Chief Information Officers Council Charter
1. AUTHORITY:
1.1. Department Organization Order 15-23 prescribes the functions and organization of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (the CIO). Specifically, Section .03 m. states "[The CIO] Serve[s] as Chair of the Commerce CIO Council to promote effective cross-cutting IT management practices throughout the Department as a decision-making body.
2. PURPOSE:
2.1. The purpose of the U.S. Department of Commerce (“DOC” or “Agency”) Chief information Officer’s Council (“the Council”) is to serve as a decision-making body to establish policy and to provide guidance on IT management practices which will ensure effective collaboration and bring all DOC IT into the 21st century.
3. KEY GOALS AND SCOPE:
3.1. The primary goal of the CIO Council is to achieve, to the greatest extent possible, the advantages and benefits of a unified Information Technology (“IT”) organization while operating as a federated organization. These benefits include standardization, cost savings, uniformity of operations, and developing and helping to implement enterprise-wide initiatives through the use of shared services to the extent possible.
3.2. The CIO Council acknowledges that due to the wide variety of business activities and diversity of missions within the DOC, IT resources within each different Bureau or Line of Business are best equipped to develop and deploy IT solutions that support the requirements and functions of their respective business activity or mission.
4. GOVERNANCE PRINCIPLES:
4.1. The CIO Council will drive to a consensus decision whenever possible.
4.1.1. Consensus is defined as:
4.2. CIO Council decisions and approvals shall be taken by the DOC CIO to the DOC Management Boards (DMC, EMT, etc.) when necessary, as evidence of CIO consensus to pursue a course of action.
4.3. Any voting Council member can request that an item be placed on the agenda for review and or decision by the Council.
4.4. The DOC CIO is the final arbiter of the Council schedule and may defer items to allow Council deliberation on more timely or pressing issues.
4.1.1.1. All members have had the opportunity to express themselves and lay out their positions in a safe environment
4.1.1.2. Is a decision all members can live with
4.1.1.3. Is not unanimity
4.1.1.4. All members reserve the right to say, “I can’t live with this,” in which case consensus has not been reached and more work is required to get to the point where everyone can at least live with the decision, if not necessarily agree with the decision.
5. REPORTING, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
5.1. The Council shall act on the basis of one of the following:
5.1.1. A recommendation by a subgroup chartered to investigate a particular situation, issue, product or problem,
5.1.2. A recommendation by a DOC governance organization (i.e., ARB, DMC, EMT, etc.)
5.1.3. A proposal by a voting member of the Council, or
5.1.4. A proposal by the DOC CIO.
5.2. The Council meeting minutes shall reflect the items deliberated on and decisions made by the Council.
7. MEMBERSHIP:
7.1. Membership in the DOC CIO Council shall consist of the CIOs and Deputy CIOs of each representative bureau or operating unit. In voting situations, each bureau CIO or his/her appointed designee shall have one vote.
7.2. Periodically, other DOC employees or contractors are invited to contribute particular skills and expertise to the CIO Council. At the option of the officers, other organizations may periodically be invited to attend, observe, or contribute to meetings and activities
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8. OFFICERS:
8.1. By Department Organization Order 15-23 the Chairperson is the Commerce CIO. The Vice-Chair is the Commerce Deputy CIO. The Executive Secretary is the Commerce CIO Liaison.
9. SCHEDULE:
9.1. The CIO Council meets on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.
10. PROCEDURES:
10.1. The Executive Secretary will maintain an official archive of all meetings and CIO Council documents and actions.
11. COMMITTEES:
11.1. The CIO Council has the authority to establish standing committees and working groups as necessary to consider items of concern of the Council.
12. PROJECTS:
12.1. When it is necessary to establish ad-hoc task groups to address particular items, a Council member shall serve as the champion for each such task group.
13. STAFF SUPPORT:
13.1. The Department's CIO will provide for staff support to the council. Support will be augmented by members as necessary.
14. MODIFICATIONS:
14.1. This Charter may be modified on the basis of a unanimous vote of the voting membership of the Council.