President Obama ordered all the major branches of the federal government to develop at least two apps to make essential services accessible to the consumers on their mobile devices on Thursday.
"Americans deserve a government that works for them anytime, anywhere, and on any device," Obama said in a statement. "By making important services accessible from your phone and sharing government data with entrepreneurs, we are giving hard-working families and businesses tools that will help them succeed."
Obama, in order to increase the use of technology to give rise to new industries and reshaping existing ones, is launching two strategies:
Digital Strategy
The new digital strategy or the "Digital Government: Building a 21st Century Platform to Better Service the American People" will transform data in new ways that will "fully utilize" Web and mobile technologies.
The strategy's key principles are:
- Enable the American people and an increasingly mobile workforce to access high-quality digital government information and services anywhere, anytime, on any device.
- Ensure that as the government adjusts to this new digital world, we seize the opportunity to procure and manage devices, applications, and data in smart, secure and affordable ways.
- Unlock the power of government data to spur innovation across our Nation and improve the quality of services for the American people
Using Mobile Technology
Obama in the memorandum said, "[A]t a time when Americans increasingly pay bills and buy tickets on mobile devices, government services often are not optimized for smartphones or tablets, assuming the services are even available online" (Health Data Management, 5/23).
Presidential Innovation Fellows program
The US administration will now initiate a "Presidential Innovation Fellows program" and bring in outside talent to make health, safety, energy, education and personal finance information. U.S. chief technology officer Todd Park will oversee the operation.
