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Govt Web Program To Allow Public Oversight Of IT Spending

Posted on: Wednesday, 1 July 2009, 14:10 CDT

The Whitehouse on Tuesday launched a new Web initiative that will monitor how more than $70 billion is spent on information technology each year.

President Barack Obama’s chief information officer Vivek Kundra unveiled the tools, known as the IT Dashboard, as a part of the Web site USASpending.gov.

The dashboard represents the administration’s effort to be transparent and offer a new sense of accountability in government spending, said Kundra, the nation’s first CIO.

He added that the public would be able to receive updates via RSS feeds on how the federal government is spending public funds for information technology.

According to AFP, the IT Dashboard will contain general information on more than 7,000 IT investments from the US government as well as detailed information on almost 800 “major” investments.

"Everyone knows there have been spectacular failures when it comes to technology investments," Kundra said. "Now for the first time the entire country can see how we're spending money and give us input."

Data listed on the dashboard includes detailed information on overall spending for computer hardware and software by various sectors of the federal government as well as details on awarded contracts.

"All of that information is available there for the first time," Kundra told reporters.

"We've also provided the ability to do meaningful analysis," he said.

"Are there going to be people who have concerns? Absolutely," he added. "Are there going to be people who want to put more data out? Absolutely."

“This certainly makes the information more open and available,” said Shawn P. McCarthy, an analyst at IDC, told the New York Times.

“As with any government data, it’s not for everybody, but for a select subset of the curious.”

The White House has previously launched a series of other Web-based initiatives aimed at increasing government transparency.

Last month, the Obama administration laid out plans for the “Open Government Initiative”, which is being touted as “a groundbreaking new means of engaging the public in policymaking.”

The initiative included an open government blog where members of the administration will engage with the public in the policymaking process. Also the administration has launched other Web sites such as recovery.org, which allows the public to monitor stimulus spending.

Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Management and Budget have launched the Web site Regulations.gov Exchange, which will take “public input on the best ways to achieve public participation in Federal agency rulemaking.”

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On the Net:

• Federal IT Dashboard

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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