Elon Musk & Vivek Ramaswamy
Co-Chairs
Department of Government Efficiency
Re: Alliance for Digital Innovation Recommendations and Priorities for 2025 and Beyond
Dear Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy:
On behalf of the Alliance for Digital Innovation (ADI), I am writing to express my support for Mr. Ramaswamy comments at the Aspen Security Forum that emphasized the importance of technology improvements and modernization across the federal government to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of federal services. I write to share our organization’s priorities for the next administration and Congress, which include specific recommendations for transforming government technology infrastructure and driving unprecedented efficiency across federal operations.
Our organization firmly believes that strategic technological modernization is the cornerstone of efficient government. We have identified three critical areas where targeted engagement and direction from DOGE can dramatically enhance government performance while driving long-term efficiency:
- Fundamentally Rethink Government Technology and Cybersecurity Authorities The current federal technology governance model is fragmented, reactive, and fails to keep pace with rapid technological evolution. We recommend working with Congress to rewrite the laws that govern government technology and cybersecurity to allow agencies to rapidly adopt commercial solutions, deprecate legacy technology, and secure their environments with best in breed solutions. By breaking down bureaucratic silos and creating a better incentive structure for technology adoption and use, we can transform how government procures, implements, and secures innovative technology.
- Expand Acquisition Pathways and Modernize Technology Appropriations Current government technology procurement processes are notoriously slow, burdensome, and misaligned with the pace of technological innovation. ADI proposes using flexible acquisition pathways that reduce bureaucratic friction, accelerate technology adoption, and create more competitive procurement environments. Some other recommendations include streamlining approval processes, appropriating more flexible funding for technological investments, and creating clear, expedited pathways for emerging technologies. By modernizing appropriations and acquisition strategies, we can ensure that government technology investments are timely, cost-effective, and aligned with cutting-edge commercial innovations.
- Increase Access to Modern Commercial Solutions, Invest in an Efficient Workforce, and Promote Competition Government modernization and commercial solution adoption across the federal government requires an intentional, focused, and strategic approach by government leadership. This strategic approach includes reducing barriers to entry for modern solutions like quantum, AI, and cloud computing. It involves prioritizing outcome focused investments over reoccurring operations and maintenance. It requires reducing burdensome and redundant compliance requirements. In necessitates upskilling the workforce to allow for use of these technologies. Finally, this strategy must be specific in identifying the projects most likely to yield the greatest efficiencies from adoption of modern commercial technology and focusing agency resources at every level to drive and scale adoption and use of that technology.
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These recommendations represent a comprehensive approach to reducing government reliance on outdated, expensive, and inefficient legacy technology. They do not call for incremental improvements to the government technology ecosystem, but instead drive toward a fundamental reimagining of how government can leverage technology to serve its citizens more efficiently and effectively. ADI stands ready to support DOGE, Congress, and the government agencies in developing and implementing these transformative strategies.
We look forward to collaborating with you to build a more efficient, secure, and responsive government.
Sincerely,
The Alliance for Digital Innovation