Former Maryland CIO David Garcia, recently opined on his experience with state government procurement.  His experiences sound similar to those of so many who have worked within, and with, government – or attempted to do so – and he is kind to call government IT procurement an “alligator filled swamp.”

His more important point, however, is that we can navigate the swamp!  Communication between the market and government stakeholders before and during any RFP process, face to face forums to clarify supplier responses and an acknowledgement that good solutions and fair prices must go hand in hand build the empathy, transparency and engagement needed to bridge the divide between government and the marketplace.

I have worked in and around government, politics and technology for most of my career and have seen the value creative thinking, team work and persistence add to any challenge.  Governments and markets want to work together – making the adjustments necessary for win-win outcomes is not as hard as we are led to believe.

– Patrick Moore, 27-March-2017 – [bio]