operations of government. CSTB established the Committee on Computing and Communications Research to Enable Better Use of Information Technology in Government to explore promising research opportunities and to identify ways to foster the exchange of ideas among computing and communications researchers and federal managers, including mechanisms for technology transition from the laboratory to government agencies and ultimately to operational government systems.
The first phase of the committee’s work focused on two illustrative application areas—crisis management and federal statistics. In each case, the study committee convened a workshop to facilitate interaction between stakeholders from the individual domains and researchers in computing and communications systems and to explore research topics that might be of relevance throughout the government. The initial workshop in the series, held in December 1998, convened IT researchers and crisis management professionals from all levels of government and the private sector. The second workshop, held in February 1999, explored how IT research could contribute to more effective collection, processing, and dissemination of federal statistical data. This second workshop was conducted in cooperation with the National Research Council’s Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT).
The second phase of the study, culminating in the preparation of this report, combined what was learned in the two workshops with the results of previous CSTB reports and other efforts to examine IT research and e-government.1 To supplement what was learned in the workshops, the committee held two other meetings that included data-gathering sessions. Staff and individual committee members augmented the information obtained from these meetings by interviewing government officials working on e-government initiatives. In July 2001, the committee issued a letter report to the National Science Foundation laying out the rationale
for involving computer science researchers in e-government work (see Appendix B in this report). In completing the second phase of the study, the committee was mindful of the increased emphasis in 2002 on critical infrastructure protection (both within and outside government) as well as a variety of initiatives to harness or develop IT capabilities for homeland defense and counterterrorism.
While a number of other reports have addressed the significant challenges in better deploying today’s technologies in government, this committee’s final report distinguishes itself by focusing primarily on the relationships between IT research and government IT applications. Its recommendations are intended to foster connections between IT research and e-government innovation and to help catalyze the involvement of IT researchers in defining and realizing e-government programs. The committee’s findings and recommendations are presented in the “Summary and Recommendations” chapter of this report; subsequent chapters provide supporting material.
The committee appreciates the encouragement and support of Larry Brandt and Valerie Gregg of the National Science Foundation. They provided vision and a wealth of information, and they gracefully accommodated a long schedule.
The committee thanks Karen Sollins for her contributions to the early stages of the work, prior to her accepting an assignment at the National Science Foundation. She contributed valuable ideas, energy, and organizational skill.
The committee also thanks the participants in the two major workshops, as well as the many individuals who responded to its requests for briefings and discussions. The committee expresses its appreciation to Andrew A. White, director of the National Research Council’s Committee on National Statistics, which cosponsored the second workshop convened for this project, for his support and assistance.
The committee also acknowledges the effective support provided by the Computer Science and Telecommunications Board and staff. In particular, the committee appreciates the valuable suggestions offered by Board members during the review process. The study was supported by several CSTB staff members, in capacities ranging from organizing committee meetings and the major workshops to assisting in researching and editing of the several reports. In particular, the committee thanks Jane Griffith, for getting the project off to an excellent start and making many substantive contributions to the effort, and Marjory Blumenthal for guidance and encouragement. David Padgham provided significant research support to this project. Finally, the committee thanks study director Jon
Eisenberg for his perseverance and professionalism in seeing the project through to completion. He provided careful facilitation of the process, and he made fundamental intellectual contributions to the product.
William L. Scherlis, Chair
Committee on Computing and Communications Research to Enable Better Use of Information Technology in Government
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Renny DiPentima, SRA International,
Kenneth L. Kraemer, University of California at Irvine,
Bruce W. McConnell, McConnell International,
John Ousterhout, Interwoven Inc., and
Robert Sproull, Sun Microsystems Laboratories.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations, nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Sam Fuller, Analog Devices Inc. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.