On November 4, 2010, Peter Levin, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Advisor to the Secretary in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, will speak on the UMass Amherst campus about the VA’s efforts to create a more open and transparent government. Dr. Levin’s seminar is 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. in the Computer Science Building, room 151.
As the first Chief Technology Officer for the VA, Dr. Levin has spent the past year identifying opportunities and implementing new technologies to better serve veterans and their families. The VA’s efforts – prompted by President Obama’s 2009 Open Government Initiative which challenged federal agencies to become more transparent, collaborative, and participatory – demonstrate how technology can be used to make government more accessible and responsive to citizens’ needs. For instance, the VA has used popular social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter to connect veterans and their families online and to circulate important news and announcements.
The VA is also using technology to transform how veterans receive information about health care, disability benefits, and education opportunities. The “Blue Button” project and the “MyHealthVet Portal” are the Department’s attempts to not only electronically track the health, benefits, and administrative records of service men and women– encompassing information from enlistment all the way through retirement from the military and beyond – but to make that information accessible to veterans with the click of a button. Today, veterans can view their medical histories and refill prescriptions through the Portal. And they can securely download and share medical information with health care providers.
Dr. Levin has a long and distinguished career in both government and technology. Prior to becoming chief technology officer, he was a White House Fellow during the Clinton Administration; he was a Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, and the Assistant to the Counselor to the President. He was also an expert consultant in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he co-edited the 1997 Biennial Presidential Report to Congress on Science and Technology, and co-authored its chapter on technology.
The seminar is organized by the National Center for Digital Government and sponsored by the Qualitative Data Analysis Program, the Center for Public Policy and Administration, the Laboratory for Advanced Software Engineering Research, Electronic Enterprise Institute, and the Isenberg School of Management.