As a federal government employee, I think our best hope is to just release as much data as possible and let the private sector come up with innovative solutions to give to the citizens. http://sunlightlabs.com/ have the right idea.
A lot of projects and initiatives we are beginning to see is to make information easier to consume for computer systems to access government data (labor, financial, law) through data formats like XML, JSON, RDF, etc.
These have all been initiatives going on before the Obama administration. With the downturn in the private sector, entrepreneurs are looking to capitalize.
My big point is the best way to do this is outside of the government. Don't go looking for a government contract or get on the GSA Schedule, you will become just another government contractor and won't own the finished product. Get the data and make a product citizens want. Unlike one point the article makes, do not have US Government as a customer.