Introduction and Statement Of Purpose
The public sector has multiple, conflicting, and often intangible goals, producing "public goods" for problems of social significance (e.g., crime and poverty) and heavily impacted by politics and the weight of bureaucracies (Caudle, Gorr, & Newcomer, 1991). These and other features of the public sector raise specific questions regarding the role and functions of public Management Information Systems (MIS) departments. It is the purpose of this report to examine several aspects of this issue. Included are: 1) identification of the most significant and highly prioritized public sector MIS department activities; 2) unique difficulties and challenges encountered by such departments; and 3) optimum long-run MIS strategies for the public sector and methods of realizing these strategies in a timely manner.
Executive Order 13011: A Normative and Practical MIS Framework
This discussion is positioned within the context of Executive Order 13011 - Federal Information Technology - issued July 18, 1999, by the Clinton Administration. The Executive Order stated that a government that works better and costs less requires efficient and effective information systems, and explicated the White House interpretation of elements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 (Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1996). Though the Executive Order spoke most specifically of the actions to be undertaken at the federal level of government with respect to creating and maintaining MIS departments and activities, it provides a theoretical framework for public sector MIS activities at all governmental levels.
Key elements of Executive Order 13011 applicable herein include:
1. mandatory acquisition of appropriate MIS and Information Technologies (IT) that refocus MIS management to directly support the strategic mission of agencies, and implem...