CIO Council to tap ‘rising stars’ for IT Solutions Challenge

Newly appointed Federal Chief Information Officer Tony Scott made his first big move at the helm of the CIO Council this week, announcing the group’s IT Solutions Challenge.

At the request of the council’s Workforce Committee and the Chief Acquisition Officers Council, the CIO Council is looking to tap “rising stars within the IT and IT acquisition communities” to address the big policy and procedural challenges within their agencies, according to a blog post on the council’s website. Specifically, the IT Solutions Challenge is recruiting “GS-9 through GS-13 range” IT professionals to serve on working groups for six months.

Scott wrote in the blog post that while in his new role as federal CIO and director of the CIO Council he will most often work with agency CIOs, it’s also important to use the fresh perspective of government’s budding IT employees.

“We are focusing on these rising stars because looking at problems from a new vantage point will allow important issues to surface that may not have been realized otherwise,” he wrote.

As a developmental bonus during their service, the IT professionals will work with mentors “in brainstorming sessions, problem identification, workplan development, and execution,” and “with subject matter experts who can provide feedback and expertise as they work to develop solutions,” Scott said. In the fall, participants will present their findings and discuss next steps for executing on them.

“I value the insight that the entire workforce can provide and am anxious to see what transformative ideas they come up with,” Scott wrote. “These rising stars will bring a new set of eyes to look at the way we do things, and the motivation and innovative mindsets to find solutions that – with the help of IT leaders – can be implemented to create positive change across the Federal Government.”