There are few matters more important to the future of our government and American society than the challenge we are grappling with today. Advances in information technology continue to promise a future with possibilities that go far beyond the revolutionary change we have already witnessed in business, finance, and consumer choice. We believe that technology, woven into the fabric of institutions serving the public, can re-engineer how information is used to meet critical public needs, and empower people to improve their lives.
Aware of the transformative potential of IT, the Markle Foundation has worked for the last few years on the creation of trusted information-sharing environments in both national security and health care. We have been working with many collaborators from government and the private sector to achieve two major goals:
- The first goal is to strengthen our nation’s security while protecting civil liberties.
- The second goal is to modernize our complex and over-burdened healthcare system while preserving personal privacy.
These are two of the most critical challenges of our time, in which it is clear that the benefit of putting the right information in the right hands at the right time is enormous. In each of these areas, we know that the effective and appropriate use of IT can literally save lives. We also know that our nation’s goals in both areas cannot be met without better use of IT.
