And we have tried policy changes, though some would say not enough. We’ve increased the power of agency CIOs,5 added alternate purchasing paths that are not subject to burdensome acquisition regulations,6 introduced a “technology exchange program” for government staff to spend a year at tech companies to learn their practices,7 and so forth. The latter two programs have gone largely unused, victims of a culture in which if even one person prefers safe over sorry, we’re back to “the way it’s always been done.”
