Here is a lesson in openness and transparency for everyone working in UK government IT.

President Barack Obama’s new federal chief information officer (CIO), Vivek Kundra, has launched a web-based IT dashboard, detailing the spending and project progress of government technology initiatives in the US.

The dashboard can be found here: http://it.usaspending.gov .

The web site allows citizens to track the progress of projects over time, and includes information on more than 7,000 initiatives, of which nearly 800 are classified as “major”.

The dashboard shows costs involved and the number of projects classified according to their status and progress - whether they are “normal”, “needs attention” or “significant concerns”. The site is currently a beta version, and there are a few glitches that need to be ironed out.

But what a refreshingly open approach – and how contrasting with the UK.

Come on John Suffolk, UK government CIO, how about something similar for this country?