The Innovators

overnment agencies rarely are celebrated as technological innovators. In fact, they're more often ridiculed for their clumsy use of antiquated systems.

Consider, for example, the public outcry-and the furor on Capitol Hill-after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when it was discovered that FBI agents didn't have access to e-mail. It would seem, from such stories, that the government is mired in the technological Dark Ages, clueless about the technologies that even 5-year-olds take for granted.

That generalization isn't true, of course. If nothing else, the winners of this year's Government Technology Leadership Awards are proof that some agencies have come into their own and, in some cases, can compete technologically with the private sector. The winners of this year's Gracies, in the eyes of the judges that selected them, exemplify the innovation symbolized by the award's namesake, Navy Rear Adm. Grace Hopper.

Before her retirement in 1996, Hopper was the oldest active duty officer in the history of the Navy. She was known for shunning the conventional and challenging her subordinates to think creatively. She also was one of the most highly regarded technology thinkers and tinkerers in government.

This year's winners were culled from nine federal agencies and state and local governments. Their projects run the gamut from finding better ways to deliver financial assistance to the poor to providing online training for federal employees, advancing meteorological forecasting and improving information security.

To win a Gracie, a federal, state or local agency or organization must show how its idea challenged conventional thinking and how it used technology to solve it in a new way. This year, the Academy for Government Technology Leadership, a group of experts on the federal government's use of technology, recognized excellence in seven categories:

• Contributing to advances in homeland security or the war on terrorism.
• Improving services to citizens and enterprises.
• Breaking down barriers between government organizations.
• Demonstrating leadership in addressing privacy and security concerns.
• Providing citizens and individuals with useful access to government information.
• Increasing public participation in governance, specifically the electoral or regulatory process.
• Contributing to the advancement of scientific knowledge.

The Gracies will be presented at a reception in Washington on Dec. 10.

-Shane Harris

Nominations for the 2003 Gracies were scored on the following criteria:

• Purpose of project: Was technology used in achieving a solution and/or addressing a problem?
• Impact on business: Are there significant changes in business processes associated with the nomination, including cost savings?
• Benefits: Are there significant increases in customer benefits to date and anticipated in the future?
• Next steps: Are there additional measures the nomination addresses? Are further business objectives planned?
• Replication: Can other agencies learn from or apply the successes derived?

• Sandra Bates
  Federal Technology Service
• David Borland
  Army
• Dan Chenok
  Office of Management and Budget
• Timothy B. Clark
  Government Executive
• Karen Evans
  Office of Management and Budget
• Elizabeth McDaniel
  National Defense University
• Alan Paller
  SANS Institute
• Gloria Parker
  Housing and Urban Development Department
• Franklin Reeder
  The Reeder Group Inc.