Years ago the federal government often led industry when it came to research and development, especially in the technology area. However, over the years private industry has outpaced the government and the true innovation has come from entrepreneurs and innovators pushing the envelope to solve the unsolvable. There are countless success stories in this area and we should embrace and encourage the agility, speed, and creativity that the private sector has accomplished. From our national security to health care to education, we all stand to benefit greatly.
It is no secret that bureaucratic organizations are often slow to move and adapt to change. Too often, government officials are looking for the 100% solution and end up with paralysis by analysis. Or, the government identifies a technology and assumes the “one size fits all” approach only to find out after millions of taxpayers’ dollars are invested, that warehouses have accumulated a ton of unusable equipment.
Recently it was reported http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20090526_1094.php that Vivek Kundra, the federal chief information officer for the Obama Administration, made clear that the current administration wants to lead industry in terms of R & D spending and achievements. While the government can play a vital role in technology development, instead of putting the “genie back in the bottle” and spending the time and effort to try to outpace the private sector, government should find ways to further encourage private sector technology innovation and concentrate instead on how to learn about, partner with, implement, and deploy.