Applied research is not often rewarded by academic value systems. As a consequence, researchers often pursue theoretical research instead of field work. Government agencies often will not or cannot wait for the results of traditional research to affect their decisions. On the other hand, useful research findings often go unnoticed because the form and outlets in which they are disseminated are unknown or unattractive to practitioners. The most valuable forms of research must involve a variety of activities that lead to ideas that government can use directly. They also demand research relationships that benefit both researchers and practitioners.

• What research-based products are used by, and useful to, government practitioners?
• What methodological innovations can speed the production of research results and the dissemination of useful knowledge?
• What are the characteristics of successful partnerships between government agencies and academic researchers?
• What institutional relationships between higher education and government lead to relevant and timely research for government use?
• What methods can researchers employ to better anticipate the future knowledge needs of government?

Table 2. Preliminary Ideas for Digital Government Research Projects
Assess the readiness of communities to engage in electronic citizenship	Explore the relationships among the design process, resource management, and knowledge management as components of IT management in government
Assess the integrity and integratability of data from a network of multiple sources to answer overarching questions about the social and economic effects of IT	Filters and agents for interacting with the White House online
Case studies of electronic public service models	Identify the characteristics of effective human service delivery networks
Clearinghouse of resources for the development of data standards	Improve courtroom production through use of IT workflow tools
Co-evolution of local government services and citizen involvement in service design	IT and the support of civil society: helping voluntary organizations complement the work of government
Comparison of several structured forums for electronic democracy	National virtual clearinghouse for government research needs
Coordinated collection, analysis, and integration of community intelligence in government IT development	National virtual clearinghouse for IT research relevant to government
Cost-benefit model for government archives	Promoting professional learning and knowledge management in government IT
Create government-academic research cooperatives responsive to government IT needs	Prototype of a digital archive for national GIS data
Design a prototype digital agency	Role of XML and competing standards in integration of data systems
Design and prototype selected public utility services to the home / highway	Security agents for self healing and aware networks
Design functional requirements for archiving Welfare Reform data	Self-organizing information networks that provide a single window into the data sources of separate organizations
Develop and assess alternative scenarios of government IT operations	Tools for mapping the content and contact points of organizational networks
Develop and test alternative policy regimes for authentication	Understanding and developing best practices through analysis of informal contacts among organizations
Develop Web-based tools to manage electronic records	Web-based information resource to support IT outsourcing by government
Digital government scenario development, utilization, and evolution	Web-based support for volunteer-run after school programs
Effectiveness of decision support tools for public officials under varying conditions	White paper for legislators re: management of records in the electronic age
Empirical assessment of the diffusion of "best practices" in government IT