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Page 11
Background
Today, the private sector is developing and deploying
information infrastructure. At the same time, the government is
concurrently developing and deploying information infrastructure,
mostly through contracts with the private sector. Under the lead of
and at the encouragement of the Clinton/Gore Administration, the
federal government has placed increased emphasis on the development
and deployment of an NII as a strategic priority. This emphasis
results from the understanding that properly leveraged information
and information technology are among the nation's most critical
economic resources, for manufacturing industries as well as for
more modern services industries for economic security and for
national security.
The Clinton/Gore Administration has made a commitment to work
with business, labor, academia, public interest groups, Congress,
and both state and local government to ensure the development of an
NII that enables all Americans to access information and
communicate with each other using combinations of voice, data,
images, or video at anytime, anywhere.2 This commitment was articulated very
well by the National Performance Review (NPR) through its emphasis
on using IT as a key element in creating a government that works
better and costs less.3 The
President and Vice President recognize the need to use IT to
improve Americans' quality of life and to reinvigorate the economy.
To this end, they outlined a three-part agenda for spreading IT's
benefits to the federal government: (1) strengthen leadership in
IT, (2) implement electronic government, and (3) establish support
mechanisms for electronic government. Thirteen major IT areas were
identified for accomplishing the three-part agenda:
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1.
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Provide clear, strong leadership to integrate IT
into the business of government;
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2.
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Implement nationwide, integrated electronic
benefit transfer;
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3.
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Develop integrated electronic access to government
information and services;
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4.
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Establish a national law enforcement/public safety
network;
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5.
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Provide intergovernmental tax filing, reporting,
and payments processing;
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6.
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Establish an international trade data system;
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7.
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Create a national environmental data index;
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8.
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Plan, demonstrate, and provide government-wide
electronic mail;
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9.
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Improve government's information
infrastructure;
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10.
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Develop systems and mechanisms to ensure privacy
and security;
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11.
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Improve methods of IT acquisition;
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12.
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Provide incentives for innovation; and
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13.
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Provide training and technical assistance in IT to
federal employees.
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Development of an NII is not an end goal in or of itself.
Government requires an infrastructure to conduct its business more
effectively and to deliver services to the American citizenry at
lower cost to the taxpayers. A number of suitable national-scale
applications or uses of the NII have been identified and documented
by the IITF's Committee on Applications and Technology.4 These uses of the NII, in addition to
nationwide humanistic applications such as health care and
education, include the fundamental businesses or enterprises of the
federal government such as law enforcement, electronic commerce
(including benefits), basic research, environment, health care, and
national security, and as such represent a significant set of
driving requirements for NII deployment.
In recognizing this fact, the NPR concluded that the government
use of IT and development of information infrastructure should be
improved and better coordinated in order to effectively address
government business requirements. The NPR made approximately 60
recommendations for action in this regard, including the
development of a plan for a GSII to electronically deliver
government services and to integrate electronic access to
government-provided information and services. The GSII is that
portion of the NII used to link government and its services, enable
virtual agency concepts, protect privacy, and support emergency
preparedness needs. It was also recognized that better integration
and coordination were required not only across federal
government
