CIOs' Priorities: E-Gov, Agency Collaboration The federal Chief Information Officers Council plans to focus on implementing e-government initiatives and promoting cross-agency collaboration this year. The council released its 2004 strategic plan outlining four goals: expanding e-government, encouraging collaboration, ensuring a secure technology infrastructure and improving information technology human resources management. “The CIO Council will continue to guide, support and champion the various projects and initiatives resulting from legislative mandates, executive decisions and other administration policies,” the plan says. “The CIO Council’s vision is to improve the operations of the federal government through better use of the information, people, processes and technology.” The council said it will work with agencies to complete e-government initiatives. It will encourage agencies to share solutions and best practices through the use of the federal enterprise architecture. “Due to the nature of this effort and impact these initiatives will have across the federal government, collaboration among agencies is essential,” the plan says. “Because the CIO Council guides IT-related decisions with a governmentwide perspective, it must continue to champion modernization of IT investments around” lines of business. The council also listed what the it sees as its most notable accomplishments for fiscal 2003: * Expanding e-government through the progress of the first 24 initiatives. * Developing four of the five reference models in the federal enterprise architecture. * Implementing the SmartBuy program for enterprise software licensing. * Creating lines of business. * Improving the IT workforce and guidance for project managers. * Releasing agency guidance for the E-Authentication initiative