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| Obama travels to SXSW to make his pitch to techies: Help make government work | Obama travels to SXSW to make his pitch to techies: Help make government work |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| For the past two years, President Obama has worked behind the scenes to coax high-tech entrepreneurs to join the federal government. He has made personal calls to candidates who were on the fence about leaving Silicon Valley, and at times has even adopted the lingo of some of former Google and Twitter executives who now work in the West Wing. | For the past two years, President Obama has worked behind the scenes to coax high-tech entrepreneurs to join the federal government. He has made personal calls to candidates who were on the fence about leaving Silicon Valley, and at times has even adopted the lingo of some of former Google and Twitter executives who now work in the West Wing. |
| On Friday President Obama will be at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin to make a much more public pitch to high-tech entrepreneurs: Direct some of your creativity towards advancing the public good. | On Friday President Obama will be at the South by Southwest (SXSW) festival in Austin to make a much more public pitch to high-tech entrepreneurs: Direct some of your creativity towards advancing the public good. |
| Obama’s “keynote conversation” with Texas Tribune editor Evan Smith at SXSW marks the public debut of an initiative his administration has pursued since its inception, but with increased intensity since the troubled launch of HealthCare.gov in the fall of 2013. And how it unfolds over the next 10 months will determine whether the president can substantially change the way the government functions before handing over the reins to his successor. | Obama’s “keynote conversation” with Texas Tribune editor Evan Smith at SXSW marks the public debut of an initiative his administration has pursued since its inception, but with increased intensity since the troubled launch of HealthCare.gov in the fall of 2013. And how it unfolds over the next 10 months will determine whether the president can substantially change the way the government functions before handing over the reins to his successor. |
| The botched rollout of the federal health insurance marketplace exposed a myriad of problems with the way federal officials commission and manage large technology projects; Obama and his top deputies are hoping to use their remaining time in office to prove that not only can the federal government close the gap between its operations and those in the private sector, but it can provide the kind of user experience Americans expect when they shop or run their own businesses. | The botched rollout of the federal health insurance marketplace exposed a myriad of problems with the way federal officials commission and manage large technology projects; Obama and his top deputies are hoping to use their remaining time in office to prove that not only can the federal government close the gap between its operations and those in the private sector, but it can provide the kind of user experience Americans expect when they shop or run their own businesses. |
| Kristie Canegallo, the White House deputy chief of staff for implementation, said in an interview Thursday that moment HealthCare.gov stumbled was “an inflection point” that prompted the administration to enlist more expertise from the outside and make updating federal technology a top priority. Mikey Dickerson, a site reliability engineer at Google who took a leave from his job to help fix HealthCare.gov, stayed on to head the U.S. Digital Service when it launched in August 2014. | Kristie Canegallo, the White House deputy chief of staff for implementation, said in an interview Thursday that moment HealthCare.gov stumbled was “an inflection point” that prompted the administration to enlist more expertise from the outside and make updating federal technology a top priority. Mikey Dickerson, a site reliability engineer at Google who took a leave from his job to help fix HealthCare.gov, stayed on to head the U.S. Digital Service when it launched in August 2014. |
| “We realized we had a chance to hypercharge our efforts to modernize government,” Canegallo said. “The charge that the president has given his staff — it’s not about improving the effectiveness of his administration. It’s about improving the effectiveness of the federal government and taking steps that will result in enduring change.” | “We realized we had a chance to hypercharge our efforts to modernize government,” Canegallo said. “The charge that the president has given his staff — it’s not about improving the effectiveness of his administration. It’s about improving the effectiveness of the federal government and taking steps that will result in enduring change.” |
| [In the wake of HealthCare.gov, Obama turns to Kristie Canegallo] | [In the wake of HealthCare.gov, Obama turns to Kristie Canegallo] |
| The administration has begun to overhaul technology procurement practices and has created two separate divisions to tackle to some of the most difficult problems. The first, in the General Services Administration, is called 18F — named after the agency’s location at 18th and F streets NW — and develops software in collaboration with specific agencies. The second is the U.S. Digital Service, which serves more of a consulting role on large, complex projects. The effort has won over converts among some veteran federal employees but encountered resistance from others. | The administration has begun to overhaul technology procurement practices and has created two separate divisions to tackle to some of the most difficult problems. The first, in the General Services Administration, is called 18F — named after the agency’s location at 18th and F streets NW — and develops software in collaboration with specific agencies. The second is the U.S. Digital Service, which serves more of a consulting role on large, complex projects. The effort has won over converts among some veteran federal employees but encountered resistance from others. |
| And the government has had success recruiting technical experts for limited “tours of duty” in the federal bureaucracy: There are more than 300 people who have already served in this capacity, including 140 in the U.S. Digital Service. But the government’s security clearance requirements have been an impediment to attracting more talent. Ashkan Soltani, who was tapped to serve as a senior adviser to the president’s chief technology officer Megan Smith, was recently denied a security clearance and returned to the private sector. Soltani had previously served as chief technologist at the Federal Trade Commission and as a consultant to The Washington Post during the reporting on classified documents leaked by former Central Intelligence Agency employee Edward Snowden. | And the government has had success recruiting technical experts for limited “tours of duty” in the federal bureaucracy: There are more than 300 people who have already served in this capacity, including 140 in the U.S. Digital Service. But the government’s security clearance requirements have been an impediment to attracting more talent. Ashkan Soltani, who was tapped to serve as a senior adviser to the president’s chief technology officer Megan Smith, was recently denied a security clearance and returned to the private sector. Soltani had previously served as chief technologist at the Federal Trade Commission and as a consultant to The Washington Post during the reporting on classified documents leaked by former Central Intelligence Agency employee Edward Snowden. |
| Christopher Soghoian, who served as the FTC’s first chief technologist between 2009 and 2010, praised entities such as 18F for helping ensure federal authorities were taking important, if belated, steps to safeguard citizens’ privacy when they interact with the government. | Christopher Soghoian, who served as the FTC’s first chief technologist between 2009 and 2010, praised entities such as 18F for helping ensure federal authorities were taking important, if belated, steps to safeguard citizens’ privacy when they interact with the government. |
| “They’ve been a major evangelist for strong encryption within the government,” he said, noting that 18F has worked to implement the Office of Management and Budget’s directive that every federal agency must be encrypted by the end of this year. “It was both embarrassing that it took so long, but it’s amazing that 18F made it happen.” | “They’ve been a major evangelist for strong encryption within the government,” he said, noting that 18F has worked to implement the Office of Management and Budget’s directive that every federal agency must be encrypted by the end of this year. “It was both embarrassing that it took so long, but it’s amazing that 18F made it happen.” |
| But Soghoian, who now works at the American Civil Liberties Union as its principal technologist, said many in the tech sector are wary of subjecting themselves to the invasive questions required to get cleared to work in some federal jobs. | But Soghoian, who now works at the American Civil Liberties Union as its principal technologist, said many in the tech sector are wary of subjecting themselves to the invasive questions required to get cleared to work in some federal jobs. |
| “This insistence of everyone getting a security clearance — it’s really destructive,” he said. “The government is shooting itself in the foot.” | “This insistence of everyone getting a security clearance — it’s really destructive,” he said. “The government is shooting itself in the foot.” |
| Craigslist’s founder Craig Newmark was an “entrepreneur in residence” (“really, ‘nerd in residence,’ ” he explained in an email) at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He praised the administration for making such a dogged effort to shift the way the government approaches technology. | Craigslist’s founder Craig Newmark was an “entrepreneur in residence” (“really, ‘nerd in residence,’ ” he explained in an email) at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He praised the administration for making such a dogged effort to shift the way the government approaches technology. |
| “For the last seven years, a bunch of agencies have asked for my advice on tech development and innovation, and I’ve gladly provided it, leading me to one big observation,” Newmark said in an email. “In Washington, the tech, itself, relatively easy. Overcoming institutional inertia, that’s really, really hard.” | “For the last seven years, a bunch of agencies have asked for my advice on tech development and innovation, and I’ve gladly provided it, leading me to one big observation,” Newmark said in an email. “In Washington, the tech, itself, relatively easy. Overcoming institutional inertia, that’s really, really hard.” |
| [Why Silicon Valley is the new revolving door for Obama staffers] | [Why Silicon Valley is the new revolving door for Obama staffers] |
| Several administration officials and outside experts interviewed over the past week echoed Newmark’s sentiment. While many career employees had embraced these changes, they said, a combination of regulatory hurdles and reluctance on the part of some long-serving federal officials had complicated the administration’s task. | Several administration officials and outside experts interviewed over the past week echoed Newmark’s sentiment. While many career employees had embraced these changes, they said, a combination of regulatory hurdles and reluctance on the part of some long-serving federal officials had complicated the administration’s task. |
| To change the way the government spends $50 billion a year on technology, for example, the administration must retool a duplicative and sprawling contracting process that has existed for decades. | To change the way the government spends $50 billion a year on technology, for example, the administration must retool a duplicative and sprawling contracting process that has existed for decades. |
| Anne Rung became the U.S. chief acquisitions officer at OMB in September 2014, and in an interview she rattled off a list of statistics that help explain what’s wrong with the government’s traditional buying approach. There are 3,200 separate federal procurement offices across the globe, with “very little collaboration” between them; dozens of 100 agencies have awarded more than 10,000 contracts and delivery orders for laptops and personal computers; there are 400 people on staff at the Social Security Administration to operate its Cobalt computing platform, which dates back to the 1960s. | |
| “No high-performing companies would manage their buys this way,” Rung said, referring to how the government has done purchasing for years. “Fixing federal IT means, in part, fixing IT acquisitions.” | “No high-performing companies would manage their buys this way,” Rung said, referring to how the government has done purchasing for years. “Fixing federal IT means, in part, fixing IT acquisitions.” |
| Now Rung’s office is using the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, which passed in December 20014, to give its contracting officers some additional flexibility. | Now Rung’s office is using the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act, which passed in December 20014, to give its contracting officers some additional flexibility. |
| A couple of months ago OMB instructed agencies they could not sign any new contracts to order PCs, and they could only buy them through one of three existing contracts: Since then, some vendors have dropped their prices by as much as 50 percent. There are 40 individual agency contracts totaling $74 million a year for the purchase of the geospatial software Esri, but the administration just shifted over to a single, government-wide contract. Rung started a new training program for 30 procurement officers to learn how to innovate the way they do purchases: The first cohort will complete the course next month. | A couple of months ago OMB instructed agencies they could not sign any new contracts to order PCs, and they could only buy them through one of three existing contracts: Since then, some vendors have dropped their prices by as much as 50 percent. There are 40 individual agency contracts totaling $74 million a year for the purchase of the geospatial software Esri, but the administration just shifted over to a single, government-wide contract. Rung started a new training program for 30 procurement officers to learn how to innovate the way they do purchases: The first cohort will complete the course next month. |
| The White House has focused on the agencies that interact most directly with ordinary Americans. Digital Service teams are now embedded in VA, Homeland Security and the Pentagon, and they consult closely with the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services and State as well as the Social Security Administration. | The White House has focused on the agencies that interact most directly with ordinary Americans. Digital Service teams are now embedded in VA, Homeland Security and the Pentagon, and they consult closely with the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services and State as well as the Social Security Administration. |
| In fact, U.S. Digital Service deputy director Haley Van Dyck uses Homeland Security’s biggest technical failures as the starting point for one of her group’s major successes. After pursuing a decade-long, $1.2 billion project aimed at digitizing its records, applications and forms, by November contractors had not delivered a single product that met federal officials’ standards. | In fact, U.S. Digital Service deputy director Haley Van Dyck uses Homeland Security’s biggest technical failures as the starting point for one of her group’s major successes. After pursuing a decade-long, $1.2 billion project aimed at digitizing its records, applications and forms, by November contractors had not delivered a single product that met federal officials’ standards. |
| [After a decade and $1.2 billion, just one immigration form had made it online] | [After a decade and $1.2 billion, just one immigration form had made it online] |
| The digital team embedded with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and by breaking the project up into separate initiatives, within three months they had helped make the filing and processing of Form I-90 — which allows for the renewal and replacement of a green card — electronic. They are now working on digitizing other high-priority forms, and the combination of that and making the immigrant visa fee payment electronic will save the agency $33 million a year in operations, maintenance and licensing costs. | The digital team embedded with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and by breaking the project up into separate initiatives, within three months they had helped make the filing and processing of Form I-90 — which allows for the renewal and replacement of a green card — electronic. They are now working on digitizing other high-priority forms, and the combination of that and making the immigrant visa fee payment electronic will save the agency $33 million a year in operations, maintenance and licensing costs. |
| “One of the hardest questions we face is, how do you change the culture in this incredibly risk-averse environment we practice in?” Van Dyck said. | “One of the hardest questions we face is, how do you change the culture in this incredibly risk-averse environment we practice in?” Van Dyck said. |