Landscaping Government Chief Information Officer Education

This paper reviews the nature and responsibilities of Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO) positions, defines competencies required to fulfill such responsibilities, and presents the results of a survey of 78 education programs from 21 countries to determine to what extent they build GCIO-relevant competencies and how much attention different programs pay to policy, design, implementation and operation aspects of the public sector Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The survey covers CIO, Electronic Government, Technology Management, Leadership, Public Administration, Development, Sustainable Development and ICT for Development programs, all analyzed using a single conceptual framework. The survey revealed, among others: that the programs are strongly oriented toward one discipline, that no program fulfills all competency needs expected from GCIO positions, that such needs can be fulfilled by combinations of existing programs, and that a truly international GCIO curriculum is yet to emerge.