Dan Chenok

(Tatiana Sokolova and Claude Yusti of IBM contributed to this post)

Post 2 (of 3): A Blueprint Discussion on Payments Innovation

By Guest Bloggers: Thomas Hardjono, MIT Connection Science, Matt Nelson, IBM, and Pete Teigen, IBM

Introduction

Guest Blogger Shue-Jane Thompson

Diverse agency data stores extend the source of risk throughout government organizations, bringing the need for new approaches that move beyond traditional security precautions. Cyberattacks against government are becoming more common and and have more severe impact.

We are pleased to announce our latest round of stipends for new reports on key public sector challenges, which respond to priorities identified in the Center's research agenda. Our content is intended to stimulate and accelerate the production of practical research that benefits public sector leaders and managers. We expect the following reports to be published in early 2019. 

Government agencies are being challenged to provide more and better services. At the same time, agencies face budget and resource constraints. Some organizations are looking at how to reinvent their programs for serving citizens. This environment places a premium on investigating and testing new approaches -- one of the most intriguing such approach involves the use of artificial intelligence, or AI.

To commemorate our 20th anniversary, the Center is engaging in a series of collaborative activities, events, and reports that envision government 20 years from now, informed by a look back at our research over the last 20 years – the “20/20” project. We hope to spark imaginative discussion and content about what government structure, operations, and service delivery might look like in two decades.

This blog post is one in a series in our 20th anniversary year for the IBM Center for The Business of Government. We are advancing ideas, activities, and reports by the Center that look to the future, reflecting on Center and other contributions about past management trends and reform efforts. Joining me in this effort are Mark Abramson, the founding executive director of the IBM Center, and John Kamensky, the IBM Center’s most senior fellow.

Change is everywhere. Every industry, including government, is facing digital disruption. The public expects the agility and efficiency found in the private sector while government must appeal to new workers with skills to meet these requirements. Advances in technology have accelerated the need for change in how governments operate.  

As the public sector adopts new technologies to improve their operations and service delivery, artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly enables a cognitive government in which leaders leverage AI and machine learning to interact with citizens and make better decisions.   At the same time, implementing AI well requires a focus on sound technology management and attention to related critical success factors.

Earlier this year, our Center welcomed proposals on ideas about government management and operations two decades from now, as we mark two decades bringing similar ideas to government since 1998. We received close to 80 proposals with creative thoughts on alternative scenarios for the future of government, and we are grateful to all of the applicants who brought ideas forward.