The Clinger-Cohen Act, and How CIOs Influence Change
April 14, 2006
In 1996, Congress passed the Clinger-Cohen Act, also known as The Information Technology Management Reform Act. This bill provides direction to government agencies in how they manage and acquire hardware and software technology. Specifically, this bill states that the government’s information technology shop should operate in the same manner as an efficient business, placing a great deal of responsibility on department Chief Information Officers.
An interesting article last week in FCW Online discusses the past and future of the CIO position, and how the Clinger-Cohen Act has influenced their community. Several CIOs were interviewed, as functional mavens with current industry experience, for this article. They saw the scope of the CIO role increasing rapidly, although a clear definition of this role is still being formed. When asked how they foresee the future function of a Chief Information Officer, the response was optimistic:
"They [CIO’s] envision a strong federal CIO, one who will be recognized as a key member of the senior leadership team and will be viewed as a strategist and visionary with deep mission understanding. CIO’s will be viewed as change agents who lead improvement in both mission-critical and back-office IT systems."
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