ACT and GITEC go separate ways

ACT ends affiliation with GITEC as part of a review of member councils.

The American Council of Technology has ended its affiliation with the Government Information Technology Executive Council.

ACT broke its ties as part of an ongoing process of evaluating affiliate councils, said Ken Allen, ACT’s executive director.

ACT’s council structure, a holdover from when the group was known as the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils, is changing because so many of the councils no longer exist or are not active, Allen said.

ACT and GITEC both have government IT professionals as their members and use their organizations as forums for education and interaction among peers and between government and industry.

In the case of GITEC, the two groups have not worked together on anything in more than a year and a half. “We have really gone our separate ways,” he said.

GITEC officials could not be reach for comment Friday.

ACT wants to tighten its membership structure and likely will break ties with other councils, Allen said.

But as its council structure fades away, ACT is looking at opening chapters in cities outside of the Washington area, he said.

Allen did not rule out working with GITEC in the future. “If they want to be part of ACT again, we’d be happy to sit down and talk to them,” he said.