Former EPA official wants to bring new IT to government
In her new role at CGI Federal, Molly O’Neill plans to draw on her past experience with issues such as data sharing and Web 2.0.
In her new role at CGI Federal,
Inc. as vice-president and federal energy and environmental industry
lead, Molly O’Neill plans to draw on her past experience with
technologies such as data sharing and Web 2.0 to help government
agencies begin new ways of doing business.
For years,
government agencies have relied on the private sector to help support
traditional information technology systems, O’Neill said. With the
advent of services-based information technology, government and
contractors have to figure out new ways to work together.
“The
question now is how can the government leverage the private sector into
some of these newer areas,” O’Neill said. At CGI, O’Neill will lead the
Federal Energy and Environmental practice and its related IT programs
initiatives.
Web 2.0, for example, is more than just wikis and
blogs, O’Neill said. The technology offers new ways to deliver services
to the public. Agencies and their contractor partners need to examine
how they are engaging with the public and evaluate how technology can
improve that relationship.
In some cases, the ways private
companies interact with customers may provide a model for how
government agencies can communicate with the public, she said.
Many
challenges exist in realizing that dream, she said. The government’s
current ban of Web tracking tools on agency Web sites is an example of
how government is different than private companies. O’Neill is not
advocating for a change in the policy, but said it is wise to examine
it.
“Some of the older regulations and laws that are on the
books, from an IT perspective, have been on the books for 50 years, and
they don’t address that technology could help change some of these
businesses processes,” O’Neill said. “I think it is incumbent that the
private sector understand that those challenges are there, and try and
work through the challenges together.”
O’Neill is the former
assistant administrator and chief information officer of the
Environmental Protection Agency. Before joining EPA , O’Neill served as
the state director of the National Environmental Information Exchange
Network for the Environmental Council of the States.
“As CIO
at the EPA, Molly was a recognized innovator and leader in the federal
CIO community,” said George Schindler, president, CGI Federal. “Molly’s
strong expertise and creativity, combined with her State and Local
experience, will help CGI’s clients effectively manage their technology
initiatives while balancing the increasing demands they face around
transparency and information access.”