Government must provide citizens with information and services they need when and where they need it — and that means having a presence on popular Web sites and social networks, the government's top IT official told Congress on Tuesday.

"Increasingly, social networking sites, online shopping portals and commercial search engines are where the American people spend time online," said Vivek Kundra, the federal chief information officer, which is a newly created position at the Office of Management and Budget. "Access to government services should be just another component in a seamless digital experience."

The government should take advantage of existing online technologies and networks, such as the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook, rather than "reinventing the wheel," Kundra told a Senate panel. The government wastes money developing new tools in those areas rather than using what is already in place, he said.

"How can we ensure, for example, as we advertise jobs ... [that] we make them available on platforms the American people are already using?" Kundra asked.

To do this, Congress needs to remove barriers that hamper agencies' use of these existing tools, said Karen Evans, who oversaw IT policy in the Bush administration. Kundra and Evans addressed the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee on federal financial management, government information, federal services and international security.

Laws on the books designed to ensure transparency in a pre-Internet age now prevent agencies from collecting feedback or user-generated content online, Evans said. For example, a simple Internet survey requires agencies to publish a notice in the Federal Register seeking comments on whether the public should be asked for comments, Evans noted. Prohibitions on the use of cookies put a number of new Web applications off limits for the government, she said.

"The text-message generation is not going to accept a carbon-paper government," Evans warned.

But, as important as it is for government to leverage existing tools, such as Facebook and Twitter, to reach citizens where they surf, government first must have a solid business case, Kundra said.

"You can't just buy technology for technology's sake. It has to be grounded deeply in a business problem," Kundra said. "That is why it's vital there is high-level engagement with the business side and technology side. If the business side is not engaged, you end up with failures of technology projects."

Kundra is reviewing how the Office of Management and Budget tracks troubled technology projects.

The current system, which involves two lists and lengthy reports, confuses both agency chief information officers and the general public, Kundra said. Although the lists are good at pointing out problems, they don't help avoid problems, he said.

At the end of the review, OMB will unveil a consolidated list of troubled programs and a revised set of criteria used to track their progress, he said.

This will take tracking "to the next level" to "ensure we're not just looking at lagging indicators but leading indicators around problems when it comes to IT projects, so we don't go in the wrong direction ... [and] get ahead of some of those problems," Kundra said.

Kundra also wants agencies to report to OMB more frequently on the status of their programs. The ultimate goal is to have real-time information so agencies can constantly correct the course of their procurements and avoid delays, cost overruns or delivery of obsolete systems, Kundra said.

This will be part of a larger IT investment strategy and measuring process he will develop with the newly named chief technology and chief performance officers, he said.

The IT high-risk and management watch lists developed by the Bush administration are good starting points for Kundra to develop OMB's enhanced oversight approach, said David Powner, director of information technology management issues for the Government Accountability Office.

But the Obama administration should monitor cost, schedule and performance for all major IT projects, not just those that meet a certain set of high-risk criteria, Powner said. Powner expressed concern that Kundra has not yet developed a clear oversight plan.

To boost OMB's efforts, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., the chairman of the Senate panel, introduced a new bill to address failing projects.

The Information Technology Investment Oversight and Waste Prevention Act would give OMB the ability to help agencies with expert project managers to prevent projects from going off track. It also would create a program to reward employees who manage their IT investments effectively, said Carper.

The legislation would require agencies to notify OMB and Congress if the project experiences delays or cost overruns. It directs agencies to kill projects where costs spiral out of control, Carper said.

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