Leadership Insight
MMT 2010 Volume: 14 Issue: 5 (August)
Roger W. Baker
Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology/
Chief Information Officer
Department of Veterans Affairs
Roger Baker, as the assistant secretary for information and technology within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), serves as the department’s chief information officer (CIO), advising Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki on matters related to information technology (IT), cybersecurity and the computerized implementation and operation of many veteran programs and data banks.
He is the former president and CEO of Dataline LLC, a technology company, and was the CIO for the Department of Commerce from 1998 to 2001. Before joining the federal government in 1998, his career with software and Internet firms included leading development of online banking systems at VISA International. He was a senior executive at CACI International and General Dynamics.
Baker has been active in the federal technology community, writing extensively on improving the management and results of government IT investments. He served as vice chair of an IT industry advisory council transition study group. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.
Q: What does VA see as its partnering opportunities with DoD?
A: VA and DoD are joined at the hip in our missions to serve servicemembers and veterans from the point they raise their right hand to be sworn into service. That’s why the president’s Virtual Lifetime Electronic Record is so important. We need to ensure we facilitate a seamless transition from DoD services to VA services. When you look at work we have already accomplished, with electronic medical records and the eBenefits portal, we have a good start. But we will look to partner in any area where information exchange between DoD, VA and the private sector can help us provide better services.
Q: How successful are VA and DoD collaborations, such as with Navy at Great Lakes, Illinois?
A: North Chicago has been tough for us from an IT perspective. What we are trying to do, in making the nation’s two largest electronic health systems work together in a single hospital, has been called impossible by some private-sector experts. So far, we expect to support the opening of the facility with the systems necessary to facilitate joint operations. But we have run into many, many challenges along the path, and can expect more before we are done.
Q: Where does VA expect to be with IT in five years?
A: My goal is for VA to have the best IT organization in the federal government. We are making changes that can support achieving that in five years. We are already very good operationally. We have made major improvements in information protection and privacy. Our big challenge now is in systems development. We implemented a radical new approach to development last year and are seeing very positive results so far. Reaching my goal will mean VA IT is seen as a major asset in achieving the secretary’s view of a transformed VA, where VA stands for “Veterans’ Advocate.”
Q: What is VA’s next step (or steps/challenges in any IT area)?
A: Our major goal for FY11 is to deliver on the new systems we are developing to achieve the transformation, particularly in the benefits portion of our business. We are working on a system that will move us from a paper-bound benefits process to one that is based on images and electronic workflow. Getting that system right, getting it installed and helping address the benefits backlog is a major step for us.
Q: What is needed from industry?
A: We need industry partners that are willing to tell us where we can do our work better. It can be tough for a company to say “no” to the government, but we are trying to put processes in place that encourage constructive industry participation in the hard decisions we have to make.
Q: VA has made a lot of progress in various areas—describe these.
A: Well, the one I’m proudest of is in the collaborative relationship VA IT has with its constituents—the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Benefits Administration and the National Cemetery Administration—as customers, as well as OMB, Congress, the press and the public. We are trying to be a very transparent, straightforward organization. We work with our customers when we have problems, and try to come to a cooperative solution. We tell them where we have issues, and we keep them informed. Most importantly, I think we are building trust. Not that we will do everything right, but that we will always deal honestly with issues when they arise. Frankly, that just makes my job a lot easier, and a lot more pleasant. ♦