For many observers of Washington, D.C., the federal government is laser-focused on information technology in ways that it hasn't in the past, from open government to cybersecurity and project management to cloud computing. It's within that context that InformationWeek Government's first live event takes place tomorrow.Major reforms in cybersecurity and federal IT acquisition are on the table, the federal government has its first formal federal CIO and CTO, and a generation of entrepreneurs and social media-savvy IT pros has sprouted the "Government 2.0" culture and helped inspire the Obama administration's Open Government Directive.

Indeed, government IT is in the midst of some of the most sweeping changes ever, but still has to make those changes within the confines of largely flat or decreasing budgets and stodgy government processes, technologies and organizational constructs, and that leads to head-scratching and unanswered questions in the minds of many in the government IT world.

As with any big change, there's a balance of promise and frustration at not knowing where to look next or how to get the agenda jumpstarted.

We'll be looking to answer some of those questions Tuesday at the first InformationWeek Government IT Leadership Forum at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., where senior leadership in government IT will come together to hear innovative and influential government IT leaders discuss how they're using technology to improve government operations.

It all starts with federal CIO Vivek Kundra, who will kick off the agenda with a keynote in the morning, and then the interactive event will push forward from there with conversations about project management, cybersecurity, cloud computing, open government, IT leadership, intelligence sharing and innovation. The speakers -- CIOs, deputy CIOs and CTOs -- represent a broad cross-section of government, from the White House to civilian agencies to the military to intelligence.