Government chief information officer (GCIO) ontology

Abstract

Information Technology (IT) leadership is essential for the successful utilization of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in any organizational context. In particular, IT leadership is a critical success factor for every Electronic Government (e-Government) initiative. Most of the leading countries in e-Government development have adopted the Chief Information Officer (GCIO) function to lead and coordinate their technology-related projects. In addition, most influential international e-Government rankings -- like those conducted by United Nations and Waseda University; include the presence of the function in their assessment criteria. However, the adoption of the function entails broader actions than the merely establishment of the position itself. Several prerequisites, such as qualified human resources, coordination and collaboration capabilities, and governance mechanisms, among others, need to be available in government for the proper establishment and sustainability of the function. Despite its broader adoption in practice, there is scarce literature to assist governments in understanding the complexities of the GCIO function and making the prerequisites available. This paper presents the development of ontology to formally define the GCIO function. The main contribution of this work is to offer a tool for sharing and reusing the existing knowledge in the GCIO domain, filling the research-practice gap identified above.