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Presidential Initiatives

E-Clearance

Program Managers

Joy Fairtile

Managing Partner

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

Description

The E-Clearance initiative streamlines and improves the quality of the current security clearance process through the deployment of automation and common systems and policies to manage the security clearance process.

Progress to Date
  • Loaded clearances into OPM SII system
  • Deployed single point of access to clearances that links the OPM SII system with the DOD JPAS system
  • Deployed SF 86C (Certification) form
  • Opened E-Clearance learning lab
  • 30 agencies have deployed the E-QIP System
  • Reduced rejection rates of manually submitted SF86 forms versus electronically submitted SF86 forms by 15%
  • Defined a government-wide specification for accessing digitally imaged investigative file information

Next Steps
  • Continue developing a central investigative file locator, messaging, and retrieval system
  • Continue to train and prepare agencies for E-QIP deployment
  • Continue to load and maintain the Clearance Verification System (CVS)
  • Deploy other investigation request forms, including the SF-85 and SF-85P

Exhibit 300

Not available - initiative is reported as component of three OPM exhibit 300's: eQIP, PIPS, and HR LoB

Managing Partner Agency Exhibit 300

 

Individuals working for the Federal government whose jobs require that they handle sensitive and classified information must go through a process to obtain a security clearance.  Unfortunately, high levels of clerical error, labor-intensive data entry processes, and duplicative data entry have been prevalent.  Security clearance information is frequently not shared among agencies and finding clearance status can be time consuming and costly.

The E-Clearance initiative seeks to ensure that sensible policies and procedures are in place to improve the current security clearance process. The initiative’s first component was the Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (E-QIP), an automated on-line version of security clearance application form SF-86. With E-QIP, current work processes have started to move from a paper-based to an electronic environment, but the information requested and transmitted remaining the same.

The second component was the development and implementation of a cross-agency Clearance Verification System (CVS). The CVS provides the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and all partnering agencies access to the clearance data of each participating agency database. By increasing the availability of each agency’s database and making clearance information more accessible, CVS has improved agency accountability and supported the transfer of clearances from one agency to another.

E-Clearance’s third component provides for imaging of investigative records held by investigative agencies and making them available electronically, among all authorized federal users. E-Clearance will further facilitate the exchange of investigative results and produce savings through the elimination of redundant processes.

The E-Clearance initiative will result in a reduction in processing times for clearance-level employees and increased reciprocity among Federal agencies. It will streamline the investigation and re-investigation process through automation, less reliance on paper files and will improve data accuracy and analysis.