S U M M A R Y O F A W O R K S H O P O N INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY R E S E A R C H for Federal Statistics Committee on Computing and Communications Research to Enable Better Use of Information Technology in Government Computer Science and Telecommunications Board Commission on Physical Sciences, Mathematics, and Applications Committee on National Statistics Commission on Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. Support for this project was provided by the National Science Foun- dation under grant EIA-9809120. Support for the work of the Committee on National Statistics is provided by a consortium of federal agencies through a grant between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Science Foundation (grant number SBR-9709489). Any opin- ions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this mate- rial are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor. International Standard Book Number 0-309-07097-X Additional copies of this report are available from: National Academy Press (http://www.nap.edu) 2101 Constitution Ave., NW, Box 285 Washington, D.C. 20055 800-624-6242 202-334-3313 (in the Washington metropolitan area) Copyright 2000 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America National Academy of Sciences National Academy of Engineering Institute of Medicine National Research Council The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating soci- ety of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedi- cated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its mem- bers, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advis- ing the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. William A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine. The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sci- ences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal gov- ernment. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in pro- viding services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. COMMITTEE ON COMPUTING AND COMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH TO ENABLE BETTER USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN GOVERNMENT WILLIAM SCHERLIS, Carnegie Mellon University, Chair W. BRUCE CROFT, University of Massachusetts at Amherst DAVID DeWITT, University of Wisconsin at Madison SUSAN DUMAIS, Microsoft Research WILLIAM EDDY, Carnegie Mellon University EVE GRUNTFEST, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs DAVID KEHRLEIN, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, State of California SALLIE KELLER-McNULTY, Los Alamos National Laboratory MICHAEL R. NELSON, IBM Corporation CLIFFORD NEUMAN, Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California Staff JON EISENBERG, Program Officer and Study Director RITA GASKINS, Project Assistant (through September 1999) DANIEL D. LLATA, Senior Project Assistant iv COMPUTER SCIENCE AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS BOARD DAVID D. CLARK, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Chair JAMES CHIDDIX, Time Warner Cable JOHN M. CIOFFI, Stanford University ELAINE COHEN, University of Utah W. BRUCE CROFT, University of Massachusetts, Amherst A.G. FRASER, AT&T Corporation SUSAN L. GRAHAM, University of California at Berkeley JUDITH HEMPEL, University of California at San Francisco JEFFREY M. JAFFE, IBM Corporation ANNA KARLIN, University of Washington BUTLER W. LAMPSON, Microsoft Corporation EDWARD D. LAZOWSKA, University of Washington DAVID LIDDLE, Interval Research TOM M. MITCHELL, Carnegie Mellon University DONALD NORMAN, UNext.com RAYMOND OZZIE, Groove Networks DAVID A. PATTERSON, University of California at Berkeley CHARLES SIMONYI, Microsoft Corporation BURTON SMITH, Tera Computer Company TERRY SMITH, University of California at Santa Barbara LEE SPROULL, New York University MARJORY S. BLUMENTHAL, Director HERBERT S. LIN, Senior Scientist JERRY R. SHEEHAN, Senior Program Officer ALAN S. INOUYE, Program Officer JON EISENBERG, Program Officer GAIL PRITCHARD, Program Officer JANET BRISCOE, Office Manager DAVID DRAKE, Project Assistant MARGARET MARSH, Project Assistant DAVID PADGHAM, Project Assistant MICKELLE RODGERS RODRIGUEZ, Senior Project Assistant SUZANNE OSSA, Senior Project Assistant DANIEL D. LLATA, Senior Project Assistant v COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS PETER M. BANKS, Veridian ERIM International, Inc., Co-chair W. CARL LINEBERGER, University of Colorado, Co-chair WILLIAM F. BALLHAUS, JR., Lockheed Martin Corporation SHIRLEY CHIANG, University of California at Davis MARSHALL H. COHEN, California Institute of Technology RONALD G. DOUGLAS, Texas A&M University SAMUEL H. FULLER, Analog Devices, Inc. JERRY P. GOLLUB, Haverford College MICHAEL F. GOODCHILD, University of California at Santa Barbara MARTHA P. HAYNES, Cornell University WESLEY T. HUNTRESS, JR., Carnegie Institution CAROL M. JANTZEN, Westinghouse Savannah River Company PAUL G. KAMINSKI, Technovation, Inc. KENNETH H. KELLER, University of Minnesota JOHN R. KREICK, Sanders, a Lockheed Martin Company (retired) MARSHA I. LESTER, University of Pennsylvania DUSA M. McDUFF, State University of New York at Stony Brook JANET L. NORWOOD, Former Commissioner, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics M. ELISABETH PATÉ-CORNELL, Stanford University NICHOLAS P. SAMIOS, Brookhaven National Laboratory ROBERT J. SPINRAD, Xerox PARC (retired) MYRON F. UMAN, Acting Executive Director vi COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL STATISTICS JOHN E. ROLPH, University of Southern California, Chair JOSEPH G. ALTONJI, Northwestern University LAWRENCE D. BROWN, University of Pennsylvania JULIE DAVANZO, RAND, Santa Monica, California WILLIAM F. EDDY, Carnegie Mellon University HERMANN HABERMANN, United Nations, New York WILLIAM D. KALSBEEK, University of North Carolina RODERICK J.A. LITTLE, University of Michigan THOMAS A. LOUIS, University of Minnesota CHARLES F. MANSKI, Northwestern University EDWARD B. PERRIN, University of Washington FRANCISCO J. SAMANIEGO, University of California at Davis RICHARD L. SCHMALENSEE, Massachusetts Institute of Technology MATTHEW D. SHAPIRO, University of Michigan ANDREW A. WHITE, Director vii COMMISSION ON BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AND EDUCATION NEIL J. SMELSER, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, Chair ALFRED BLUMSTEIN, Carnegie Mellon University JACQUELYNNE ECCLES, University of Michigan STEPHEN E. FIENBERG, Carnegie Mellon University BARUCH FISCHHOFF, Carnegie Mellon University JOHN F. GEWEKE, University of Iowa ELEANOR E. MACCOBY, Stanford University CORA B. MARRETT, University of Massachusetts BARBARA J. McNEIL, Harvard Medical School ROBERT A. MOFFITT, Johns Hopkins University RICHARD J. MURNANE, Harvard University T. PAUL SCHULTZ, Yale University KENNETH A. SHEPSLE, Harvard University RICHARD M. SHIFFRIN, Indiana University BURTON H. SINGER, Princeton University CATHERINE E. SNOW, Harvard University MARTA TIENDA, Princeton University BARBARA TORREY, Executive Director viii Preface As part of its new Digital Government program, the National Science Foundation (NSF) requested that the Computer Science and Telecommu- nications Board (CSTB) undertake an in-depth study of how information technology research and development could more effectively support advances in the use of information technology (IT) in government. CSTB’s Committee on Computing and Communications Research to Enable Better Use of Information Technology in Government was established to orga- nize two specific application-area workshops and conduct a broader study, drawing in part on those workshops, of how IT research can enable improved and new government services, operations, and interactions with citizens. The committee was asked to identify ways to foster interaction among computing and communications researchers, federal managers, and pro- fessionals in specific domains that could lead to collaborative research efforts. By establishing research links between these communities and creating collaborative mechanisms aimed at meeting relevant require- ments, NSF hopes to stimulate thinking in the computing and communi- cations research community and throughout government about possibili- ties for advances in technology that will support a variety of digital initiatives by the government. The first phase of the project focused on two illustrative application areas that are inherently governmental in nature—crisis management and federal statistics. In each of these areas, the study committee convened a workshop designed to facilitate interaction between stakeholders from ix