In this post-Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) era, the new roles and responsibilities of the federal department-level chief information officers have been discussed quite a bit over the past several months. Less obvious are the implications for other IT stakeholders in FITARA-affected agencies, principally component/bureau CIOs in which there is a significant trickle-down of enhanced role and responsibilities. In my view there are three critical aspects of FITARA for them — strengthening relationships, helping to lead FITARA implementation, and becoming an enterprise IT advocate.
One of the most significant underlying themes of FITARA is relationships. Specifically, there is a new focus on component CIOs and their reporting relationships to their departmental CIOs. These reporting relationships were not consistent or clear across the federal government before FITARA. Now component CIOs should make these relationships a priority because department-level CIOs now have formal responsibility for a significant part of their performance reviews. Making that relationship a priority potentially benefits both CIOs and the execution of FITARA.
Closely tied to this new reporting relationship is the necessity for the component CIOs to become important players in their departments’ FITARA implementation. The department-level CIO needs a strong, go-to team. Each component CIO needs to be a resource, a partner, a sounding board — a dependable agent — for his or her department’s execution of FITARA. By becoming a go-to resource for the department-level CIO, component CIOs can demonstrate leadership, become a champion for FITARA implementation, and develop a strong working relationship with the department-level CIO.
One of the critical success factor for FITARA is the development of a realistic assignment list through which the department CIO delegates approval for some specific responsibilities (e.g. IT contracts, IT expenditures, etc.) to trusted and knowledgeable executives. Component CIOs should see themselves as and strive to become natural delegates for the department CIO.
Lastly, another piece of FITARA is its emphasis on enterprise IT. This focus presents an opportunity for component CIOs to foster greater and more strategic use of enterprise IT for the benefit of the component and the department’s overarching mission.
Over the years, component CIOs may have focused too much of their time and resources on the implementation of infrastructure, email and other communications systems, collaboration systems, and administrative systems. FITARA’s goal of streamlining enterprise IT to achieve efficiencies and cost savings can be furthered significantly if the aforementioned systems are implemented at the department level. If component CIOs champion the implementation of enterprise IT department-wide, both the CIOs and their staffs can focus more on the delivery of component specific mission-critical systems.
FITARA focuses on the department CIO. However, component CIOs have a chance to thrive in this new world based on the trickle down of enhanced role and responsibilities. If component CIOs take it upon themselves to be responsible for developing strong relationships at the department level, becoming a key player in FITARA implementation and advocating for greater use of enterprise IT, they — and most importantly their components and departments — can reap the potential benefits of FITARA.
Vance Hitch is specialist leader at Deloitte Consulting LLP and member of its Federal CIO Advisory Council. He is a former deputy assistant attorney general and CIO of the U.S. Department of Justice.
FITARA’s trickle-down effect on component and bureau CIOs
