GAO
Report Finds Flaws in OMB’s E-Government Initiatives
PROJECTS
LACKED ELEMENTS OMB IDENTIFIED AS
ESSENTIAL TO SUCCESSFUL E-GOVERNMENT
December
19, 2002
WASHINGTON - Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe
Lieberman, D-Conn., Thursday
released a General Accounting Office report critical of a Bush
administration e-government initiative known as
“Quicksilver.”
The 24 initiatives, selected by the Office of Management
and Budget’s E-Government Task Force, were chosen without the
benefit of complete business plans, the GAO found.
Further, OMB failed to collect sufficient information to
monitor implementation of the 24 projects.
“It troubles me that OMB decided upon its signature
e-government initiatives without considering the very factors
that it has identified as essential to successful
e-government,” said Lieberman.
“Especially now that the E-Government Act has passed, I
hope that OMB will evaluate its programs more carefully, and
consult closely with Congress, to ensure that its initiatives
realize e-government’s true potential.”
OMB’s stated goal in forming its E-Government Task
Force was to improve customer service
by focusing on 24 government-wide initiatives that integrate
agency operations and IT investments.
The E-Government Task Force initiated the Quicksilver
process in August of 2001, selecting
34 projects from 350 proposals. But it selected those projects
without the benefit of any business plans.
Abbreviated business plans were then developed for the 34
projects, and a final 24 initiatives were approved by the
President’s Management Council in October, less than two
months after the Quicksilver process had begun.
In reviewing the business plans, the GAO found:
•
Only nine
of the plans discussed how customer needs were to be identified
and addressed, even though OMB emphasized it would choose
initiatives for their potential value to customers
•
Only eight
of the plans addressed collaboration among agencies, even though
one of OMB’s primary objectives was to integrate operations
across agencies
•
The
selections were made without the benefit of detailed cost
information.
The GAO was able to reach these conclusions despite the
fact that OMB declined to provide some of the cost information
and business plans.
The GAO also reviewed project implementation documents
for the 24 initiatives and found that OMB lacked all the
information it needed to fully monitor the progress and
development of the initiatives.
The GAO concluded that “without accurate cost,
schedule, and performance information, OMB cannot ensure that
its e-government initiatives are on schedule and achieving their
goals of providing value to customers and improving government
efficiency.”
GAO
Report on Electronic Government |