Submitter:

Name:Owen Ambur

Email:Owen.Ambur@verizon.net

Organization:

Name:ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation

Acronym:I4I

Description:
Established in 2011, the ACT-IAC Institute for Innovation was chartered to promote innovation in the delivery of government services and operations. It develops and delivers high-quality strategic advice that reflects cross-industry recommendations based on the consensus of experts from ACT-IAC's member companies and government liaisons. Through ethical collaborative discussion, the Institute recommends approaches to key issues affecting government where information technology can be or is a factor and a broad spectrum of perspectives is required.

Stakeholder(s):

• ACT-IAC: American Council for Technology -- Industry Advisory Council: The American Council for Technology (ACT) is a non-profit educational organization established by government leaders in 1979 to improve government through the efficient and innovative application of information technology. ACT was created to provide an objective and trusted forum for collaboration and education. In 1989, ACT established the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) to bring industry and government executives together to collaborate on IT issues of interest to the government. ACT-IAC is a unique, public-private partnership dedicated to helping government use technology to serve the public. The organization provides programs that facilitate communication, education and collaboration. Recognized as the premier collaborative forum in the government IT community, ACT-IAC has been called "a model of how government and industry can work together" and "the Switzerland of the government IT community." ACT-IAC welcomes the participation of all public and private organizations committed to improving the delivery of public services through the effective and efficient use of information technology.


• Citizen Partners: Those who will work with government to accomplish the country's goals more efficiently and effectively.


• Citizen Advocates: Any unified group willing to engage government through virtually any means in order to augment, improve, complete, disrupt or otherwise alter the course of services, legislation and policies.


• Citizen Consumers: Those who expect a quality of service through a use of technology that equals or exceeds that of the private sector.


• Citizens: Citizens are reinventing traditional practices of engagement -- and the government can leverage these ever-growing platforms. In fact, government has no choice but to listen and engage, or be rendered increasingly at odds with the public it seeks to serve. This evolution demands government attention and commitment. It requires input and participation from citizens working beside their elected representatives. U.S. citizens are already directly involved in major shifts in our government and society. Much of the groundwork for future engagement is established. The next term of administration has a host of opportunities for further citizen engagement by enabling various movements to unfold productively. Citizens will collaborate and drive action, whether within the confines of current solutions or by establishing their own solutions. We have seen this in times of emergencies. As demonstrated repeatedly on a global level, governments can be involved in the process of reshaping countries -- or they can watch from the sidelines. The government's lack of ability to engage some segments during the digital revolution has created for many citizens a culture of apathy and negative perceptions about government's value. Agencies must evolve, involve and collaborate with citizens in ways that stretch limited budgets, provide transparency and deliver services seamlessly with the ease and interfaces citizens are familiar with from non-governmental transactions. Only in this way can we move toward the vision of a truly citizen-driven government.