In 1999, the DON CIO undertook the massive effort of developing the first Strategic Plan for Information Management and Information Technology (IM/IT) for the Department of the Navy. This time-consuming process wove its way through the organizational and functional divisions of the Department, as well as up and down the chain of command. The document was written at a level to make it real and viable, providing impetus for our organization to move forward, while providing the flexibility and tailoring essential for effective implementation at the organizational level.
The plan set the mission of the DON CIO as putting information to work for our people and it provided vision statements — visions of a future DON with a robust implementation of IM, IT, and knowledge management (KM). The plan spelled out nine specific goals: the first four core goals addressed infrastructure, process change, capital planning, and the creation and sharing of knowledge; the additional goals addressed technology injection, security, Y2K readiness, IM/IT competencies, and a technology-enabled and information-rich IT culture.
After two and a half years of working to this Strategic Plan, we reviewed the plan and assessed its viability for the Department's future challenges. We found that the original plan is still relevant and workable, but as with any living document, it needed to be updated to reflect current and future needs. Working with representatives from across the Department, the plan was adjusted to meet the evolving needs of the DON. The mission of putting information to work for our people is more relevant than ever before; the vision has changed slightly to take into account our Nation's greater focus on homeland security; our goals - although updated to reflect current technology and removal of the successfully completed Y2K goal - have basically remained the same; and the supporting objectives have been updated to support the related goals.
As with the original plan, the new DON IM/IT Strategic Plan for 2002-2003 was a team effort among the Secretariat, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), and Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC), and has been approved for distribution. It is available on the DON CIO Web site and is being distributed on CD-ROM.
I encourage you to read the plan and become familiar with the Department's IM/IT vision, goals, and objectives, so that your command is aligned with the overall strategy for IM and IT in the DON. To view or download the plan, visit our Web site at www.doncio.navy.mil.