Last week’s ACT-IAC Executive Leadership Conference provided a great forum for not only identifying pressing federal IT needs, but in gathering recommendations on how internal and outside stakeholders can best work together to address them.   Aside from the expected cyber discussions, good sessions were held on Blockchain technology and its possible use in government.  These, and other specific topics, were viewed from the perspective of the events main themes:  Mission Protection, Mission Transformation, and Mission Engagement.     Recognized leaders, such as former Coast Guard leader Thad Allen, government and industry veteran Casey Coleman, and NASA CIO Renee Wynn led many of the discussions.  The key now will be to see whether, or which, recommendations for implementation gain traction.  The last main session was dedicated to different aspects of how to communicate and gather support for change from internal and external customers.  It is not enough to gather the information on what needs to be done and how to do it.  There must be an execution plan inside each agency if the themes and recommendations are to mean anything.  Government attendees must be able to carry the momentum from the ELC into their organizations, while industry leaders should continue to encourage changes and look for ways to help.