E-gov requires teamwork

Technology managers can take cues from the Super Bowl champions.

The New England Patriots exhibit many characteristics important for successful collaboration in e-government, according to Tad Anderson, associate administrator for e-government and information technology at the Office of Management and Budget.

"They recognized that great victories are not the stuff of individual efforts, but of great teamwork," Anderson said of the Patriots, referring to when the team entered the Super Bowl field two years ago as a single group, rather than having each player's name called.

Similarly, managers continue to work toward viewing the government as a single entity, efficiently providing services to the citizen, Anderson said. He spoke today at the Enterprise Architecture conference sponsored by the E-Gov Institute.

Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick brought strong leadership, trust among teammates, focus on a common goal and a shared vision to be the best team, Anderson said. IT managers can follow the same path for cooperation in e-government.

"Web-enablement is not just a process," he said. "It's about people, too. Anywhere there is change, there is a need for cooperation."

Anderson said officials at OMB are starting to see the fruits of agencies' efforts to collaborate on e-gov solutions. He highlighted examples of:

Intra-agency collaboration, such as the Treasury Department's recent efforts in enterprise licensing, led by chief information officer Drew Ladner.

Interagency partnership, along the lines of the E-Rulemaking initiative. As the managing partner, the Environmental Protection Agency has broken down barriers between partnering agencies for an initiative Anderson called "very promising."

Intergovernmental collaboration, exemplified by the Geospatial One-Stop work between federal, state, local and tribal governments. A governance board managed the program, designed to provide a single portal for map-related data, where all levels of government were represented.

Public/private partnerships, like share-in-savings initiatives. Both sides have much to learn and benefit from these collaborations, Anderson said.