United States

Department of Agriculture

eGovernment Program

eGovernment Strategic Plan

FY 2002-FY 2006

January 25, 2002

United States

Department of Agriculture

eGovernment Program

eGovernment Strategic Plan

FY 2002-FY 2006

January 25, 2002
Table of Contents

Message from the Deputy Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x

1.0 A Challenging New Environment: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

USDA’S Mandate for Change

1.1 Mission-Critical Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.2 Rising Stakeholder Expectations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

1.3 Legislative and Government Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

1.4 Internal Challenges: Doing More With Less. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.0 Establishing a Departmental Strategic Direction: . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

USDA’S Egovernment Mission, Vision, Goals, and Objectivese

2.1 Government Mission and Vision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2.2 Guiding Principles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.3 eGovernment Strategic Goals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2.4 eGovernment Strategic Objectives and Performance Measures . . . . 13

3.0 Charting a New Path: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Making USDA Electronically Available any Place, any Time

3.1 eGovernment Strategic Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

3.2 eGovernment Enabling Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

4.0 Execution and Delivery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

4.1 High-level Time Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

4.2 Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

4.3 Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

4.4 Skills and Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

4.5 Required Technology Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Appendix A: USDA’s Current eGovernment Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . A2

Appendix B: USDA Mission, Vision, Goals and Objectives . . . . . . . . . A6

Appendix C: Methodology and Project Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A8

Appendix D: Relevant Legislation and Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10

Appendix E: Quicksilver Initiatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A14

Appendix F: Glossary of Relevant Terms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A18

ii
Table of Contents

iii
Consumers, nonprofits, and

businesses are increasingly

becoming accustomed to

the electronically-enabled convenience and service offered in the

private sector. These heightened

expectations of prompt and convenient satisfaction are likewise

increasing citizens’ and business

partners’ demands for the same

level of service from the public

sector. Cognizant of this and to

make employees more productive

and save taxpayer dollars, the

President has emphasized the

need for expanding electronic

government (eGovernment).

Through legislation such as the

Government Paperwork

Elimination Act and the Freedom

to e-File Act, Congress is also

mandating action in this regard. 

Despite the dot-com implosion,

this is not a fad nor is it the latest

government initiative or program,

here today and gone tomorrow.

eGovernment is here to stay and

must be an increasing part of our

business in the years ahead if we

are to remain relevant in the new

economy, meet these mandates,

and fulfill our social mission.

Moreover, eGovernment is a prerequisite to operating a results-oriented, market-driven enterprise in

line with the new vision Secretary

Veneman has espoused. So the

status quo is not an option, the

United States Department of

Agriculture (USDA) must embrace

this change.

To do this successfully we must

realize eGovernment is about

more than technology. It is about

fundamentally transforming how

we conduct our business. As

such it will require all of us –

headquarters and the field, all

mission areas, agencies and staff

offices, executives and non-executives, technical IT professionals

and program leads – to act and to

act boldly. This is indeed a new

day -- one that will require working differently, collaboration,

openness to new ideas, leveraging

our investments, and an emphasis

on being citizen-centered in all

that we do.

This Strategic Plan, encouraged

by the President’s Management

Council on which I serve and the

Office of Management and Budget,

defines where we are and where

we need to go in eGovernment. In

charting our new course, the Plan

underscores that USDA already

has a strong agency-based foundation upon which to build. From

electronic lending and benefits

solutions to Web-based commodity information, from farmerfocused forms automation to

Internet-based mapping technologies, and from a consumer food

safety hotline to interagency sites

on recreation and nutrition, we

already have an impressive

eGovernment track record. But

we must challenge ourselves to do

more across USDA agencies,

throughout the enterprise and

with other Federal and State agencies. We must commit ourselves

to new ways of delivering our

products, services and informaMessage from the 

Deputy Secretary

tion – new ways of empowering

citizens, helping our business

partners be more efficient and

effective, and equipping our

employees to spend more time

serving customers and solving

problems and less time processing

paper.

At the onset of what will be a

long change journey, I look forward to working with you to realize the promise of eGovernment.

Jim Moseley

Deputy Secretary

iv
Message from

the Secretary

v
vi

Process

To advance the President’s

Management Agenda and comply

with guidance from OMB, the

Deputy Secretary charged the

Office of the Chief Information

Officer (OCIO) with creating an

eGovernment Program and facilitating a structured, Departmentwide strategic planning process

for eGovernment. 

Purpose

The USDA has developed an

eGovernment Strategic Plan to

establish a comprehensive vision

and direction for the Department

and its agencies for the use of

electronic commerce for the next

five years (FY 2002-2006). The

Plan was developed to:

ß Begin incorporating and aligning eGovernment with USDA and

agency annual performance and

business operating planning and

budgeting processes

• Build on USDA’s current 

• Government capabilities and

efforts

• Share USDA best practices 

• Break down organizational silos

by taking a "citizen-centered"

view of program and service

delivery

• Avoid redundant approaches

and save money by leveraging

resources — seeking opportunities to collaborate across USDA

agencies, throughout the enterprise, and with other Federal

departments (including

"Quicksilver" initiatives under

the auspices of the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB),

see Appendix D);

• Prioritize opportunities and

devote resources to those with

the largest impact

• Create a sense of ownership and

shared vision for the

Department as a means to foster

cultural change

Introduction

What is eGovernment?

eGovernment is the exchange

of value, including services,

programs and information,

through an electronic medium,

and includes interactions and

relationships between:

• Government and citizens;

• Government and public and 

private entities; and

• Government and employees.

eGovernment is enabled by a

wide range of electronic, multimedia, and digital solutions,

such as:

• The Internet

• Personal Digital Assistants

• Call Centers

• Handheld Wireless Devices

• Machine-to-Machine Devices 

(i.e. Smart Tags)
vii

Introduction

Council, Under and Assistant

Secretaries, and the Deputy

Secretary.

A number of these opportunity

areas were identified as Smart

Choice Candidates — high-priority initiatives on which the

Department will initially focus its

resources over the next 12 to 18

months. These Smart Choice

Candidates, selected by the

eGovernment Executive Council

and approved by the Enterprise

Information Technology

Investment Review Board

(EITIRB) and Deputy Secretary,

represent the most promising

eGovernment opportunities, especially in the near term. 

The Smart Choice Candidates

will be pursued immediately with

an intention to show demonstrable, measurable progress in these

areas in the next 12-18 months.

Business cases, integrated into the

Department’s Capital Planning

and Investment Control process,

will be written for all Smart

Choice Candidates immediately in

order to secure funding by FY

2004. Business cases for the

remainder of the initiatives will

be written upon completion of

those for the Smart Choice

Candidates, with funding targeted

for FY 2005.

Scope and

Organization of Plan

USDA is comprised of 29 agencies and staff offices and more

than 100,000 employees. Given

USDA’s structure and size —analogous to a federation or holding

company — it is essential that

agencies and staff offices inform

and enlighten Departmental strategy and goals. Similarly, agencies

and staff offices must own the

This Plan was crafted by an

eGovernment Executive Council

and Working Group - comprised

respectively of champions and

sponsors designated within each

mission area and agency/staff

office. Working Group and

Executive Council members provided continual leadership, decision-making and help with communications over a three-month

period and will now guide business case development, implementation, performance measurement and oversight. 

The unifying force for this Plan

was a relentless focus on our customers — the citizens we serve

and how we as employees working with our business partners

might serve them better — versus

how we are currently organized.

The EC and EGWG also emphasized building core capabilities

within our mission-critical business processes and key support

functions by utilizing technology,

thus viewing eGovernment as an

enabler, a means to an end rather

than an end in itself. 

The development of this Plan

and the opportunities it identifies

involved more than 200 USDA

employees who participated in

interviews, visioning sessions and

focus groups representing a broad

cross-section of business and technology, management and nonmanagement, field and headquarters personnel. Over 4,800 USDA

employees also participated in an

employee survey as part of this

strategic planning exercise. From

these processes, more than sixty

ideas, suggestions and opportunities were identified collectively.

Through a prioritization process,

these were screened and vetted,

resulting in the 24 Departmental

opportunity areas described herein. These 24 have been in turn

approved by the Executive
viii

Introduction

wide, or involve multiple USDA

agencies

• Specifies the required capabilities and critical success factors

for successful implementation

Complementing this strategy are

five-year Agency eGovernment

Tactical Plans outlining:

• Existing and prospective

agency-specific (i.e., involving

only one agency) eGovernment

initiatives and priorities that

support Departmental

eGovernment goals and objectives;

• Current and prospective actions

an agency is taking to implement the eGovernment opportunities included in this

Departmental Strategic Plan; 

• Specific actions (e.g., communications, training, policy enforcement, etc.) an agency is taking

to promote and advance the

Department’s eGovernment

Program at the agency level;

• Agency-specific eGovernment

actual implementation of

Departmental strategy. 

This process requires delicately

balancing the pros and cons of

agency independence with the

advantages and disadvantages of

enterprise integration and stewardship; allowing for agency flexibility with corporate requirements; and pursuing "win-wins"

that advance the good of the one

and the good of the whole.

As such, this five-year

Departmental eGovernment

Strategy:

• Imparts USDA’s eGovernment

mission and vision;

• Delineates three overarching

goals and associated objectives

supporting this mission and

vision;

• Establishes performance measures for these objectives;

• Presents short- and long-term

action steps for high-level, prioritized opportunities that are

interdepartmental, enterprise-
implementation roadmaps;

• Project-level performance measures versus goal and objective

level performance measures

contained in this Plan.

Agency Tactical Plans should be

available in Spring 2002. Taken

together, this Departmental

Strategic Plan and the associated

Agency Tactical Plans identify the

USDA’s eGovernment priorities

over the next five years.

This Departmental Strategic Plan

and its corollary Agency Tactical

Plans are living documents that

will be revised periodically and

integrated into the Department’s

financial, business and technical

planning processes. They are

strategic plans, not workplans,

and as such advance a desired

course of action – a high-level

roadmap for achieving the future.

They should be viewed as directional, not directive; and as aspirational, not absolute.

An electronic copy of this Plan

and the corresponding Agency

Tactical Plans is available on our

USDA eGovernment Web site at

http://www.egov.usda.gov. Please

Introduction

contact our USDA eGovernment

Mailbox, egov@usda.gov, should

you have ideas, comments, or

questions regarding this Plan, suggestions for ways to improve our

eGovernment efforts at USDA, or

if you would like to get involved.

ix
"In recent years the pace of

change has been unparalleled.

Our producers now operate in a

global, technologically advanced,

rapidly diversifying, highly competitive business environment

that is relentlessly driven by

increasingly sophisticated consumers."1 

— Ann M. Veneman

Secretary of Agriculture

For over a century, the USDA

has been a pillar of the

American economy.

Founded in 1862, the Department

has a proud heritage of providing

stability and assurance for the

American people. Although we

no longer live in an agrarian economy, the necessities of human life

still revolve around an abundant,

nutritious and safe food supply,

flourishing natural resources, and

prosperous rural communities.

Ensuring continued American

prosperity and world food security requires innovation, flexibility,

and foresight. Globalization, new

Presidential mandates and

Congressional regulations, new

programs and services, increasing

sophistication of agriculture and

food markets, and threats of

bioterrorism are just a subset of

the mission-critical challenges

that will demand the attention

and response of the USDA over

the next few years. This complex

environment will present mounting obstacles for the Department

to deliver its promise to the public. Furthermore, the heightened

expectation of the public for more

products and services, delivered

"better, faster, cheaper," is driving

the Department to rethink its traditional business and create new

approaches to fulfill its mission.

The emergence of the Internet

and eCommerce technologies

presents dramatic new opportunities to transform the Department

into a more results-oriented and

responsive organization. It offers

the potential to:

• Reach out to farmers, rural businesses, low-income families and

agriculture-related companies

throughout the world via new

and innovative channels;

• Transmit real-time information

and knowledge to our Federal,

state and local government partners; and

• Provide virtual education and

learning opportunities for a geographically-dispersed network

of employees and partners.

Furthermore, the opportunities

to streamline processes, reduce

costs and create more internal

efficiencies will expand the

Department’s capabilities to deliver new programs and better services.

Executive Summary

x

1

"Food and Agriculture Policy: Taking Stock in the New Century." USDA, 2001,

pg. ii.
Enabling USDA’s 

mission and vision

eGovernment is a means to realizing the fundamental elements of

USDA’s organizational mission

and vision. Thus, the

Department’s eGovernment mission, vision, goals and objectives

flow from and are premised upon

USDA’s fundamental purpose,

focusing on the most critical

issues of our business. 

Our eGovernment mission,

vision, goals and objectives are

outlined in the chart above. 

The mission statement attempts to

convey our purpose and the

vision statement our desired end

state. Both will necessitate fundamental changes in our culture and

how we operate. 

The USDA’s first eGovernment

goal represents the Department’s

commitment to create a "citizencentered" government and more

directly and effectively respond to

and fulfill the demands of the

people USDA serves - including

farmers, low-income families,

school children, and rural communities. As the "People’s

Department," the USDA is committed to serving people and

empowering communities. To

this end, the human element in

the USDA’s services will neither

be diminished nor displaced by

the Internet. The Internet, supported by a robust USDA telecommunications infrastructure, will

simply be used as a channel to

enhance more meaningful and

purposeful interactions with the

public and between employees.

These 24 eGovernment opportunities represent a balanced "portfolio" addressing different types of

opportunities, levels of involvement, and strategic goals met:The

second eGovernment goal focuses

on improving the USDA’s working

relationship with public and private sector organizations —

including Federal, state, and local

governments, regulated and partner industry groups, university

and research communities, nonprofit organizations, producers

and agribusinesses, and international entities.

Finally, the third eGovernment

goal will empower employees and

improve internal operations within the Department. It focuses on

ensuring employees can work

more collaboratively within and

Executive

Summary

xi

across each agency and staff office

and can quickly execute administrative functions.

As a whole, the eGovernment

mission, vision, and goals will be

achieved by meeting associated

objectives via the implementation

of short and long-term strategic

and enabling opportunities. The

table below presents USDA’s

eGovernment objectives by goal,

as well as associated

Departmental implementation

opportunities that we have committed to pursuing during the

next five years, FY 2002-2006.

The table also includes a very

brief description of these opportunities; additional detail on each

cab be found in Section IV of this

Plan.

USDA eGovernment Mission

"Transform and enhance the delivery of USDA’s programs, services and information."

USDA eGovernment Vision

"USDA, electronically available any place, any time."

Goal 1: Citizens Goal 2: Public and Goal 3: Employees and 

Private Organizations the Enterprise

"Improve citizens’ knowledge of "Enhance collaboration with "Improve internal efficiency by

and access to USDA to enhance public and private sector promoting enterprise-wide

service delivery." organizations to develop and solutions."

deliver USDA’s mission."
xii

Executive

Summary

Goal 1: Citizens

"Improve citizens’ knowledge of and access to USDA to enhance service delivery."

"One-stop" eligibility shop for customers to determine the USDA

programs/services for which they are eligible, across all agencies

eLoans

Provides opportunities for citizens and businesses to apply for, obtain, and

manage USDA loans (direct and guaranteed) via the Internet 

eRulemaking

Online forum for accepting public and internal comments on proposed rules

and regulations authored by USDA agencies

Nutrition/Dietary Guidelines/Food Safety Awareness

Personalized multimedia outreach and education program to improve citizens' nutritional habits and food safety awareness

Online Export Assistance and Marketing

Virtual export center for USDA customers, regulated industries, and partners

to learn about exporting agricultural commodities, such as accessing

permits/requirements and gaining foreign market date.

Enabling Opportunities:

USDA Web Presence

Allows users, including citizens and partners, to navigate USDA’s Web site

via portals based on their desired tasks or topics, and includes a standard

look and feel

eLearning

Allows employees and citizens to track their progress in completing personalized curricula, register for courses and allow management and trainers to

track progress

Customer and Public/Private Organization Database

A single data store that houses all citizen and public/private organization

data for the use of all agencies

CRM for Service Centers

Allows Service Center employees to manage the relationship between the

USDA and its customers by tracking visits, correspondence, inquiries and

services provided through customer data summaries

1.1 Promote a stable, safe,

and affordable food supply and improve nutritional status.

1.2 Enhance the efficiency and commercial viability of agricultural producers and promote the

expansion of agricultural

trade.

1.3 Increase the capability

of all citizens, especially

those living in rural communities, to benefit from

eGovernment.

1.4 Provide the public

with information and

services to benefit from

and preserve natural

resources and the environment. Strategic

Opportunities:

Strategic Objectives eGovernment Opportunities
Executive

Summary

xiii

Strategic Objectives eGovernment Opportunities

Strategic Opportunities:

eGrants

Central source for all organizations that receive USDA grant assistance (e.g.,

rural businesses, state/local governments, and universities) to access, apply

for and manage awards for all USDA grants

eMaps

Provides capabilities for users to generate environmental and social maps to

be displayed electronically, via the Internet

ePermits/eCertificates

Provides electronic options to issue permits, certificates and other regulationbased verifications to USDA’s customers and partners

Food Safety and Security Tools

Provides real-time access to government agencies for entering and tracking

data for decision-making purposes and for investigations into causes of foodborne illness 

Web-based Supply Chain Management of Food

Leverages supply chain management technologies to enable USDA agencies

and their partners (primarily USAID, school districts, domestic producers,

state agencies and industry), to manage commodity purchasing and food 

distribution seamlessly

2.1 Empower organizations

by providing appropriate

and meaningful data and

knowledge for timely decision-making.

2.2 Enable business transactions with partners

through user-friendly

applications and seamless

integration across the

Department.

2.3 Streamline oversight,

regulatory, and cooperative

activities with standardized electronic solutions.

2.4 Provide leadership in

intergovernmental initiatives to improve service

delivery. 

Goal 2: Public and Private Organizations

"Enhance collaboration with public and private sector organizations to develop and 

deliver USDA’s mission."
Strategic Objectives eGovernment Opportunities

Goal 3: Employees and the Enterprise

"Improve internal efficiency by promoting enterprise-wide solutions."

Strategic Opportunities

Survey Capability

Provides a global survey instrument, including a suite of survey capabilities

and/or outsourcing arrangement to perform surveys requiring data collection

from both internal and external sources

Department-wide eProcurement (IAS)

Designed to streamline and automate contract management and acquisition

processes throughout USDA, and ultimately enhance support of USDA mission-critical activities

Financial Management Tools

Provides capabilities including online reporting for existing financial management packages and a global eCommerce capability to handle billing needs

Human Resources Online

Enables employees to manage human resource-related issues online and assist

in human resource planning and administration through a single Internet

interface 

Physical Asset Management

Allows USDA to efficiently manage all of its physical assets, including real

estate, vehicles, plans, computers, furniture, etc., at Headquarters and in the

field

Enabling Opportunities:

User Authentication and Electronic Signatures

Set of solutions for handling electronic signatures for citizens, partners and

employees

Application Hosting

Enhances application-hosting capabilities to establish a tiered service model 

Data Management

Provide the guiding principles and framework for implementing a corporate

data management program, including an enterprise taxonomy and metadata

model

Documents/Records/Correspondence Management with Workflow

Integrated solution will allow USDA and its employees to more easily electronically store, track, and transmit documents

Knowledge/Content Management

Departmental solution for managing the publishing, sharing, and classification of Web pages, documents, official records, and correspondence

3.1 Foster seamless collaboration to make informed

decisions and minimize

redundancy to achieve

USDA’s mission.

3.2 Increase USDA

employees’ skills, understanding, access and use

of available eGovernment

tools.

3.3 Develop and enhance

administrative and support

functions that satisfy

employee and enterprise

needs in an effective, efficient and interoperable

manner. 

3.4 Create and maintain a

management and technical

infrastructure capable of

supporting USDA’s

eGovernment vision.

Executive

Summary

xiv
These 24 eGovernment opportunities represent a balanced "portfolio" addressing different types of

opportunities, levels of involvement, and strategic goals met:

The Transformation

Journey

To realize our vision and achieve

our goals, we must create the right

environment for success. This

environment will involve a transformational journey that will

affect the entire organization.

Fulfilling the intent of this Plan

will be dependent upon infrastructure and technical improvements, human and financial capital, participation from USDA’s

partners, and continuous executive leadership and support.

Fifteen (15) success factors, indicated below, will be critical to

USDA’s eGovernment implementation efforts. If the eGovernment

opportunities and associated short

and long-term initiatives identified

in the Plan represent the "What" of

our eGovernment efforts, these

success factors reflect the "How" of

making it happen.

Executive

Summary

xv

1. Executive leadership and sponsorship

2. Effective governance with clear

roles and responsibilities 

3. A cultural shift committed to

collaboration and integration 

4. Financial support for new

development, ongoing maintenance, and the retirement of outdated legacy systems

5. Skills development and training

6. Awareness and understanding

of eGovernment by USDA stakeholders

7. Supporting telecommunications

infrastructure improvements 

8. Required technical capabilities

9. Assurance of privacy and security in cyber-transactions 

10. An integrated Information

Technology (IT) Capital Planning

and Investment Control process

that prioritizes eGovernment initiatives

11. A structured, established

Enterprise Architecture

12. Formal linkages with information collections

13. Reengineering of key business

processes

14. A measurable and attainable

timeline for opportunities/initiatives

15. Partnerships with private sector and government entities

Type Level Strategic Goal Met

Strategic: electronically

automating a core business

process or support function

Enabling: policy, practices,

technology and infrastructure supporting one or more

strategic initiatives

Citizens

Public & Private

Organization

Employees and the

Enterprise

Interdepartmental: opportunities involving USDA agencies and other Federal

agencies/Departments

Enterprise-wide: opportunities that

include and involve all USDA agencies

Cross-mission area and cross-agency:

opportunities that involve collaboration

among two or more USDA agencies
2

the USDA administers over 15

nutritional programs that feed

more than 40 million people in

need; fosters stewardship of 75%

of the country’s total land area;

supports over 65 million people

living in rural America; and provides food assistance to 80 countries. The USDA’s expansive

reach and diverse mission truly

make it "the People’s Department,"

and its continued success will be

crucial to American economic and

social prosperity as we progress

into the 21st century. 

At the dawn of a new millennium,

the Department faces a changing

environment — one filled with

new challenges and opportunities

such as consumer-driven agriculture, increasing globalization, and

advances in information and communications technology. These

trends, among others, are bringing

fundamental changes to the world

in which the USDA operates and

fulfills its mission. 

Leading the USDA’s move

toward eGovernment are:

• Transformations in industries

the USDA supports and regulates; 

• Increasing expectations from citizens, private and public sector

organizations, and employees; 

• Demands for electronic government, improved customer service, and citizen-centered government from the legislative and

executive branches; and 

For over a century, the United

States Department of

Agriculture (USDA) has

been a pillar of the American

economy. Founded in 1862, the

Department has a proud heritage

of providing stability and assurance for the American people.

Although we no longer live in an

agrarian economy, the necessities

of human life still revolve around

an abundant, nutritious and safe

food supply, flourishing natural

resources, and prosperous rural

communities.

By promoting agricultural

exports and improving the safety

and competitiveness of domestic

production, the USDA helps to

support over $1 trillion of economic activity annually and

ensure jobs for 1 out of every 6

working Americans. Moreover,

1.0 A Challenging New

Environment

USDA’s Mandate For Change

• Internal challenges such as the

need to "do more with less;" a

new focus on market-driven

policies and programs; and an

emphasis on results-oriented

solutions. 

1.1 MissionCritical Challenges

The Department’s diverse agencies span nearly every major business function within government

(e.g., benefits administration,

loans, insurance, research, regulatory oversight, etc.), operating

throughout the world to ensure

accountability, oversight, and

development of US industries and

markets. The rapid adoption of

information technology has radically transformed the sectors in

which the USDA fulfills its mission by contributing to industry

consolidation, enabling new value

propositions, speeding service

delivery, and increasing collaboration and information exchange.

As the areas in which the USDA

operates evolve, they will create

additional pressures for the USDA

to respond in ways that empower

our constituencies, ensure fair

market conditions and enhance

the competitiveness of American

agriculture. 
1.0 A Challenging

New Environment

3

2

"Concentration of Agricultural Markets." William Heffernan, Douglas Constance, Robert Gronski and Mary Hendrickson;

University of Missouri, 1996.

3

"From Paper to Electronics: Creating a Benefit Delivery System That Works Better & Costs Less - An Implementation Plan

for Nationwide EBT." Federal Electronic Benefits Transfer Task Force, 1994.

4

Healthy Eating Index (1998), USDA Economic Research Service/Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.

5

"Falling Through the Net." Department of Commerce/NTIA, 2000.

6

Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics/US Census Bureau

Business Trends and Internet USDA Implications

Impacts on the Industry

• Advances in biotechnology promise benefits such as higher 

yields and more nutritious crops, although consumers remain 

suspicious of genetically modified foods

• Consolidation has resulted in the top four agribusinesses 

controlling over 45% of market share in more than ten 

agricultural industries2

• Smaller farmers are more vulnerable, as larger processors’ 

market power increases and global competition brings lower 

commodity prices

• Over a dozen agriculture-related eMarketplaces and commodity exchanges have started, but only those with the backing 

of major agribusinesses have shown signs of success

• The Internet increases price transparency and the potential 

to link suppliers and buyers more directly

• Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) in Food Stamps has resulted 

in overall cost savings of $424 million for both retailers and governments by streamlining processing and reducing handling costs3

• Emphasis on homeland security and preventing bioterrorism 

have increased pressure to ensure a safe and secure food supply

• Only 12% of Americans have healthy diets; over 70% need 

improvement4

; more effective methods of education and outreach 

are needed to influence diet and eating habits

• Rural Internet access has increased but still lags behind metropolitan areas (38% in rural areas, versus 44% in urban areas)5

• Rural unemployment continues to exceed levels in urban areas, 

as high as 9.4% in 20016

• Rural Americans continue to have less access than urban 

dwellers to essential services such as education and health 

care, especially specialized or advanced services

• Rising natural resource costs and the expansion of urban and 

suburban areas have increased focus on conservation

• Urban and suburban areas in particular face critical land use and 

planning issues 

• Conservation is becoming more closely linked to agriculture as 

sustainable resource use becomes more important and necessary

• Geographic information systems (GIS) have helped environmental

planners better analyze data and trends, leading to better 

decisions and more accurate forecasting

USDA can provide the 

appropriate tools, policies and

market conditions to ensure

both that small farmers are not

further disadvantaged by technological and industry changes,

and that rural and other

geographically-isolated farmers

can benefit from new market

opportunities presented by new

and emerging technologies. 

USDA can continue its 

innovation in assisting consumers, building on the success

of EBT to improve benefits

delivery and ensure a safe food

supply. New channels and

processes are necessary to

improve the availability and

quality of nutrition and food

safety education.

USDA’s leadership in developing rural infrastructure will be

critical to ensure rural populations can benefit from distance

learning opportunities and

other benefits of Internet

technologies.

USDA will need to reach out to

new constituents, partner with

private landowners and discover ways to reduce depletion and

educate the public.

Agricultural

Production and

Trade

Consumer Food

and Nutrition

Rural E conomic

Development

Environmental

Stewardship

and

Conservation
quality of access will continue to

increase; 20% of Internet users

used a high-speed, broadband

connection in late 2001, 90%

greater than the number of highspeed connections at then end of

20009 Further, by 2006, 41% of

home Internet use will be via

high-speed connections.

same options and convenience

they can now receive from the private sector. 

Rising use of services such as

online banking and shopping confirms consumers’ desire for convenient options such as those

afforded by

1.0 A Challenging

New Environment

4

Figure 1: Growth of U.S. Internet Use8

1.2 Rising

Stakeholder 

Expectations

The proliferation of information

and communication technologies

has caused significant changes in

the way people and businesses

interact. Consumers now expect

to be able to conduct transactions

with businesses and access realtime information any time, anywhere. Further, consumers

increasingly expect, and demand,

to receive from government the

eCommerce/eGovernment. The

number of Internet users who've

made at least one online purchase

grew at a rate of 45% in 2000, to a

total of 58%7. Further, online

retail purchases are forecasted to

rise from $34 billion in 2001 to

more than $130 billion in 2006, a

fourfold increase in only five

years — even after the bursting of

the dot.com bubble. 

Moreover, the Internet’s significant growth will continue. As

shown in figure 1, the number of

Americans online will continue to

grow, reaching 210 million by

2006 — 71% of the U.S. population. Even more importantly, the

7

Pew Internet & American Life Project survey, March 2001

8

Jupiter Research Internet Population Model, October 2001

9

Nielsen/NetRatings, November 2001
Citizens

USDA’s customer groups are currently online in impressive numbers. Forty-one percent of farmers

are online (according to USDA’s

National Agricultural Statistics

Service), proportionally close to

the 44% of the total population

that uses the Internet in 2001

(Jupiter Research).

And while Internet use by both

low-income Americans and rural

residents lags behind other

groups, both groups’ use has been

growing quickly: rural Internet

use grew by more than 70% from

1998 to 2000, and low-income use

has grown by 80% over the past

year11—the fastest growth rate of

any income group. Furthermore,

89% of all American children

have Internet access at home or

school.

1.0 A Challenging

New Environment

5

Internet Usage 2001 2006

Percentage of U.S. Population Online 44% 71%

Business to Consumer eCommerce $34 B $128 B

Number of Consumers Using eCommerce 65 M 129 M

Business to Business eCommerce $466 B $5,450 B 

Figure 2: Growth of U.S. Internet Use & eCommerce10

Major Citizen Group Estimated Total Internet Access

Number Served 

10Jupiter Research Internet Population Model, October 2001

11Current Population Survey (August 2000), U.S. Department of Labor/U.S. Census Bureau

12"Farm Computer Usage and Ownership," National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2001.

13"Falling Through The Net: Toward Digital Inclusion", U.S. Department of Commerce, 2000.

14NTIA and ESA, U.S. Department of Commerce (from 2001 Current Population Survey).

15Jupiter Internet Population Model, Jupiter Research, 2001.

Children 30 Million 89%11

Farmers/Producers 2.2 Million 43%12

Rural Communities & Businesses 2.5 Million (direct), 39%13

50 Million (indirect)

Low-Income Families & Individuals ($15-$25K/yr) 20 Million 24% 

Landowners and Conservationists 10 Million N/A14

All Americans 285 Million 44%15

Figure 3: Internet Access for Major Citizen Groups Served by USDA
Public and Private

Partners

Business-to-business commerce

has been the fastest-growing sector of the Internet, with innovations such as knowledge management, supply chain management,

electronic payments, and

eProcurement leading to cost savings and greater organizational

flexibility. With so much potential, business-to-business

eCommerce is experiencing enormous growth — total transactions

will rise from $460 billion in 2001

to over $5.4 trillion in 200616—

more than one-third of all business-to-business commerce in the

U.S.

Similarly, USDA’s major partner

organizations have pervasive

Internet access. Ninety-eight percent of research and academic

partners are online, and 90% or

more of banks, insurance companies, governments, and major

agribusinesses are online as well.

1.0 A Challenging

New Environment

6

16Jupiter Research, September 2001.

17Current Population Survey (August 2000), U.S. Department of Commerce/NTIA,

2000.

Colleges/Universities and Research Partners 98%

Insurance Companies/Agents 93%

Agribusinesses & Land-based Products Companies 93%

Federal, State and Local Agencies & Organizations 91%

Banks & Lenders 90%

Food Distribution and Supply Chain Companies 66%

Figure 4: Internet Access for Major Public/Private Organizations17

Organization Internet Access
USDA Employees

USDA’s employees equally have

rising expectations regarding the

Internet, indicating that they are

eager to realize the benefits of

eGovernment. According to a survey administered by the USDA

Office of the Chief Information

Officer in December 200118:

•47% of USDA employees surveyed currently use agency 

Intranet sites to assist them 

with work

•53% use the Internet for business purposes 

•76% would like to telecommute

•93% feel comfortable using 

technology and the Internet to 

complete business tasks 

•60% either do not receive 

enough information electronically or do not receive appro

priate information electronically

Additionally, employees generally are aware of the eGovernment

tools available for their use (as

shown in Figure 5 below), indicating interest in using such tools.

However, less than half of

employees surveyed were aware

of USDA eGovernment applications for citizens or public and

private organizations

1.3 Legislative 

and Government

Drivers

The need for —and promise of—

eGovernment has led to the

issuance of both legislation and

Executive Branch directives

encouraging or requiring its

implementation.

• The Government Paperwork 

Elimination Act (GPEA) of 1998 

(P.L. 105-277) requires federal 

agencies to enable their cus

tomers and business partners to 

conduct all transactions online 

by 2003. Specifically, the law 

1.0 A Challenging

New Environment

7

18Note: The eGovernment survey was administered via e-mail and the World

Wide Web; accordingly, the survey’s sample may be somewhat biased toward

already technically savvy employees. As a test the survey instrument was also

given to a small group of field employees in paper format.
Agenda, OMB and thePresident’s 

Management Council created a 

Quicksilver Task Force to develop

government-wide eGovernment 

initiatives; 24 such initiatives 

have been approved, with planning for their implementation 

underway.

Legislation and directives such

as GPEA, E-File, ESIGN, and the

President’s Management Agenda

offer guidance for eGovernment

and provide the impetus for agencies to evolve in order to meet rising stakeholder expectations.

Additionally, they encourage

agencies to use technology to reap

the increased productivity,

employee efficiency, and cost savings seen in the private sector.

Finally, OMB and the General

Accounting Office (GAO), as well

as Congress and the White House,

are closely monitoring the

progress of all Federal agencies

toward meeting these legislative

and executive mandates. (Further

information on legislation and

executive directives can be found

in Appendix D).

1.4 Internal

Challenges: Doing

More With Less

In addition to the many external

forces affecting the future of

USDA, a number of internal factors — including budgetary and

resource pressures; insufficient

collaboration and coordination to

deliver integrated programs; and

1.0 A Challenging

New Environment

8

(as implemented by the Office 

of Management of Budget) 

requires that "Federal agencies, 

by October 21, 2003, provide 

individuals or entities that deal 

with agencies the option to submit information or transact with

the agency electronically, and to

maintain records electronically, 

when practicable."

• The Freedom to E-File Act of 

2000 (P.L. 106-222) creates an 

accelerated schedule for USDA 

to make both information and 

transactions electronically available, with some agencies 

required to enable electronic 

forms and most transactions 

requiring online functionality 

by October 2002.

• The Electronic Signatures in 

Global and National Commerce 

Act (ESIGN) of 2000 (P.L. 106-

229) gives electronic signatures 

the same legal standing as written signatures, empowering 

federal agencies, including 

USDA, to conduct a wide range 

of truly paperless transactions.

• The President’s Management 

Agenda makes "Expanding 

Electronic Government" one of 

five major initiatives for reform

ing government19; it aims to 

enable the public to easily transact with and receive quality 

service from the Federal 

Government, no matter which 

channel is chosen. Further, it 

stresses citizen-centered government — presenting government 

services based on citizens’ 

needs instead of agencies’ 

organizational structure. In 

order to ensure success of the 

President’s Management 

19The President’s Management Agenda, Fiscal Year 2002. The four other major

government-wide initiatives are strategic management of human capital; competitive sourcing; improved financial performance; and budget and performance integration.
insufficient employee tools — are

shaping how the Department and

its employees perform in the

changing environment.

First, the USDA is challenged to

do more with fewer resources.

Our responsibilities are expanding, especially in environmental

stewardship and food assistance.

Programs such as the

Conservation Reserve Program

and the WIC Program have grown

significantly, and this growth is

expected to continue. The

USDA’s budget, however, does not

reflect this growth; the overall

budget has been shrinking for the

past several years, and several

agencies have seen yearly declines

of more than 10%. Financial constraints have brought a new focus

on efficiency and innovative ways

to stretch limited resources.

Accordingly, it is essential for the

USDA to streamline its processes

and reduce costs through new

channels and service delivery

mechanisms.

Second, USDA’s evolution has

led to the development of separate

agencies and mission areas; while

this has advantages, particularly

the development of expertise in

each agency, it has perpetuated

organizational ‘silos’ or

‘stovepipes’ in each agency.

Indeed, as the challenges the

USDA faces become more complex and intertwined, single, separate approaches and programs are

proving not to be enough.

Integrated approaches, involving

the participation of multiple agencies, will be critical to providing

holistic solutions for the nation’s

food and farm system. Such unified approaches require the ability

to collaborate, share information

and manage organizational knowledge. 

Finally, USDA employees often

do not have the tools they need to

1.0 A Challenging

New Environment9

effectively perform their jobs.

Specifically:

• Differing technical environ

ments not only make IT support

difficult, but also slow commu

nications between agencies due 

to network bottlenecks and 

differing data formats;

• Managers and executives do not

have the financial reporting 

tools they need to make effective decisions and forecasts; 

and

• Employees need continual 

access to training and education

opportunities to execute their 

jobs quickly, especially workers

in geographically dispersed 

field locations and countybased Service Centers.

• Constantly increasing telecom

munications (bandwidth/capacity) requirements are further 

multiplied by eGovernment 

mandates and the need for 7x24

performance guarantees.
The evolving cycle of emerging information and communications technologies

presents a wealth of opportunities

for the USDA to dramatically

transform the way it does business. The USDA will need innovative approaches to solve its mission-critical challenges and provide leadership in an uncertain

environment. The USDA’s

eGovernment Strategic Plan articulates a bold vision and strategic

agenda to exceed future expectations and operate a world-class

organization. eGovernment will

be a cornerstone of change and

transformation for the

Department. It will expand the

Department’s capabilities, enable

delivery of new services to our

customers, and help USDA reach

out to farmers, rural businesses,

low-income families and agriculture-related companies throughout

the world through innovative new

channels. 

2.1 eGovernment

Mission and Vision

The fundamental mission of

eGovernment is to better achieve

and fulfill the USDA’s mission

and vision. To this end, the

USDA’s eGovernment mission

establishes the Internet and information technology as a primary

means for organizational "transformation". Transforming and

enhancing delivery of the

Department’s core programs, services and information necessitates

significant changes in the current

nature and execution of the

Department’s program delivery.

Successful fulfillment of this mission would involve initiatives that

are:

• Innovative — finding new and 

better ways of delivering pro

grams and services

• Comprehensive — satisfying all

of customers’ USDA-related 

needs

• Integrated — working across all

appropriate USDA agencies to 

provide front-end and back-end

solutions

2.0 Establishing a Departmental

Strategic Direction: 

USDA’s eGovernment Mission, Vision, 

Goals and Objectives 

10

USDA eGovernment Mission

"Transform and enhance the 

delivery of USDA’s programs,

services and information."
USDA’s eGovernment vision

statement, while simply stated, is

a powerful and ambitious commitment by the Department to create

and operate a virtual enterprise.

If achieved, this vision would

offer all USDA programs, services

and information electronically.

Accomplishment of this vision

would include:

• Multiple channels — Internet, 

Integrated Voice Response 

Systems (IVRs), cell phones, 

Personal Digital Assistants, 

smart machines/kiosks 

• Convenience and ease of use —

ensuring that systems and 

interfaces are designed around 

users’ intentions and needs

• Sufficient infrastructure — 

ensuring services are accessible

through sufficient and redundant telecommunications capabilities.

2.2 Guiding

Principles

As the USDA transforms itself

from traditional business to an

eGovernment environment, clear

guiding principles will provide a

common set of values to direct the

change journey for attainment of

the mission and vision. The guiding principles for eGovernment

echo the USDA’s fundamental

guiding principles. 

The Department’s eGovernment

Program is committed to and will

be led by the following guiding

principles:

1. Think Big, Start Small, Scale

Fast – Leadership must be willing

to generate bold new ideas and

envision the future of the organization. Once the larger vision has

been articulated, then "small 

steps" and "quick wins" can be

developed, tested and rolled out

to initially obtain clear, measurable results. 

2. Build off of Current Successes

– Existing capabilities and efforts

should be leveraged and used as

foundations upon which the

entire USDA enterprise can

expand. This principle also

includes a commitment to documenting and sharing best practices across agencies.

3. Innovate and Transform–

eGovernment must be about

USDA’s business, not technology.

Leadership must be willing to

embrace new models of conducting business, to address root causes instead of symptoms, and to

build eGovernment solutions into

significant new or significantly

expanded programs from the outset.

2.0 Establishing a

Departmental

Strategic 

Direction

11

USDA eGovernment Vision

USDA eGovernment Vision

"USDA, electronically available

any place, any time."
4. Collaborate, Partner, Respect

–

USDA agencies must work together to drive change. Multiple

USDA agencies often serve the

same customer, and internal collaboration will be critical to providing a unified customer experience. This principle involves

striking a balance between allowing for agency flexibility and corporate responsibility, agency independence and corporate synergies.

The principle also necessitates a

seamless and mutually reinforcing

interaction between OCIO efforts

in Enterprise Architecture,

Cybersecurity, IT Capital

Planning, telecommunications

and infrastructure, and

eGovernment. Governance is key

to realizing this principle.

5. Augment, Don’t Replace – In

achieving eGovernment, USDA

will add new channels and services to improve its interactions with

the public while maintaining traditional channels in order to

ensure access for all stakeholders.

The USDA is first and foremost

about people and for people; we

cannot and will not allow technology to diminish the importance of human connections and

instead must employ technology

to enhance value-added interactions.

6. Educate, Market and Advocate

– both internal and externally, the

USDA must educate its customers,

partners and employees about the

value and benefits of

eGovernment. Similarly, the

USDA must share the good news

of its eGovernment efforts with

regulatory bodies.

2.3 eGovernment

Strategic Goals

Goal 1: Citizens

"Improve citizens’ knowledge of

and access to USDA to enhance

service delivery."

The USDA’s first eGovernment

goal represents the Department’s

commitment to create a "citizencentered" government. It is an

affirmation that the Department

will use eGovernment to provide

services and programs in a manner that is convenient, userfriendly, and designed to meet the

needs of the American public.

The Department will strive to

increase citizen awareness of

USDA’s programs; streamline service delivery to reduce time and

complexity in receiving services;

and enhance the ability for program beneficiaries to improve

their lives from USDA’s programs,

services and information.

Continuous improvements in

interactive and collaborative technology will cause the Department

to constantly rethink the way it

can most directly and effectively

respond to and fulfill the

demands of the people it serves —

including farmers, low-income

families, schoolchildren,

landowners/conservationists, and

rural Americans.

Goal 2: Public and

Private Organizations

"Enhance collaboration with

public and private sector organizations to develop and deliver

USDA’s mission."

2.0 Establishing a

Departmental

Strategic 

Direction

12
The second eGovernment goal

focuses on improving the USDA’s

working relationship with public

and private organizations —

including Federal, state, and local

government agencies, regulated

and partner industry groups, university and research communities,

and non-profit organizations. The

Department partners with public

and private organizations across

the world to deliver many of its

programs and services; USDA will

improve collaboration with these

groups to seamlessly provide programs, share information and provide resources to enhance their

organizational capabilities.

Similarly, USDA will use information technology to enhance its

relationship with industries it reg2.4 eGovernment

Strategic

Objectives and

Performance

Measures 

2.0 Establishing a

Departmental

Strategic 

Direction

13

ulates by improving two-way

communication and providing

more timely responses and data.

Goal 3: Employees and

the Enterprise

"Improve internal efficiency by

promoting enterprise-wide solutions."

The third eGovernment goal will

empower employees and improve

internal operations within the

Department. It will focus on

ensuring employees can work

more collaboratively within and

across each agency and in the

field. Further, it will provide

electronic solutions to administrative functions and reduce time

spent on repetitive data entry.

The intent of this goal is to minimize duplicative processes and

functions across the Department

and foster a continuously learning, knowledge-rich enterprise.

• Increase in the number of eligible persons participating in USDA food assistance 

programs

• Increase in citizen awareness and use of nutrition and food safety education programs

• Improvement in measures of food inspection accuracy and quality

• Increase in farmer/producer satisfaction with USDA farm assistance services

• Decrease in program delivery time, such as application submission/approvals and 

payment disbursement

• Increase in the number of farm technical assistance and education programs

delivered online

• Increase in participation in agricultural export assistance programs

• Increase in the percentage of rural Americans that have access to the Internet

• Increase in the capacity of Internet access points managed by USDA or USDA 

service providers.

• Increase in the number of rural citizens receiving USDA training or services via the 

Internet

• Increase in persons using the Internet for environmental and recreational permits 

and National Forest information 

• Increase in the number of conservation program applications, status reports, and 

communications transmitted online

• Increase in the number of conservation aid recipients receiving education through 

electronic channels

Objective 1.1

"Promote a stable, safe, and

affordable food supply and

improve nutritional status."

Objective 1.2

"Enhance the efficiency and

commercial viability of agricultural producers and promote

the expansion of agricultural

trade."

Objective 1.3 

"Increase the capability of all

citizens, especially those

living in rural communities,

to benefit from eGovernment"

Objective 1.4

"Provide the public with 

information and services to

benefit from and preserve 

natural resources and the 

environment"

Objectives Expected Performance Measures

Goal 1: Citizens

"Improve citizens’ knowledge of and access to USDA to enhance service delivery."
2.0 Establishing a

Departmental

Strategic 

Direction

14

• Increase in the number of USDA data products available electronically

• Increase in the number of channels through which data is made available (e.g., the 

Internet, telephone, and wireless devices)

• Reduction in time between data collection and release to the public 

• Decrease in completion time for transactions between USDA and partner organizations

• Increase in partner organizations’ satisfaction with USDA services

• Increase in the number of services and processes integrated across multiple USDA 

agencies and/or mission areas

• Increase in the number of transactions that can be completed online

• Increase in partner organizations’ use of Internet-based tools

• Decrease in multiple requests to partner organizations for the same data

• Decrease in partner organizations’ burdens from mandatory regulatory/oversight 

activities 

• Decrease in time burdens from cooperative activity reporting

• Increase in the number of mandatory and voluntary reporting transactions that can 

be submitted electronically

• Increase in the number of services provided and initiatives coordinated in conjunc

tion with other Federal agencies and departments

• Increase in the number of processes and initiatives coordinated in conjunction with 

State and local governments

• Reduction in time spent by both citizens and public and private organizations on 

interactions with the Federal Government

• Increase in the number of citizens and partner organizations who can transact with 

the Federal Government through a single point of contact

Objective 2.1

"Empower organizations by

providing appropriate and

meaningful data and knowledge

for timely decision-making."

Objective 2.2

"Enable business transactions

with partners through userfriendly applications and seamless integration across the

Department."

Objective 2.3

"Streamline oversight, regulatory, and cooperative activities

with standardized electronic

solutions"

Objective 2.4

"Provide leadership in

intergovernmental initiatives

to improve service delivery."

Objectives Expected Performance Measures

Goal 2: Public and Private Organizations

"Enhance collaboration with public and private sector organizations to develop 

and deliver USDA’s mission."
2.0 Establishing a

Departmental

Strategic 

Direction

15

• Increase in communication between USDA employees across agencies and mission 

areas

• Increase in collaboration and information sharing between USDA employees

• Reduction in redundant applications, systems and/or processes 

• Increase in the number of USDA employees with individual access to USDA net

works/intranets and the Internet

• Increase in the number and percentage of USDA employees receiving training 

relevant to eGovernment

• Increase in the percentage of USDA employees using eLearning to complete 

eGovernment and other training needs

• Increase in the percentage of USDA employees with adequate eGovernment skills

• Decrease in time spent on support functions and administrative tasks

• Increase in the number of support and administrative functions deployed 

Department-wide

• Decrease in redundant support systems across agencies and/or mission areas

• Increase in employee satisfaction with support and administrative functions

• Increase in the number of existing systems upgraded for compatibility with 

eGovernment or new eGovernment-related information and computer systems 

installed

• Increased accuracy of management reporting and analysis

• Increase in the number of management processes reviewed or redesigned for 

compatibility with eGovernment initiatives and services

Objective 3.1

"Foster seamless collaboration

to make informed decisions

and minimize redundancy to

achieve USDA’s mission."

Objective 3.2

"Increase USDA employees’

skills, understanding, access

and use of available

eGovernment tools."

Objective 3.3

"Develop and enhance administrative and support functions

that satisfy employee and

enterprise needs in an effective, efficient and interoperable

manner."

Objective 3.4

"Create and maintain a management and technical infrastructure capable of supporting

USDA’s eGovernment vision."

Objectives Expected Performance Measures

Goal 3: Employees and the Enterprize

"Enhance collaboration with public and private sector organizations to develop 

and deliver USDA’s mission."
Making the USDA "electronically available any

place, any time" involves

transformation of the organization’s culture, people, processes

and technology. To realize our

collective vision, we must integrate and expand upon our current eGovernment efforts and

support solutions that reach

beyond the boundaries of individual USDA agencies

The Department has a strong

eGovernment foundation upon

which to build, with several agencies already implementing innovative eGovernment initiatives

that meet the intent of the

Department’s eGovernment vision.

The USDA is considered a government pioneer in providing some

information and services – such

as benefits, food safety information for consumers, and loans –

electronically through customer

cards/electronic benefits transfer

(EBT), call centers, and the Web.

(In Appendix A, we underscore

just a handful of our eGovernment

successes that meet some of the

specific Departmental

eGovernment strategic objectives

outlined in Section 3.4.) 

As the Department strives to

expand these capabilities and create new initiatives, it will pursue

24 eGovernment opportunities,

representing a mix of strategic and

enabling opportunities.

• Strategic opportunities are 

eGovernment initiatives that 

directly fulfill the USDA’s 

mission, achieve the USDA’s 

eGovernment strategic goals and

objectives and/or relate to the 

USDA’s core business processes.

• Enabling opportunities are technology and/or process foundations that directly support 

strategic eGovernment initiatives and applications. 

3.0 Charting a New Path: 

Making USDA Electronically Available,

Any Place, Any Time

16
Sections 4.1 and 4.2 both

provide a summary chart that

categorizes each of these types of

opportunities by the primary and

secondary eGovernment strategic

goal they address as well as by the

expected long-term scope of the

opportunity. The summary charts

are followed by high-level

descriptions that focus on how

these opportunities would be

implemented for USDA stakeholders. Additionally, short-term

action steps and a long-term

vision are detailed for each of

these opportunities. 

A number of these initiatives

have been identified as Smart

Choice Candidates — high-priority initiatives on which the

Department will initially focus its

resources over the next 12 to 18

months. These Smart Choice

Candidates, selected by the

eGovernment Executive Council

and approved by the Enterprise

Information Technology

Investment Review Board

(EITIRB) and Deputy Secretary,

represent the most promising

eGovernment opportunities, especially in the near term. 

The Smart Choice Candidates

will be pursued immediately with

an intention to show demonstrable, measurable progress in these

areas in the next 12-18 months.

Business cases, integrated into the

Department’s Capital Planning

and Investment Control process,

will be written for all Smart

Choice Candidates immediately in

order to secure funding by FY

2004. Business cases for the

remainder of the initiatives will

be written upon completion of

those for the Smart Choice

Candidates, with funding targeted

for FY 2005.

3.0 Charting a

New Path

17

3.1 eGovernment

Strategic

Opportunities

The eGovernment opportunities

presented in this section represent

the key areas that the USDA’s

Department-wide eGovernment

Program will focus on for the next

five years and beyond. They were

crafted by the Executive Council

and Working Group — after a

series of visioning sessions, focus

groups, surveys, interviews and

examination of best practices—

and approved by the Deputy

Secretary and Under Secretaries

via the EITIRB.

Many of the strategic opportunities meet more than one USDA

eGovernment goal by satisfying

the needs of multiple stakeholders

— citizens, public and private

organizations, and employees.

Each opportunity spans across

other Federal Departments,

extends throughout the entire

USDA enterprise, or impacts two

or more mission areas or agencies.

Additionally, many of these

opportunities are related to one of

the interdepartmental Quicksilver

eGovernment initiatives, and

USDA will participate in and

coordinate with these related initiatives (descriptions of each

Quicksilver initiative can be

found in Appendix E). 

Following are USDA’s 15

eGovernment strategic opportunities; opportunities identified as

Smart Choice Candidates are

shaded in gray:
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Opportunity Area Primary Goal Secondary Expected Scope Related 

Goal Quicksilver 

Initiative?

eEligibility Citizens N/A Interdepartmental Yes

eLoans Citizens Public/Private Interdepartmental Yes

Organizations

eRulemaking Citizens Public/Private Interdepartmental Yes

Organizations

Nutrition/Dietary Guidelines/ Citizens Employees and Cross Mission Area No

Food Safety Awareness the Enterprise

Online Export Assistance and Public/Private Citizens Interdepartmental Yes

Marketing Organizations

eGrants Public/Private N/A Interdepartmental Yes

Organizations

eMaps Public/Private Citizens Interdepartmental Yes

Organizations

ePermits/Certificates Public/Private Citizens Cross Mission Area Yes

Organizations

Web-based Supply Chain Public/Private Employees and Interdepartmental No

Management Organizations the Enterprise

Food Safety and Security Employees and Public/Private Cross Mission Area No

Tools the Enterprise Organizations

Department-wide Employees and Public/Private 

eProcurement the Enterprise Organizations Enterprise-wide Yes

Financial Management Tools Employees and N/A Enterprise-wide No

the Enterprise

Human Resources Online Employees and N/A Enterprise-wide Yes

the Enterprise

Physical Asset Management Employees and N/A Enterprise-wide Yes

the Enterprise

Survey Capability Employees and Citizens, Cross Mission Area No

the Enterprise Public/Private 

Organizations
3.1.1 Strategic Opportunties: Citizens

eEligibility

Description: eEligibility will be a "one-stop" eligibility shop for customers to determine the USDA programs and services for which they are

eligible across all USDA agencies. Once citizens and public/private

organizations create an initial prescreening profile and determine their

potential eligibility, they will be able to apply through multiple mechanisms to manage the application process online. Internally, customer

relationship management capabilities will be built to assist program

administrators in managing and communicating with citizens.

Value Proposition: This initiative will directly expand the reach of the

Department to increase USDA’s program participation and allow more

citizens to benefit from programs designed to assist them. This initiative

could allow well over 50 million potential program beneficiaries including farmers, low-income families, schoolchildren, seniors, and rural

households, to quickly determine what benefits they are eligible to

receive from USDA.

Short- and Long-term Vision:

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eLoans

Description: eLoans will provide opportunities for citizens and businesses, including farmers, producers, and rural entrepreneurs, to apply for,

obtain and manage USDA loans (direct and guaranteed) via the Internet.

This initiative should include online customer access to accounts, credit

approval and income verification, bill presentment, automatic disbursement to bank accounts and loan documentation routing to appropriate

local representatives. eLoan services should be provided through a common customer interface to simplify customer access to multiple agency

services. The initiative requires full integration with the governmentwide effort under Quicksilver. 

Value Proposition: This initiative will empower farmers/producers, rural

businesses, and rural homeowners to proactively manage their accounts

in the manner most convenient to their own schedules and preferences.

Additionally, as a major provider of federal loans, USDA will significantly benefit from electronic loan processing and management. Specifically,

Start Small Think Big

• One central eligibility location on USDA’s • Real-time eligibility for all USDA programs 

Web site given customer-entered data

• Comprehensive listing and search tool for all • Applications routed to the appropriate 

USDA programs Federal, state, or local agency

• Contact information for appropriate state and • Integrated citizen management capability

local offices to track status of program application and 

applicant’s file

• Proactive identification of potential eligibility 

candidates from customer database
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eRulemaking

Description: eRulemaking will be an online forum for accepting public

and internal comments on USDA agencies’ proposed rules and regulations. It will expedite collaboration by receiving and processing comments on all USDA policies, procedures and regulations that impact the

general public and USDA constituency groups, such as environmentalists, regulated industries; and benefits recipients (including both individuals and businesses).

Value Proposition: This initiative is designed to promote democratic

participation and "bring Washington closer to the people." It will directly improve the quality of USDA’s policies, many of which rely heavily on

industry and public knowledge and comment, and will further improve

policy/regulation adoption and awareness. Furthermore, eRulemaking

will instill a greater sense of trust in the USDA and improve the satisfaction of citizens and organizations that work with the USDA. 

Short and Long-term Vision:

a consolidated approach will reduce delays in processing and receiving

financial payments, provide a more efficient, streamlined loan process,

and reduce the time customers and employees spend seeking and providing personal updates, completing forms, and performing administrative

tasks. This initiative could also improve the internal processes of handling loans; shorten decision time and remove human error. 

Short and Long Term Vision:

Start Small Think Big

• Completion and submission of loan applications • Integration with industry and partners for guaranonline teed loans and risk-management tools

• Automatic notification of loan application status • Real-time integration with customer data to

• Customer account updates available online determine qualification, assess preliminary

• Online bill presentment and loan statements approvals/denials and provide counseling

• Provision of guarantee providers’ contact • Proactive management of high-risk accounts and

information defaults

• Online risk management education and resources

Start Small Think Big

• Rules and public commentary portal • Moderated discussion boards and chat rooms

• Feedback and comments capability for citizen for real-time comment and dialogue

and industry input • Aggregation of all comments provided through

• Third-party webcast capability for oral multiple sources (email, discussion boards, phone

presentations/announcements of policies, calls) to a single source for searching and

regulations or procedures viewing by regulators and/or policymakers

• Proactive solicitation of comments from experts

and notification to relevant groups
Nutrition/Dietary 

Guidelines/Food Safety Awareness 

Description: The Nutrition/Dietary Guidelines/Food Safety Awareness

initiative will involve a personalized multimedia outreach and education

program to improve citizens' nutritional habits and food safety awareness. This campaign will focus on nutrition and eating habits for school

children, low-income families, and the general population, and will use

traditional media outlets, such as television and radio, and new media,

such as the Web and grocery store kiosks to encourage healthy and safe

eating habits. In addition to information services, people will be connected with local dieticians, conduct online dietary assessments, and be

provided with a wealth of nutritional information based on a personal

profile. Besides Departmental efforts, opportunities exist to develop an

interdepartmental approach by collaborating with the Department of

Health and Human Services and building off the US Surgeon General’s

healthy eating campaign. 

Value Proposition: By empowering Americans with valuable information and resources on nutrition and food safety, this initiative will be a

vehicle to help millions of people improve and ensure their health.

Specifically, this initiative strives to improve the nutritional status and

dietary intake of children, high-risk nutrition groups, and the American

public in general. Education and awareness, especially from a trusted

brand such as the USDA, has been proven to be one of the most effective

means of influencing nutritional habits.

Short and Long Term Vision:

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Start Small

• Comprehensive redesign of Nutrition.gov to centralize USDA nutrition information (including 

healthy menus and the Interactive Healthy Eating 

Index) and to ensure that the site links consumers 

to scientifically sound information

• Brand awareness of Nutrition.gov and 

FoodSafety.gov through advertising/marketing 

campaign

• Targeted outreach to school children and lowincome program recipients 

• Partnership with the Office of Surgeon General 

and Department of Health and Human Services

• Extension and promotion of Meat and Poultry 

Hotline, especially strong Web integration

Think Big

• "Push" technologies to promote and alert about 

food safety and nutrition (available via email, 

pager, cell phone, instant messenger or PDAs)

• Customer personalization of nutrition.gov 

and integrated 800 number for routing calls to

local dieticians, outreach programs and food 

safety hotlines.

• Collaboration with industry, including retailers 

for nutrition promotion in grocery stores
3.1.2 Strategic Opportunities: Public and 

Private Organizations

eGrants

Description: eGrants will involve a central source for all

organizations/agencies that receive USDA grant assistance (including

rural businesses, state and local governments, and universities) to access,

apply for, and manage awarding and management of all USDA grants.

Seamless integration with back-end capabilities will allow USDA agencies to manage the grant lifecycle online from customer applications

through USDA financial disbursements. This initiative will be developed

in conjunction with the Federal eGrants Quicksilver initiative, which

will be a one-stop shop for all Federal grants.

Value Proposition: eGrants will provide public and private organizations

faster, more flexible and more direct means in which to navigate and

manage USDA’s grant process. Similar to online loan management,

eGrants will enable better two-way communication between USDA agencies and grant recipients and more efficient financial allocations and performance reporting. 

Short and Long-term Vision:

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eMaps

Description: eMaps will provide capabilities for users to generate environmental and social maps to be displayed electronically via the Web.

This initiative will allow farmers, rural planners, conservationists,

researchers, and other agriculture and land management specialists to

enhance planning and development with tools and real-time information

about land usage. 

Value Proposition: This initiative will empower practitioners and

researchers with tools to enhance their decision-making and analysis

processes. By allowing users to analyze data geospatially, eMaps enables

better discovery of trends, more specific and robust analyses, and more

accurate forecasting. Finally, it will leverage USDA’s existing GIS data,

which is some of the best in the world.

Short and Long-term Vision:

Start Small

• Partnership and participation in interdepartmental 

Quicksilver eGrants effort

• Comprehensive listing and search engine for all 

USDA grants

• Online grant applications, eligibility and procedures

Think Big

• Web-based grants management workflow system 

over entire grant lifecycle

• Grant-writing collaboration capability and 

integration with web-based grants management 

system 

• Web enablement of entire grant lifecycle, 

including performance reporting
ePermits/eCertificates

Description: The ePermits/eCertificates initiative will provide electronic

options to issue permits, certificates and other regulation-based verifications to USDA’s customers and business partners. This Internet-based

tool will allow users to submit permit applications, receive notifications

of expirations, and access options for renewal. Internal workflow technologies will be used to appropriately route submissions for application

reviews, scheduling of physical inspections and other appropriate

actions to the responsible USDA agencies.

Value Proposition: Submitting applications and receiving permits and

certificates via the Internet or through an interactive voice response system will save USDA applicants a tremendous amount of time and effort

spent on one of USDA’s most paper-intensive processes. It will also

reduce burdens on USDA by reducing data entry, processing, and

issuance/delivery time and expense.

Short and Long term Vision:

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Online Export Assistance and Marketing

Description: Online Export Assistance and Marketing will establish a virtual export center for USDA customers, regulated industries, and partners to learn about exporting agriculture commodities, including accessing export permits and requirements, and gaining market information

about potential selling opportunities. The online export environment

would focus on expanding marketing opportunities for small agriculture

producers, reduce information gaps and search time, and create an

Start Small

• Consolidation of existing Departmental efforts and 

definition of requirements for Department and 

Inter-departmental application

• Online retrieval capability for currently available 

GIS data

Think Big

• Subscription capability for other Federal 

Departments and partners, potentially including 

revenue generation opportunities

Start Small

• Permit and certificate applications completed and 

submitted online

• Applications routed to the appropriate agency

• Online payments and annual renewals

Think Big

• User authentication

• Automatic notification of renewals

• Automatic scheduling and notification of inspec

tion/certification visits.

• Automatic creation and mailing of permits and/or 

certificates 

• Integrated citizen relationship management
Web-based Supply Chain 

Management of Food

Description: This initiative will leverage supply chain management

technologies to enable USDA agencies (including FAS, FSA, AMS, FNS)

and their partners (primarily USAID, US school districts, domestic producers, state agencies and industry), to manage commodity purchasing

and food distribution seamlessly for USDA programs. Such capabilities

should allow the USDA to replace many isolated initiatives with flexible

new technologies that provide real-time inventory management, food

tracking and estimated delivery cycles, order fulfillment, and financial

management and allocation. 

Value Proposition: USDA’s commodity operations measure over $7 billion every year. Enhancing USDA’s commodity programs with an electronic supply chain capability will dramatically reduce costs for USDA

agencies and their partners and improve the delivery and management of

one of USDA’s largest functions. In addition, supply chain improvements

will reduce duplicative processes, improve service to customers and

partners, and streamline administrative functions. Finally, this initiative

opportunity for collaboration within the industry. This initiative would

allow small farmers to aggregate supply to fulfill international demand,

access a central location for agriculture trade promotion, and use an

export assistance toolkit that would provide step-by-step guidance and

assistance for exporting agriculture products. This initiative will integrate with the International Trade effort under Quicksilver. 

Value Proposition: This initiative will help achieve USDA’s goals to

increase U.S. agriculture market share from 18% to 22% of the world

market. It will empower small, medium and disadvantaged farmers with

education and toolkits to expand their reach. Finally, it would also provide a central resource for the meat and poultry industry and other

USDA regulated industries to expedite their international trading

processes, further encouraging exports. 

Short and Long Term Vision:

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Start Small

• Collaboration with existing Federal export assistance efforts

• Definition of customer requirements and "pain 

points" through focus groups for exporting and 

marketing products 

• User-supported knowledge base of best practices 

and lessons learned during export process

• Integration with International Trade Data System 

efforts

Think Big

• Online "wizards" that guide citizens and/or part

ners through the export process; from online wizards, users have access to all relevant forms, 

contact information, and assistance

• Integration with new CRM capabilities to provide 

real-time assistance, both live and via online chat

• Integration with customer and public/private 

partner database to enable collaboration 
will support US national defense and security interests by enhancing

USDA’s ability to effectively provide international food assistance. 

Short and Long term Vision:

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3.1.3 Strategic Opportunities: 

Employees and the Enterprise

Department-wide eProcurement (IAS)

Description: This initiative reinforces USDA’s Integrated Acquisition System

(IAS), a web-based solution designed to streamline and automate contract

management and acquisition processes throughout USDA.

Value Proposition: IAS is being pursued in conjunction with multiple

agency efforts (including FSA, the Forest Service, and NRCS). Efforts to provide a single gateway for all USDA suppliers and buyers will optimize the

value of USDA’s investments in this area by passing along cost savings to

every agency that uses the system. With over $2 billion in procurement

transactions each year, an eProcurement solution has the potential to show

significant impact. The IAS will provide a streamlined eProcurement tool

that will allow USDA to use the functionality in the government-wide

Quicksilver project called the Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE).

Short and Long term Vision:

Start Small

• Departmental effort to build on FATES solution to 

include functionality for all appropriate agencies

• Construction (on paper) of model that includes real

performance data from system and manual 

processes to understand potential benefits all 

participating partners and agencies

• Limited-use pilot program

Think Big

• Integration with specialized portals for buyers 

and sellers

• Just-in-Time (JIT) inventory tracking and purchasing capabilities across the supply chain

• Advanced data mining and reporting capabilities 

in central data repositories 

Start Small

• Implementation of IAS as Department-wide procurement solution

• Migration effort from existing legacy procurement 

systems and processes to Departmental solution 

Think Big

• Integration with financial management tools 

• Integrated document management capability to be 

used with industry partners for seamless information exchange

• Fully electronic bidding and contract system

• Integrated eProcurement solution with 

eMarketplaces in the private sector

• Integrated eProcurement solution with Department 

supply chain management solution for full 

automation of inventory and asset management
Food Safety and Security Tools

Description: The Food Safety and Security Tools initiative will focus on

developing interdepartmental capabilities for collaboration, real-time

data collection, and tracking and retrieval of port- and plant-specific data

regarding food and animals. All Government parties with responsibility

for food safety ( including USDA agencies as well as other Federal and

state agencies) will have real-time data entry and access to tracking data

for decision-making and investigations into the causes of foodborne illness.

Value Proposition: Homeland security heightens the expectations that

USDA can effectively respond to emergencies, quickly communicate outbreaks, and thoroughly prevent threats of bio-terrorism. By ensuring the

safety of the US food supply and improving USDA’s execution of its mission, this initiative will be critical to protecting the health of all

Americans.

Short and Long term Vision:

Financial Management Tools

Description: Financial Management Tools will provide Department-wide

financial management capabilities including online reporting for existing

financial management packages and a global eCommerce capability to

handle billing needs. This initiative will focus on providing tools for

managers and program directors to quickly access budgeting and financial information, as well as providing reporting capabilities between

agencies, the National Finance Center and the Department of the

Treasury.

Value Proposition: Improved and updated financial management tools

will enhance decision-making, increase transparency, enhance stewardship of USDA resources and enhance the trust and credibility in USDA’s

financial reporting. 

Short and Long term Vision:

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Start Small

• Reporting engine to aggregate and report on legacy 

data across disparate financial systems 

Think Big

• Online invoice/tracking/payment system

• Online connectivity between NFC financial management applications and agency data for real-time 

status checks, packaged analysis, and decision 

support capabilities
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Human Resources Online

Description: Human Resources Online will enable employees to manage

human resource-related issues online and assist in human resource planning and administration. This initiative will allow centralized online

HR functions such as benefits administration, time and attendance,

workforce planning, and recruiting to be managed through one Internet

interface. It will provide self-service tools for employees to update their

personal information, check vacation time, and access benefits information. It will also allow managers to assess their human resource needs

quickly, provide greater insight on employees’ skill sets and make available internal job postings and listings. 

Value Proposition: This initiative will consolidate multiple efforts in the

Department and its agencies; further, successful agency initiatives, such

as CAMS, can be leveraged to achieve results quickly across the

Department. Significant cost savings can be achieved by moving to an

Internet-based HR system, and employees will be able to spend more

time on mission-critical work instead of administrative tasks. Service

will also be delivered more quickly, leading to higher job satisfaction and

lowered administrative costs.

Short and Long-term Vision:

Start Small

• Active collaboration on existing efforts in other 

government Departments (FDA, EPA, Customs)

• Integration with the Wireless initiative under 

Quicksilver to improve instant communications 

capability

• Hardware and software tools for field staff

Think Big

• Smart ID tags that link to a central data repository 

to assist in tracking food from initial processing to 

distribution

• Develop a harmonized coding system for identification of products.

• Handheld computers for field workers for data 

input and access at time of need

• Integration with industry and government 

shipping and tracking data to provide field 

workers richer data upon which to act.

• Advanced data mining and reporting capabilities 

on central data repositories
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Physical Asset Management

Description: Electronic tracking mechanisms will be deployed to efficiently manage all USDA-owned physical assets, including real estate,

vehicles, plans, computers, furniture, etc. in USDA Headquarters and the

all state and local offices. 

Value Proposition: This initiative will improve security, reduce theft,

and mitigate waste, fraud, and abuse. It will also provide insight in

reducing costs, recommending upgrades at the necessary times and optimizing asset usage. Finally, asset management allows the Department to

better track inventory and manage surplus goods.

Short and Long-term Vision:

Survey Capability

Description: Survey Capability for the Department will provide a global

survey instrument: a suite of survey capabilities and/or outsourcing or 

insourcing arrangement to perform surveys requiring data collection from

both internal and external sources.

Start Small

• Consolidation of time and attendance efforts into 

one Department-wide solution

• HR portal with informational content and centralized contact capability

• Definition of formal strategy and investigation 

outsourcing opportunities

• Employee database enhanced to include secure, 

expanded, editable data about each employee

• Web-based employee directory integrated with 

enhanced employee database

• Partnerships with industry leaders in online classified ads (monster.com, hotjobs.com) to advertise USDA positions outside traditional 

government recruiting mechanisms

Think Big

• Online benefits and compensation access across 

the Department

• Standard online recruiting tool and recruiting 

support solution

• Web-based travel management and expense 

reporting, tracking, and approval system

Start Small

• Online maintenance request tracking system

• Service request assignment tool (management tool 

for work allocation) 

• Automatic notification system for security/emergency events

• Online equipment registration

Think Big

• Asset tracking database and reporting capability

• Security tags on all physical assets in all USDA 

buildings for active tracking and management

• RF-ID tags for sensitive assets to constantly report 

status of asset to central data repository

• Integration with eProcurement capability to 

purchase new assets and manage surplus goods 

based on reports generated from asset management 

system
Value Proposition: This initiative will save agencies money and enable surveys to be delivered and analyzed more quickly. It will provide agencies

with tools to learn more from their customers, consolidate existing data collection methods, and improve customer service. 

Short and Long term Vision:

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3.2 eGovernment Enabling Opportunities

Below are USDA’s eGovernment enabling opportunities; opportunities identified as Smart Choice Candidates are shaded in gray.

Start Small

• Consolidation of agency efforts and definition of 

requirements for Department-wide solution

• Investigation of outsourcing and insourcing opportunities for certain surveys

Think Big

• Survey solution integrated with customer 

database to ensure data collection is not 

redundant

• Survey "creation center" for agencies that would 

like to conduct surveys; purchase, creation, and 

management •f survey is conducted from one 

central location

• Robust online reporting and data analysis 

capabilities

Opportunity Area Primary Goal Secondary Expected Related 

Goals Scope of Quicksilver

Initiative Initiative:

Application Hosting Employees and NA Enterprise-wide No

the Enterprise

Citizen and Public/Private All NA Enterprise-wide Yes

Organization Database

Service Center eEnablement Citizens Employees and Cross Mission Yes

and CRM the Enterprise Area

Data Management All NA Enterprise-wide No

Document/Records/Correspondence All NA Enterprise-wide Yes

Management and Workflow

eLearning Employees and Citizens Enterprise-wide Yes

the Enterprise

Knowledge/Content Management All N/A Enterprise-wide No

USDA Web Presence and Portal All NA Enterprise-wide Yes

Strategy

User Authentication and Electronic All NA Enterprise-wide Yes

Signatures
Citizen and Public/Private 

Organization Database

Description: The Citizen and Public/Private Organization Database will

create a single data store that houses citizen and public/private organization data (while maintaining compliance with Federal privacy laws and

regulations). All internal USDA agencies will contribute to, access, and

use this data as it relates to their needs and access rights; further, this

data can also be used for authentication of citizens and industry partners.

Value Proposition: Few USDA agencies have all of their customer and

partner information centrally stored in an easily accessible and maintainable manner; further, agencies do not share customer information, requiring citizens and public/private organization that interact with multiple

USDA agencies to provide duplicative information. This capability will

reduce the information-sharing burden placed on the public, enable

cross-agency collaboration, and provide enhanced customer service.

Further, a common customer database is a necessary prerequisite for

cross-agency customer relationship management capabilities.

Short and Long term Vision:

Application Hosting

Description: Application hosting will enhance current Department-wide

application hosting capabilities to establish a tiered service model.

Cross-Mission Area efforts and Department-wide efforts will be able to

use this model to sign service level agreements (SLAs) to obtain various

levels of service to host their eGovernment applications. 

Value Proposition: Although current hosting capabilities exist, enhanced

capabilities will accommodate the deployment not only of more applications, but additionally the higher-quality, more interactive applications

required for eGovernment initiatives such as eLoans and eGrants.

Short and Long term Vision:

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Start Small

• Evaluation of existing hosting capabilities and 

creation of recommendations for change

• Evaluation of current staffing model based on 

coming eGovernment applications

Think Big

• Regional data centers hosted by same group

• Service Level Agreement model to be utilized by 

agencies and the Department for hosting new 

applications

• Vendor assessment group for making Departmentwide decisions on software (coordinate with 

Enterprise Architecture group)

• Standardized eGovernment technical architecture 

(Microsoft, Sun, etc.)
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Content/Knowledge Management

Description: Content and knowledge management will consist of a

Departmental solution(s) for managing the development, approval, publishing, sharing, and classification of web pages, documents, multimedia,

official records, and correspondence. 

Value Proposition: As the Department transitions to increasingly the creation and use of information electronically, new tools and processes

must be created to facilitate the creation and sharing of this information

both internally and externally. Content and knowledge management prevent the USDA from "re-inventing the wheel" by giving visibility to the

knowledge employees have built throughout the Department. Content

and knowledge management also increase collaboration enterprise-wide,

throughout the Federal government, and with the private sector, potentially saving significant time and resources. 

Short and Long term Vision:

Start Small

• Standards for data model/information to be stored

• Aggregation and consolidation of all existing cus

tomer and partner databases

• Development, deployment, and population of 

initial database

• Creation of API/stored procedures for standard 

queries to the database from any online 

application

Think Big

• Advanced reporting capabilities on repository

• Online application for citizen use to search 

repository on non-private data for collaboration 

purposes

• Applications to support "communities of interest" 

and "communities of buyers" based on database 

profiles and participation

Start Small

• A corporate taxonomy for consistent classification 

of all information 

• Vendor analysis of content management capability 

and execution of pilot

• Employee directory for knowledge sharing 

purposes

• Yahoo-style directory of all internal sites, 

classified using the corporate taxonomy

Think Big

• Advanced search and retrieval capabilities (poten

tial integration with web site search capabilities to 

locate document types in addition to web pages)

• Integration of Agriculture Library for primary 

knowledge managers to review content and 

facilitate consistent classification, and manage 

corporate taxonomy

• Integration of content management toolset in to all 

information sharing processes

• Knowledge sharing "culture" throughout the 

Department by using knowledge contri-butions 

as formal job performance metric
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Data Management

Description: Provide the guiding principles and framework for implementing

a corporate data management program, including: 1) The definition of a

Department-wide data dictionary for back-end data sharing, 2) The creation

of centralized databases "of record" and a corporate data architecture, and

3) Data life-cycle management and data sharing strategy.

Value Proposition: The number of legacy systems at USDA and the public

and private organizations with which it interacts is very large. A data management strategy with all of its components will enable the Department to

better perform back-end integration to enable enhanced services and consolidate disparate data stores into databases of record. This translates to the

reuse of data, large time savings for system integration, additional support

for a knowledge management capability, and an opportunity to lead government and industry in setting data standards.

Short and Long-term Vision

eLearning Engine

Description: The eLearning Engine will be a Department-wide eLearning curriculum platform to facilitate online training. A curriculum management

system would allow employees and citizens to track their progress in completing a pre-defined curriculum, register for new courses, and allow management and trainers to track progress and add new courseware to the online

repository. This capability allows any employee or customer to develop,

monitor, and manage their respective training curriculum while leveraging

common training content. This capability also allows individual agencies to

publish courseware to one location to enable sharing of courseware and

cross-agency collaboration.

Value Proposition: A top priority for the Department is training of its

employees. The definition of a Department-wide curriculum management

system will facilitate the migration to a hybrid model of online and classroom-based training. This will ensure training goals can be met more effectively than with an exclusively classroom-based curriculum.

Short and Long term Vision:

Start Small

• Common data dictionary (consistent with Federal 

datasets and standards) for future development of 

database-driven applications

• Identification of redundant data elements across 

the Department

• Development of Department data management 

strategy for use by all application development 

efforts 

• Develop migration plan for legacy data

Think Big

• Consolidation of redundant data to "databases of 

record" throughout the Department

• Department-wide data warehouses that include 

robust API’s for interaction with all applications

• Archiving, storage, backup and aging strategy 

• Participation in and leadership of data exchange 

forums 
3.0 Charting a

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Electronic Document/Records/Correspondence 

Management/Workflow Tools

Description: Development of a Departmental solution for managing documents, official records, and correspondence electronically. This initiative would specifically develop:

1. Electronic management of records (including record identification,

expiration tracking, and archiving);

2. Workflow capabilities (defining the flows, paths, and sign-off points

that documents, records, and correspondence need to follow); and 

3. A search capability for the intelligent storage and retrieval of documents and records.

This initiative will integrate with the corporate taxonomy development

effort under the content/knowledge management initiative.

Value Proposition: As the Department transitions to using more electronic forms of information, ensuring that information moves throughout

the organization and can be appropriately stored and easily retrieved is

critical. A Department-wide model would provide multiple benefits, not

only consolidating multiple ongoing data and records management

efforts, but also greatly accelerating and improving agencies’ ability to

comply with Federal records management requirements and the information collection/reuse requirements outlined in the Paperwork Reduction

Act and Government Paperwork Elimination Act.

Short and Long term Vision:

Start Small

• Department-wide curriculum management 

capability (outsourced or developed)

• Online registration capabilities for offline course 

material

• Migration of existing online course material to run 

within curriculum management system

• Definition of standards (user interface, language 

support, system requirements, etc.) for eLearning 

applications

Think Big

• Outsourcing arrangements for migration of offline 

curriculum to be provided online

• USDA Graduate School as an online university

• Advanced business simulation capabilities

• Integration with knowledge management system 

to provide training at "point of need" 
Service Center eEnablement and CRM

Description: This initiative will provide internet access for Service

Center customers and integrated capabilities for Service Center customers to interact with USDA through multiple channels, i.e. telephone

calls, Internet accounts and in-person visits, and access the same customer accounts and appropriate data. This initiative would allow Service

Center employees to manage the relationship between the USDA and its

customers by tracking visits, correspondence, inquiries and services provided through customer data summaries. Citizens would be provided a

similar customer experience regardless of the method in which they

interact with the Service Center.

Value Proposition: Service Center CRM is important for the USDA aim

of providing better service and for the President’s goal of ‘citizen-centered government.’ CRM capabilities will allow USDA employees to provide improved customer/citizen service by empowering them with more

complete information and customer histories. They will enable the

development of robust self-service and online service tools that can be

integrated with other means of communicating and transacting with the

Department, allowing customers to conduct business with USDA using

whatever channel they prefer most.

Short and Long term Vision:

3.0 Charting a

New Path

34

Start Small

• Consolidation of current agency efforts and 

definition of Department-wide requirements

• Approval and enforcement of electronic records 

management policy

• Pilot for single end-to-end workflow process for a

standard office document, an official record, 

and/or a correspondence 

• Department-wide deployment of the controlled 

correspondence initiative

Think Big

• Deployment of document/records/ correspondence management client software to all PC’s in the

Department (or creation of a web-based solution)

• Advanced search and retrieval capabilities (potential integration with web site search capabilities 

to locate document types other than web pages)

• Integrated solution with NARA for outsourcing 

storage and archiving capabilities

• USDA forms made available online using document/record management and workflow capability
3.0 Charting a

New Path

35

User Authentication and Electronic Signatures

Description: User Authentication and Electronic Signatures will be a

Department-wide strategy to define policies and a set of solutions for

electronic alternatives to traditional ink signatures for citizens, partners

and employees. This initiative will outline the specifications for selecting the most appropriate method based on risk and security levels and

will develop a core set of Departmental capabilities around each one.

This initiative will be developed in conjunction with the Quicksilver

authentication initiative.

Value Proposition: A user authentication and authorization capability is

critical to enabling eGovernment. Properly identifying, verifying, and

authenticating users will enable USDA to execute business transactions

and accept data online. Further, implementing a consistent solution will

enhance capabilities for cross-agency and cross-initiative integration and

reduce design, implementation, and support costs.

Short and Long term Vision:

Start Small

• Multiple interaction points for citizens to achieve

similar tasks including phone, email, Web, and 

fax). 

• Single ‘1-800-ASK-USDA’ phone number citizens

can call to reach any agency

• Kiosks at Service Centers to enable online access 

for those customers without home access

Think Big

• Computer centers with Internet access for citizens

in Service Centers

• CRM package for use by Service Representatives 

and Call Centers to better manage customer rela

tionship and have real-time access to relevant 

information

• Integration with customer database to enable 

Service Center to provide more guidance and 

personalization online and to help customers 

more effectively

• Global "work order" number for all tasks that 

follow the lifecycle of a business process. 

Customer can reference that number at any point 

and Service Representative can retrieve relevant 

data and status of completion, etc. 

Start Small

• Publishing of electronic signatures guidance for 

the Department

• Enhanced employee database to serve as globally 

available user authentication tool

• Guidance/vendor analysis on PKI or similar 

solutions 

Think Big

• Integration with other Federal Departments on c

ross-government user authentication and rights 

management 
3.0 Charting a

New Path

36

USDA Web Presence and Portal Strategy

Description: One of the essential components of the eGovernment

Program will be to enhance USDA web presentation to improve usability

and provide a consistent customer experience. This initiative will allow

all users to navigate USDA’s websites and portals based on their desired

tasks or topics, rather than by USDA's organizational structure. The initiative should redesign and restructure USDA’s web sites based on standard user-interface guidelines for a consistent look and navigation across

all USDA sites and web-based applications. The initiative also includes

the definition of a portal strategy to ensure the Department is implementing their customer-centric portals consistently and in a manner that can

be integrated with other Department applications.

Value Proposition: As USDA’s web presence matures, and increasing

amounts of data and applications are available online, USDA must

ensure a simple and consistent user experience across the Department.

While many USDA agency web sites and future portals are unique and

do not share customer groups, these web standards will instill a high

level of usability and ease of navigation, ultimately translating to a more

effective customer experience. The web presence is also highly visible to

all of USDA’s constituencies and will likely become the primary information dissemination mechanism; how information and applications are

presented will shape opinions about working with the USDA.

Short and Long term Vision:

Start Small

• Comprehensive UI style guide for all USDA webbased portals, web sites, and online applications 

along with templates and graphics for use 

• Definition of Departmental requirements for a 

portal capability

• Definition and scope for main USDA portal

• Agency pilot as a proof of concept prototype 

(AMS)

• Suite of portal products for Department-wide use

• Advanced search engine for searching all USDA 

web sites

Think Big

• Robust metadata standards for all publicly and 

internally available web pages in order to yield 

better search results

• Usability lab for testing all online applications to 

ensure ease of use

• Multiple portals based on customer need

• Integration with other high priority initiatives

• Global style sheet standards across the Department
Chapter Title

goes 

here.

37
USDA has established a concrete set of priorities and

initiatives that will be

implemented over the next 5

years. To achieve our collective

mission and vision, this section

will outline:

• The sequence of initiatives and 

an estimate of their development time

• The governance and leadership 

policy to ensure these initia

tives are implemented and 

maintained appropriately

• The importance of integrating 

eGovernment into USDA's IT 

Capital Planning Process, 

improving this process, and 

developing new potential 

sources of funding

• The skill set and training 

required for implementing and 

using eGovernment

• The prerequisite internal tech

nical capabilities to develop, 

launch, and maintain the 

strategic and enabling recommendations

4.1 High-level

Time Line

The timeline is shown below: As

mentioned previously, a subset of

the 24 opportunity areas have

been prioritized by the

eGovernment Executive Council

and approved by the CIO and

Deputy Secretary as high priority

Smart Choice Candidates.

Qualification as high priority

denotes an intention to show

demonstrable, measurable

progress in the first 18 months of

developing this Plan. Therefore,

execution of all high priority

opportunities begins immediately.

The timeline is shown below: 

4.0 Execution and Delivery

38
4.0 Execution

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39

1 eRulemaking

2 Survey capability

Nutrition/Dietary Guidelines/Food

Safety Program

3

4 Physical Asset Management

5 Financial Management Tools

6 Department-wide eProcurement (IAS)

Online Export Assistance and

Marketing

7

8 Food Safety and Security Tools

9 Human Resources Online

10 Online Management of eLoans

USDA Web presence (UI Guidelines

and portal strategy)

1

User Authentication Electronic

Signatures

2

Customer and Public/Private

Organization Database

3

4 Service Center eEnablement

5 Data Management

6 Application Hosting

7 CRM for Service Centers

8 eLearning

Document/Records/Correspondence

Management with workflow

9

Knowledge management/content

management

10

11 eEligibility

12 eGrants

13 ePermits/Certificates

Web-based Supply Chain

Management

14

High Priority

High Priority

High Priority

High Priority

High Priority

High Priority

High Priority

High Priority

High Priority

High Priority

High Priority

Start Small Development Time

Think Big Development Time

Ongoing enhancements and maintenance

Time (months)

eGovernment

Opportunity Area

High Priority

Areas

1-6 42-48 6-12 12-18 18-24 24-30 30-36 36-42 48-54 54-60
There are several important

highlights to note about the timeline:

•Many opportunity areas must be

repeated on a regular basis in

accordance with business

requirements. For example, the

USDA web presence must be

regularly updated to accommodate new types of technology

and applications being deployed

online.

•Most enabling opportunity areas

will be completed by the end of

the short-term period to lay the

groundwork for development

and enhancement of long term

strategic initiatives.

•All opportunity areas require

maintenance and enhancements

once the initial implementation

has been completed

•While high priority initiatives

will be emphasized, we will

undertake as many opportunities as human, financial, and

technical resources allow for;

the presence of these opportunities – with their associated

short-term (Start Small) and

long-term (Think Big) actions –

suggests the importance of their

being undertaken to varying

degrees at some point during

this five year period.

4.2 Governance

eGovernment crosses major organizational boundaries and raises

critical strategy, policy, and control issues at the core of the

Department’s mission.

Successfully capitalizing on the

eGovernment opportunities delineated in this Plan requires effective leadership across USDA.

And, increasingly, the complexities of eGovernment require not

only effective leadership, but also

the creativity to align the organization and key policies in the

right way to translate a vision into

productive results.

Additional, more detailed coverage of these topics can be found

in a Governance document and in

the eGovernment Working Group

and Executive Council Charter

both of which are on the USDA

eGovernment Web site.

4.2.1 Leadership

Fortunately, many traditional

leadership qualities are relevant to

implementing eGovernment. Good

communication, organization, and

negotiation skills are imperative.

However, to effectively lead the

development of eGovernment

opportunities and direct the

eGovernment change journey successfully, our leaders must also

develop and exhibit additional

behaviors. Effective leaders of

eGovernment must:

• Work toward achieving USDA’s

eGovernment mission, vision,

strategic goals and objectives

• Create and use a broad perspective outside their own agency to

formulate a direction and facilitate efforts that will benefit the

Department as a whole

4.0 Execution

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40
• Withstand risk that comes with

accelerated timelines and working with new technologies

• Understand eGovernment projects’ needs in relation to the

agency or Department’s needs

• Be sensitive to the needs of

other stakeholders and encourage an atmosphere of understanding and shared communication within the agency and

within the Department

• Balance top-down pressure with

bottom-up concerns

• Take advantage of the next best

course of action when targeted

opportunities fall through and

be able to redirect the

eGovernment initiative

• Maintain high motivation and a

tireless work ethic

Given these leadership characteristics, it is clear these qualities

need to be exhibited beyond the

executive level. As initiatives

progress and stakeholder commitment expands, leaders can be

found at many levels, from the

most junior developer to a senior

executive sponsor. At USDA,

leaders can be segmented into

three types: sponsors, change

agents and champions. 

Sponsors, such as the Secretary

and Deputy Secretary, Under and

Assistant Secretaries, and Agency

Administrators, should demonstrate their support by providing

direction, funding and resources.

Leadership responsibilities

include:

• Sanctioning, launching and sustaining eGovernment efforts,

• Being accountable for the success of eGovernment at USDA,

• Allocating essential resources

throughout the USDA, and

• Maintaining and building visible buy-in and commitment.

Change agents are also vital to

eGovernment because they are the

official advocates in making internal and external audiences aware

of changes. They include the

eGovernment Executive Council

and Working Group, Webmasters,

and eGovernment Project

Managers. Leadership responsibilities include:

• Displaying visible ownership

and establishing proper direction and focus,

• Identifying eGovernment opportunities,

• Assessing potential problems

and resolving issues and risks,

and

• Highlighting success stories and

share best practices. 

eGovernment champions not

only serve as initiators by motivating co-workers to embrace

eGovernment, but they also

demonstrate their long-term

unyielding commitment and support through their day-to-day

activities. eGovernment champions can be found at all levels, but

examples include full time

eGovernment representatives from

each mission area, Program Leads,

and IT professionals. Leadership

responsibilities include:

• Maintaining proper direction

and focus,

• Creating excitement and moti

vating others,

• Gaining commitment and sup

port from co-workers, and

• Executing the implementation 

of individual eGovernment initiatives.

To effectively implement

eGovernment at USDA, leaders

must understand and leverage

four stages of stakeholder expectations about change such as that

required by eGovernment transformation. Communication and

leadership play a critical role in

ensuring users pass through each

stage successfully. The four

stages are:

4.0 Execution

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41
To move USDA stakeholders

along this spectrum, ongoing leadership and sponsorship are necessary, as are collaborative working

relationships between OCIO and

agencies and staff offices, between

the field and headquarters,

between executives and non-executives, and between USDA and

the public and private organizations it works with to deliver

information, services and programs to the public USDA serves.

4.2.2 Structure

The governance structure for

eGovernment extends to the highest levels of the Federal government as both a top priority for

Congress and a central tenet of

President Bush’s Management

Agenda. At USDA, the Deputy

Secretary serves as the executive

sponsor for eGovernment and has

charged the Office of the Chief

Information Officer (OCIO) with

leading a Departmental

eGovernment Program that facilitates collaboration and provides

overall strategic direction and tactical guidance to the agencies and

staff offices.

To achieve an enterprise-wide

approach to eGovernment, the

OCIO worked closely with USDA

agencies and staff offices to define

an organizational structure that

could execute a Department-wide

Program and guide this long-term

change journey. The following

4.0 Execution

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42

Specificity

Time

Awareness Understanding Acceptance Commitment

Can describe

project and

change objectives

after active

questioning

Demonstrates enough

acceptance of the

concept of change to

agree to trial

Positive implications

seem to outweigh the

negative

Speaks positively of the

change, at least

conceptually

Active participation in

meetings to discuss the

change

Willingness to

accept the change

as a standard

operating

procedure

Show personal

commitment to the

new environment

by suggesting

means for

continuous

improvement and

taking on

responsibility for

action

Stakeholder Commitment Pattern
4.0 Execution

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43

chart represents USDA’s

eGovernment Program, which

consists of an eGovernment

Executive Council, a Working

Group, Agency Representatives

and Agency eGovernment

Steering Committees.

The Executive Council is an

advisory board comprised of

Senior Executive Program Leaders

appointed by their Under

Secretaries to represent their

respective mission areas.

Members of the Council provide

guidance, leadership and final

decision in establishing the

Department’s eGovernment goals,

objectives, opportunities and communicating eGovernment as a priority to all USDA managers and

employees. Council members

identify and raise cross-agency

issues and represent the

eGovernment champions for their

mission area. 

Working Group members are

Executive Sponsors designated by

their Agency Administrators.

eGovernment Working Group

members represent their respective agencies and actively work to

develop the eGovernment mission, vision, goals and objectives.

eGovernment Working Group

members coordinate their agencies’ eGovernment efforts, including the refinement and implementation of agencies’ eGovernment

tactical plans.

Agency eGovernment Steering

Committees, chaired by each

agency’s eGovernment Working

eGovernment Program Structure
of the eGovernment initiatives in

which that agency participates.

Each individual project should

also have its own formal project

management structure that rolls

up into this broader agency-level

program management.

Given that this Plan delineates a

full range of eGovernment opportunities, from internal USDA

interagency efforts to enterprisewide efforts to interdepartmental

efforts, each of these types of initiatives will require increasingly

complex degrees of collaboration

with an increasing number of parties. The specific level of project

management collaboration will

differ according to the type of initiative and according to the nature

of the initiative itself, but in all

cases the collaboration will be

necessary from the requirements

stage through to the implementation and maintenance phase. 

Finally, in this vein, USDA has

changed SES performance measures to ensure that agency and

Departmental leadership are

actively engaged in providing

stewardship to eGovernment. All

SES leadership will be held

accountable at the objective level

and at the project level where

appropriate. 

4.2.3 Process and Policy

Ensuring a robust, comprehensive policy framework is in place

and aligned with the USDA

4.0 Execution

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44

Group member, help define issues

unique to each agency to represent in the larger Departmentwide forum. These committees are

generally comprised of program

leaders as well as specialists representing eGovernment-related

issues such as Web sites, capital

planning and investment control,

public affairs, information technology, security, privacy, information collection and PRA forms

management, records management

and telecommunications.

As the Department moves from

the strategic planning stage of

eGovernment into the tactical

planning and implementation

stages, continuing to utilize this

existing governance structure is

critically important. It provides

the foundation to:

• Establish a shared vision, 

• Share best practices and lessons

learned, 

• Determine solutions to common

problems,

• Raise and resolve issues, and

• Make key programmatic decisions. 

The shared management structure of the Deputy Secretary’s

office, the OCIO, and the enterprise-wide eGovernment

Executive Council and Working

Group provides comprehensive

oversight and integration of

USDA’s eGovernment efforts.

However, agency eGovernment

leaders will be challenged to align

their efforts with the direction of

the Departmental eGovernment

Program while also maintaining

the spirit of their agency’s own

unique needs and eGovernment

environment, which can vary

widely. 

Leveraging the Agency

eGovernment Steering Committees

to oversee and integrate their

agencies’ individual eGovernment

projects and related activities is

the key link between governance

at the Departmental level and at

the agency level. Just as the

enterprise-wide Executive Council

and Working Group oversee and

coordinate eGovernment efforts

across the Department, each

agency’s eGovernment Steering 

Committee should provide the

same level of integration across all
Currently, in a number of cases,

eGovernment needs are addressed

by existing USDA policies, but are

not communicated, monitored, or

enforced adequately.

Additionally, USDA’s suite of

policies is lacking in a number of

areas critical to successful

eGovernment implementation.

For example, USDA needs an

enterprise-wide solution to electronic signatures, a consistent web

and application hosting approach,

and user interaction guidelines in

order to support its eGovernment

efforts fully.

For a successful eGovernment

Program, USDA must ensure all

affected agencies and staff offices

are consistently involved in the

full lifecycle of policies and directives regulating eGovernment.

This lifecycle includes the steps

of:

1. Conception, 

2. Development, 

3. Communication, 

4.0 Execution

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45

eGovernment mission, vision,

goals and objectives is essential

not only to achieving those goals

but also to maintaining the stability and integrity of the

eGovernment Program. The

nature of eGovernment necessitates a variety of policies and procedures, including:

• IT Capital Planning and 

Investment Control, 

• Information Collections 

Processes,

• System Development 

Methodology, 

• Enterprise Architecture, 

• Web and Application Hosting, 

• Security, 

• Authentication and 

Authorization, 

• Privacy, 

• Data Management, 

• Electronic Records Management,

• Collaboration and Messaging, 

• Internet Usage, 

• User Interaction; and

• Telecommunications
4.0 Execution

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46

4. Monitoring, and 

5. Revision. 

At the outset, stakeholders

should have a role in determining

the need for policies, standards

and guidance. Likewise, all stakeholders should be involved during

policy and standards development

and given the opportunity to provide feedback before policies are

finalized. When implementing

new policies, proper communications are critical to gaining an

appropriate level of awareness,

acceptance and usage. If modifications to eGovernment-related

policies, procedures, and standards are necessary, proper communications must also be taken to

inform employees and affected

partners of the amended policy. 

Throughout this process, USDA

should monitor and enforce the

consistent implementation of

these policies to guarantee policy

utilization. This phase should

also include an assessment of how

the current policies meet

eGovernment needs and whether

they need to be revised. As we

follow this lifecycle for governing

the implementation of

eGovernment across the

Department, USDA should aim to

standardize eGovernment-related

policies to accomplish the greatest

impact across all agencies and

staff offices while still allowing

them flexibility in determining

the procedures by which they

comply with Departmental policy.

Additional treatment of these

policy issues can be found in a

recent gap analysis paper on

eGovernment policies available on

the USDA eGovernment Web site.

Moreover, additional information

regarding the governing legislation spurring adoption of these

policies can be found in

Appendix D. 
Additional reviews will occur

during the acquisition approval

process, the information collection approval process, and the

rulemaking clearance process. In

each of these types of reviews,

determinations will be made as to

whether the program areas are

supporting the eGovernment

goals.

The Department has undertaken

this eGovernment strategic planning effort in accord with the

President’s Management Agenda

and OMB guidance that specifically encourages the development of

enterprise-wide eGovernment

strategies that prioritize IT investments. Through eGovernment

strategic planning, the development of a robust eGovernment

Program, thorough and timely

responses to mandates such as

GPEA and E-File, and the crafting

of an Enterprise Architecture, we

are attempting to build the confidence of oversight groups and

Congressional appropriators that

USDA is on the right course in

terms of electronically-enabled

modernization and business transformation. We in turn hope that

this will lead to increased funding

levels for IT in general and

eGovernment in particular for the

Department and its agencies in

the future.

The Department is also cognizant of the need to prepare

stronger, consistent business cases

to meet OMB’s standards for funding for major investments.

In addition to improving the

process and establishing more formal linkages with the

Department’s annual budgeting

processes, we are also exploring

new ways to increase the amount

of funds available for

eGovernment:

• Applying for competitive interagency funding – last year GSA

gave out $1.2 million for creative interagency efforts. This

year, President Bush has

requested $20 million and a

Congressional proposal has

requested $200 million for a

general eGovernment pool of

funds for which Departments

would compete. This source of

funding, analogous to Y2K

funding, should be increasing

over time.

• Leveraging resources from other

Departments and other USDA

agencies – through Quicksilver

and partnerships with other

Federal agencies and by combining efforts and funding

streams across USDA agencies

–economies of scale should be

realized. Similarly, instead of

several agencies attempting to

solve common problems independently, human and financial

resources can be saved by integrating efforts in to a

Departmental endeavor. For

example, one of our opportunity

areas is Online Human

Resources, toward which multiple agencies have been working

on a solution. By combining

efforts, the Department can create a single, more efficient solution to serve all its agencies.

• Securing funding for

eGovernment solutions upfront

in the authorization and appropriations process – it is much

easier to get a new process

enabled than to try and fix a

broken process. All managers of

new and significantly expanded

programs must be encouraged to

consider electronic options from

the start. Similarly, all new

information collections with

over 50,000 respondents should

be electronically enabled from

their inception. 

• Testing new procurement

options – other government

4.0 Execution

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47

4.3 Finance

For the most part, USDA’s agencies receive funding as separate

line items in Congressional appropriations bills, including separate

capital and IT asset amounts by

agency. This adds an extra layer

of complexity to USDA’s efforts to

strategically manage its portfolio

of IT investments as mandated by

Clinger-Cohen and encouraged by

the President’s Management

Agenda, OMB and the

Government Performance and

Results Act. In a few limited

examples such as the Common

Computing Environment (CCE)

and Y2K initiatives, USDA has

seen the benefit of centrally managed, funding streams controlled

by the Deputy Secretary and CIO. 

The Department is currently in

the process of revising its Capital

Planning and Investment Control

(CPIC) processes that are managed

by the EITIRB and chaired by the

Deputy Secretary in order to effectively integrate eGovernment and

GPEA. It is also amending its

directions to USDA agencies in

this regard as part of a broader

effort to assure standardization

and consistency of approach for

IT Capital Planning across all

USDA agencies and staff offices.

While IT investments for FY 2003

have already been identified, each

investment will be re-evaluated

against the high priority areas

(also referred to as "Smart Choices

Candidates") and other criteria

defined in the eGovernment strategy to ensure that mission area

objectives are in alignment.

Those investments that do not

support the eGovernment goals

established by the eGovernment

Executive Council may need to be

revisited.
agencies domestically (e.g.,

Department of the Navy, Office

of Student Financial Aid at the

Department of Education) and

internationally have used creative, competitive procurement

vehicles to partner with the private sector including valuebased arrangements such as

Share-in-Savings, Share-inRevenue, and incentives-based

contracting. These arrangements change the risk-reward

tradeoff for private sector firms

and pay them for quantifiable

results delivered. 

• Employing user fees and transaction-based charges that are

returned to the IT Capital pool

for maintaining and improving

eGovernment capabilities – a

minimal charge to suppliers for

procurement transactions, for

citizens on loan transactions, on

nonprofits for an electronic

grants systems, withholding a

portion of state/local or nonprofit administrative overhead

funding are potential examples.

• Creating a pool of monies for

future eGovernment spending

based on demonstrated savings

– if for example an

eGovernment application saves

the Department an estimated

$50 million annually, a portion

of those resources should be

apportioned to continual

enhancements and improvements in information and communications technologies. This

is an increasingly common practice in the private sector that

USDA should replicate.

• Reprogramming funds from program dollars to IT/Capital dollars when surpluses exist.

• Segregating funds for new

development versus maintenance and establishing

dollar/percentage targets in both

areas.

• Making an integrated,

Departmental case for a centrally controlled pool of funds similar to CCE and Y2K for

eGovernment under the auspices of the Deputy Secretary

and CIO to facilitate transformation and reform across USDA in

line with Secretary Veneman’s

vision expressed in Food and

Agricultural Policy in the Fall of

2001. OMB, the USDA Office of

Budget Policy and Analysis

(OBPA), and CFO initially have

expressed support for such an

idea to fund enterprise-wide

solutions.

4.4 Skills and

Training

This section describes the skills

and training that are necessary to

actually create and develop each

eGovernment opportunity.

Building an eGovernment application will require a multi-disciplinary team, consisting of personnel

with five distinct skill sets: 

• Project Management

• Strategy Development

• Business Process Development

• Technology Development

• Change Management

This section describes the specific skills needed in those five areas

to successfully deliver any future

eGovernment applications, as well

as skills necessary to successfully

use eGovernment applications.

4.4.1 Skills Necessary to

Build eGovernment

Project Management

Project management resources

are required to coordinate the

4.0 Execution

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48
activities of the team and to communicate and collaborate with

other efforts that may be concurrent. Specifically, project management includes understanding and

gaining agreement on project

objectives, deliverables, scope,

risk, cost, approach, and other factors. Project managers are also

responsible for ensuring that the

team has the right skill set to complete the project and must track

progress against a workplan. 

Given the nature of the role, the

necessary project management

skill set revolves around leadership and organization abilities:

• Strong communication/interpersonal skills and a willingness to

collaborate

• A working understanding of

Internet technologies 

• Work planning and resource

management

• Writing skills

• Understanding of business

processes and organization

impacts due to business process

change

• A strong business acumen to

collaborate effectively with the

business owners of the application

Strategy Development

Strategy Development involves

planning and oversight related to

the USDA’s overall direction. It

includes assessment of the environment in which the USDA operates (including both internal and

external factors), and the creation

and execution of plans to best

accomplish our mission given that

environment. A strategy is usually created at the outset of application development to understand

the broader impact of development and how it affects the overall business from a monetary perspective.

Skills needed to be successful at

Strategy Development include:

• Leadership Skills

• Forecasting and Analysis Skills

• Writing skills

• Understanding of business

processes and organization

impacts due to business process

change

• Strong communication/interpersonal skills

• A working knowledge of

Internet technologies 

• A strong business acumen to

collaborate effectively with the

business owners of the application

We have crafted a Web-based

eGovernment Guidebook for

USDA agencies and offices to help

them with long-term eGovernment

strategic planning as well as elements of agency tactical planning

over the shorter term.

4.0 Execution

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49
Business Process

Development

Business processes are a set of

activities that transform a set of

inputs into a set of outputs (such

as content, services, and products)

for another person or process.

The execution of business

processes is usually supported by

a technology capability. Before

building eGovernment applications, it is imperative to review

and potentially re-engineer the

business processes related to that

application. Therefore, people

skilled in business process reengineering must be included as

part of any project team. 

Business process developers

should likely have the following

skill sets:

• Expertise in business process

methodologies

• Expertise in business process

mapping and mapping tools

• Organization development skills

• Working knowledge of Internet

technologies

• Activity based costing

• Stakeholder analysis 

• Writing skills

Technology Development

Once business requirements for

applications have been defined,

technologists must become

involved to design, build and

maintain the application.

Therefore, a technology team must

possess skills to support the

development, implementation,

and operations of the

eGovernment applications and

systems.

Specific responsibilities may

include application design, technical architecture design, database

design and administration, userinterface design, application

development, application testing,

system testing, and stress testing.

To accomplish these tasks when

building an eGovernment application, our people must possess the

following skills:

• Database Administration

• Internet Development

Technologies

• System Administration

• Cybersecurity

• Technical Architecture Design

• Network Architecture and

Administration

• User Interface

• Graphic Design

• Usability Expertise

• Telecommunications

• Understanding of business

processes and organization

impacts due to business process

change 

• A strong business acumen to

collaborate effectively with the

business owners of the application

4.0 Execution

and Delivery

50
• Writings skills for development

of documentation, issue papers,

etc.

Change Management

When introducing new applications to our employees, inevitably

many people will be asked to perform their jobs differently.

Business processes, as well as the

traditional organizational structures created to execute them, will

require change in order to effectively utilize eGovernment.

Commitment is needed from those

individuals whose jobs are affected and who will see the largest

change in their day-to-day lives

by the eGovernment initiatives. 

Change management experts are

necessary to ease these transitions. Their major activities usually include organization and/or

team restructuring, training, and

communications and marketing to

not only build an awareness of

new capabilities, but obtain an

understanding of the nature and

intent of the change, an acceptance that these new capabilities

will help facilitate positive

change, and ultimately, a commitment and personal ownership of

the change initiative.

To perform these activities effectively, a mix of the following skill

sets is required: 

• Understanding of business

processes and organizational

impacts due to business process

change

• Strong communication/interpersonal skills

• A working knowledge of

Internet technologies 

• A strong business acumen to

collaborate effectively with the

business owners of the application

• Writing skills

4.4.2 Successful Use of

eGovernment

Applications

While understanding the skills

required to implement the

eGovernment initiatives is important, it is also imperative to

understand the skills necessary

for employees, citizens, and private industry to accept and effectively utilize these new applications. In fact, it is crucial to the

success of this Plan that employees have the knowledge, skills,

and support available to not only

effectively use newly deployed

applications, but also perceive the

change as an accepted norm by

articulating personal ownership,

encouraging others to commit to

using the new capabilities and

ultimately have a real involvement and participation in the

overall implementation of this

Plan.

To become an effective user and

advocate of new eGovernment initiatives, there are specific skills

that every employee, citizen, and

private industry employee should

work to develop. These include

proficiency in using a Web browser and e-mail package and awareness of eGovernment capabilities,

especially an understanding of

how eGovernment can improve

how employees do their jobs.

4.0 Execution

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51
4.5 Required

Technology

Capabilities

As with legacy applications currently in operation at the USDA,

the deployment of eGovernment

opportunities requires a suite of

technical capabilities, supporting

business processes, and organizational structure. This section will

discuss the technical capabilities

that must be present to build and

maintain the applications defined

in the 24 eGovernment initiatives

outlined in this Plan.

The chart below shows all technology capabilities that are necessary to realize the long-term

eGovernment strategic vision.

Although only technical capabilities will be discussed in this section, the processes and organizational structure that undergird

these technical capabilities are

critical components of a successful, robust eGovernment portfolio.

A few of these technology capabilities are prerequisites (Web

Presence, Data Management) to

the development of many of the

short-term strategic eGovernment

opportunities. As a result, these

technology capabilities are represented as an eGovernment

enabling opportunity in the

eGovernment Strategic Plan.

4.5.1 Development

Architecture

Based on a set of business

requirements, the Department and

its agencies must be able to

design, build and enhance the

applications that constitute its

eGovernment portfolio. There are

two primary capabilities required

in this regard:

4.5.1.1 Environment and Tools

Environment and tools include

the availability of Integrated

Development Environments

(IDEs), coding standards, project

4.0 Execution

and Delivery

52

Schematic copyright © 2002 Accenture – All Rights Reserved.
management tools, and version

control tools for use by project

teams.

Currently, individual agencies

have purchased these capabilities,

but few Departmental standards or

enterprise licensing agreements

for these capabilities exist.

Further, many standards do not

exist or have been defined but are

not enforced. To develop future

Interdepartmental, Departmental,

or cross-mission area applications,

we must:

• Create development standards

for all eGovernment application

development to ensure all applications are developed consistently and efficiently.

• Define a standard testing strategy to ensure all applications are

being released to their stakeholders with the highest possible quality. This includes system testing, stress testing, and

security testing.

• Enable application development

teams with managed development, testing, and production

environments during the development lifecycle. 

• Deploy standard project management tools, including financial

tools, workplanning, risk analysis, and status reporting templates to project managers.

• Deploy a standard version control capability to application

developers to help facilitate

application development and

ensure against productivity loss.

4.5.1.2 Developer Skills

Many agencies have initiatives to

bring their IT staff up to speed on

current development technologies.

To fully achieve our goals, we

should look to further these

efforts Department-wide and

ensure agencies and corporate

alike have the following skill sets:

• Database Administration

• Internet Development

Technologies

• System Administration

• System Training

• Security Expertise

• Technical Architecting

• Network Architecting and

Administration

• User Interface, Graphic Design,

and Usability Expertise

4.5.2 Execution

Architecture

The execution capabilities form

the infrastructure to run both legacy and eGovernment applications.

Once applications are implemented, we will depend on these execution capabilities to help deliver

services to the intended audience.

4.5.2.1 Network

In the context of this Plan, we

define network as the level of

access available to headquarters,

field offices, and employee

homes. Currently, some form of

network access is available across

the enterprise; to a lesser extent,

employees have access from their

homes and through mobile

devices. 

As eGovernment applications

become more mission-critical and

more bandwidth is required to

run many of the applications, we

must take several steps to ensure

we are providing the level of

access required to operate effectively. Specifically we must:

• Provide dedicated broadband

access that is available in both

headquarters and every field

office location

• Provide secure remote 56k dialup access or VPN capabilities

for remote users

4.0 Execution

and Delivery

53
• Enhance our network configuration requirements to allow a

USDA employee to "configure

once, run anywhere"

• Intelligently manage our network through the use of network

monitoring tools and bandwidth

throttling

• Plan for future use of wireless

applications in our headquarters, field offices, and off-site

locations and implement solutions for relevant business uses 

• Build partnerships to provide

broadband home office capabilities. This is especially important, as 80% of our employees

state they would like to telecommute.

4.5.2.2 Web Services

For the USDA, there are two

types of Web services:

Department-wide services that are

used by IT developers or business

developers as enablers to deliver

strategic eGovernment solutions,

and back-office services that are

used to enhance the delivery of

another eGovernment application.

Several Web services were

deemed significant enough to be

included as one of our 24

eGovernment opportunity areas.

For example, User Authentication

is a capability we feel is important

to offer to our application developer community as an enterprisewide solution to help facilitate

secure transactions. The development of enterprise-wide services

is especially important to ensure

capabilities are developed once,

without the redundancy of multiple agencies working on similar

efforts.

4.5.2.3 Enterprise Application

Integration

Our ability to deploy Enterprise

Application Architecture (EAI)

capabilities will determine how

reliably current data and processes can be utilized to develop new

eGovernment applications and

enhance existing efforts.

The National Information

Technology Center (NITC) currently offers system integration services, and there have been nascent

legacy system integration efforts

by the National Finance Center

(NFC) to deliver their ePayroll

system to the Department.

However, in order to capitalize on

our existing systems and data, we

should create a robust application

integration capability. The following are specific capabilities we

should work to develop:

• A standard messaging protocol

and capability (ORB) for applications to share data

• Enterprise-wide syntactic translation of one data set into another e.g., translation of date formats) 

• Enterprise-wide semantic translation of data based on underlying data definitions or meaning

(e.g., conversion from the

English system to the metric

system)

• Centralized visibility and control of multi-step technical business processes traversing multiple applications

• Pre-built adapters to technology

and application solutions such

as EDI solutions, messaging software, specialized technologies

(i.e. COM, CORBA, EJB, etc),

and database environments 

• Connection managed to and

from source application, including security (authentication,

authorization, and encryption) 

4.0 Execution

and Delivery

54
4.5.2.4 Data Management

Data management is a critical

enabler of multiple strategic

opportunities. Please refer to

Section 3.2 under "eGovernment

Enabling Opportunity – Data

Management" to read about the

short term and long-term capabilities we need to develop in this

area.

4.5.2.5 Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a key issue in

every eGovernment application

that is in production today and

every application that will be

introduced in the future. USDA

currently has an aggressive security policy and has recently been

appropriated significant funds to

further that strategy. Besides

these short-term goals however,

there are enterprise-wide capabilities that we can implement that

integrate cybersecurity concerns

into the fabric of the Department:

• Managed virus server and virus

software implementation on all

desktops

• Comprehensive security communications plan

• Annual business process evaluation to detect potential security

issues

• Policy and breach alert mechanisms

• Host-based intrusion detection

services

• Managed web filtering to check

for inappropriate use of

resources

• Certificate revocation and management services

• Non-repudiation support

• Managed distribution of classified materials

• Managed VPN services; steady

state monitoring and review of

configuration change requests

• Security help desk

• Wireless network monitoring

and intrusion detection

• Integration of biometrics into

security infrastructure

Because of the importance of

cybersecurity, we have identified

electronic signatures and user

authentication as a high priority

opportunity area.

4.5.3 Operations

Architecture

The Operations Architecture

defines how eGovernment applications are managed on a day-today basis. More specifically, the

operations architecture defines

standards for the technology that

is supported in the enterprise,

how changes are managed for

those operation-level standards,

how systems are monitored, and

what maintenance is necessary. 

4.5.3.1 Enterprise Architecture

The USDA Enterprise

Architecture should define standards for technologies that are

supported in the enterprise.

However, our Enterprise

Architecture is also a living plan

that will continue to grow and

mature as projects introduce new

technologies and new technologies are developed by Industry.

Our Enterprise Architecture

should start by developing technology principles that support our

business drivers and goals and

quickly evolve in to making specific recommendations on technology platforms that should be

utilized by the Department.

These recommendations can serve

as a guideline for what software

solution to utilize for a given business purpose. 

USDA currently has an

Enterprise Architecture effort

focused on cataloging all USDA

4.0 Execution

and Delivery

55
applications in production. In

addition to this tracking capability, the Enterprise Architecture

should work towards the following:

• Definition of standards throughout the Department on the desktop level according to business

usage for:

• Hardware configurations

• Operating system

• Office productivity software

• Web browser, e-mail package

• Definition of standard enterprise-wide file formats 

• Standard server configurations

and limited choice of server

environments for desired functions

• Networked file and print serving

(Internet printing protocol)

capabilities

• Standard desktop and server

images used for all new

machines in the Department

• Vendor analysis group to define

standards and perform evaluations of software and hardware

for major business uses

• Dedicated support staff to troubleshoot hardware/software

issues on supported platforms

• Enterprise Architecture management system to track all enterprise systems and report on

those systems

• Automatic software updates on

login to network

• Roaming user capability

• Remote profile storage to enable

access to settings and applications from any location at

USDA

4.5.3.2 Application Hosting

Application hosting is a capability necessary for the operations of

all eGovernment applications.

Therefore given its large impact, it

has been elevated to become a

defined eGovernment opportunity

area. Please refer to the

Application Hosting area in

Section 3.2 to read about the short

term and long term capabilities

we need to develop in application

hosting.

4.5.3.3 Telecommunications

All eGovernment applications

require a robust and reliable

telecommunications infrastructure

to operate effectively. This infrastructure includes voice and data

networks that are generally wired,

land-based systems, but also

include wireless capabilities

where applicable.

USDA’s existing telecommunications infrastructure must be

redesigned and upgraded to meet

growing eGovernment demands.

Currently the Department is managing a telecommunications project, the Universal

Telecommunications Network

(UTN), which will address

eGovernment requirements and

other Departmental/agency

telecommunications demands.

The vision of the UTN is a

robust telecommunications network that provides, scalable, reliable, secure, cost effective services, twenty-four hours a day, seven

days a week, to enable USDA

agencies to meet Departmental

missions and goals for serving

their customers. 

The UTN will be designed, operated and maintained under the

direction of the USDA’s Chief

Information Officer, who will

enter into a partnership with

world-class partners and

Agencies/Staff Offices to implement, operate and manage network services. The network’s

functional characteristics (breadth

of services, capacity, security, and

reliability) will be based upon

departmental and agency business

4.0 Execution

and Delivery

56
processes required to meet mandated missions and achieve strategic goals. The architectural

design will ensure network stability and employ proven, state of

the market technologies, improving security and enhancing

telecommunications interoperability for the agencies. Network

service features will be scalable,

providing the flexibility and agility to accommodate changing

requirements and opportunities to

continuously improve service to

the public.

UTN Project Objectives

include:

• Providing continuous network

monitoring, stability, and sufficient capacity to ensure quality

service and attainment of

Departmental and agency mission goals. 

• Ensuring business requirements

drive telecommunications service requirements. Preparing

today for the service and support requirements of tomorrow. 

• Providing best value telecommunications service to USDA

offices and agencies to ensure

best business practices for the

Department. 

• Implementing a secure enterprise network infrastructure that

protects USDA information,

safeguards the physical network,

and ensures continuity of operations.

• Providing continuous monitoring and proactive network services, support and casualty

response.

• Introducing telecommunications

network planning and management tools for USDA leaders to

use for decision-making and

providing strategic direction to

the world-class telecommunications service partner.

• Achieving consensus on metrics

to define success for the following attributes: robust, reliable,

and secure. 

• Establishing a telecommunications Service Level Agreement

framework for service performance parameters and billing for

services used. 

4.0 Execution

and Delivery

57
USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline

Last year, over 76 million cases of food poisoning occurred in the U.S., (according to the

Centers for Disease Control), most because of improperly handled and prepared food.

Food safety specialists helped 90,000 callers in 2000, ranging from consumers and media

to health professionals and educators answering questions concerning safe food handling

and the prevention of foodborne illness. This year, even more emphasis has been placed

on food safety as a result of bio-terrorist threats. Available in both English and Spanish

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, via telephone, TTY, via email, and integrated with the

Web, the toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline has been a trusted and convenient

resource for more than 10 years. www.fsis.usda.gov/oa/programs/missnhl.htm

Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT)

EBT is an electronic system allowing recipients to authorize transfers of their government

benefits from a Federal account to a retailer account to pay for products. Currently used

to issue over 80% of food stamp benefits, EBT is faster and cheaper than previous paperbased processes. Its accompanying customer card, which functions like a credit card, also

provides dignity to beneficiaries and faster payment for the Food and Nutrition Services’s

(FNS’s) network of over 200,000 retailers. Further, EBT creates an electronic record of

each food stamp transaction, making it easier to identify and document instances where

food stamps are "trafficked," or exchanged for cash, drugs, or other illegal goods, ultimately helping cut back on food stamp waste, fraud, and abuse. This delivery channel has

saved USDA, taxpayers, and retailers an estimated $420 million since its inception. FNS

is now looking to apply EBT and smart card technologies to another major program,

Women Infants and Children (WIC).

CyberSeniors CyberTeens

CyberSeniors CyberTeens is a unique and innovative program that aims to help senior citizens become familiar with and use the Internet while giving young Americans valuable

skills and experience at teaching. Currently operating in a number of locations across the

U.S., both urban and rural, the program pairs young people—some of the most avid and

experienced users of the Internet—with older Americans, many of whom have no experience with computers. Teens tutor seniors on computer- and Internet-related topics such

as Very, Very Basic Computers and Introduction to the Internet and E-Mail; additional 

Appendix A: USDA’s Current

eGovernment Capabilities

A2

Customer

Service

New Delivery

Channels

Bridging the

Digital Divide

Goal 1: Citizens

Improve citizens’ knowledge of and access to USDA to enhance service delivery.

20"From Paper to Electronics: Creating a Benefit Delivery System That Works Better & Costs Less." Federal EBT Task Force,

1994.
Appendix A:

USDA’s Current

eGovernment

Capabilities

A3

teaching modules help seniors with more specific topics such as using the Internet to find

health information or manage finances. A unique public-private partnership, the program’s sponsors include CSREES, .the National 4-H Organization, and companies including Microsoft and MBNA.

Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC)

AITC is an education partnership initiative between the USDA — including CSREES,

ARS, AMS, APHIS, NASS, and the USDA Education Coordinating Council — and other

Federal Departments that provides electronic linkage of State AITC programs and K-12

teachers. The AITC Web site provides agriculture facts and information, downloadable

lesson plans, streaming videos, grants information, teacher recognition, exemplary science

projects and information on all state AITC programs. A Kid’s Corner enables students to

engage in self-directed activities to support their own learning. The initiative encourages

teachers to integrate food, agriculture, and natural resource topics into their broad curricula by providing resources to assist them. While primarily aimed at helping students,

AITC also develops more rational consumers, citizens and voters who support sciencebased agriculture and resource policies. There is an AITC presence in every state and territory, and the program is expanding internationally. This robust capability involves an

array of agencies and reaches approximately 5 million K-12 students through 130,000

teachers nationwide. http://www.agclassroom.org

Recreation.gov

USDA manages over 190 million acres in 175 national forests and grasslands. While part

of the USDA’s mission is to provide stewardship for these lands for future generations and

for the public trust, it also maintains these lands for the enjoyment of citizens, who made

200 million recreational visits last year alone . The Forest Service is a leader in creating

Recreation.gov, an interagency partnership among Federal land management agencies

including the Forest Service, the National Parks Service, and the Bureau of Land

Management, aimed at providing a single, easy-to-use Web site with information about all

Federal recreation areas. The site allows a user to search for recreation areas by state, by

recreational activity, by agency, or by map. Also, some national parks and forests provide

online reservations through this site. www.recreation.gov

Unified Export Strategy (UES)

FAS administers several programs, including the Market Access Program and Foreign

Market Development Program, that provide over $135 million in funding to over 65 

industry partners, both in the U.S. and overseas. The Unified Export Strategy is a Webbased application for FAS’s industry partners to streamline the administration of these 

eLearning

Interagency

One-stop

Shop

Collaborating

with Partners

Goal 2: Public and Private Organizations

Enhance collaboration with public and private sector organizations to develop and

deliver USDA’s mission. 

21USDA National Forest Visitor Use Monitoring, 2001.
interrelated programs while focusing on results, improving resource allocation benchmarks, and de-emphasizing bureaucracy. UES, which receives over 11,000 submissions

annually, improves customer service by combining applications to reduce paperwork burdens. Additionally, UES has reduced reimbursement time from 3 weeks to 3 days and

significantly decreased redundant information requests. Overall, industry burdens have

been reduced by 30 staff years. 

Import Authorization System (IAS)

IAS, a Government Technology Leadership award winner for its innovation, allows the

Animal Plants and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to manage permits for both fruit &

vegetable and live animal imports electronically. 25% of all APHIS’s permit applications

use this Lotus Notes-based Web system allowing users to submit and revise permit applications and check their status. Applicants can choose to have their permits sent via multiple channels, including postal mail, fax, or e-mail. IAS has generated significant cost

savings for APHIS through reduction of paperwork, data entry, reduced errors, and

improved processing/delivery time.

https://web01.aphis.usda.gov/IAS.nsf/Mainform?OpenForm

Electronic Bid Entry System

EBES automates, via the Internet, the bid entry portion of USDA’s procurement of commodities exported under various foreign donation programs. FSA has built upon this success by building a similar system to handle procurements for Domestic distribution of

food assistance (Domestic Electronic Bid Entry System) and is in the process of building

the Freight Entry Bid Entry/Evaluation System to handle the acquisition of freight bids for

the foreign donation programs. To close the end-to-end nature of FSA procurement

process, the agency is building a web-based application system that will streamline program operations and improve customer service by linking the originating agencies

(USDA/FAS, USAID, and the UN) requests for procurement with the procurement and

freight systems.

ERS Extranet

The Economic Research Service Extranet is a private and secure virtual meeting space

where ERS’s research partners access timely, relevant information and data to help them

conduct business, work collaboratively with peers, create knowledge, and participate in

established, professional networks. Five extranets are currently available to ERS’s partners, and extranets for additional partner groups are planned. 

National Agriculture Library Digital Desktop Library

The National Agricultural Library (NAL) has built its Digital Desktop Library to provide

24-hour access to key databases, journals, news services, statistics, and other significant

electronic information resources. Important agricultural books, journals, reference materials, and databases are increasingly available in digital form. The NAL provides access to 

Appendix A:

USDA’s Current

eGovernment

Capabilities

A4

Electronic

Delivery of

Products

Supply Chain

Management

eWorkspaces

Knowledge

Management

Goal 3:Employees and the Enterprise

Improve USDA’s internal efficiency by promoting Enterprise-wide solutions.
these digital resources by obtaining USDA-wide licenses at lower rates and offering participating USDA agencies a single interface to the Digital Desktop Library. Access to the

first two fee-based products licensed through this initiative has been extended to all

USDA staff worldwide. http://www.nal.usda.gov/usda/digitop.htm 

Employee Personal Page

The Employee Personal Page provides self-service functionality to federal employees of

agencies serviced by the National Finance Center. It allows employees to view their statements of earnings and leave (i.e., pay stubs), W2 statements, personal benefits statements,

travel vouchers, and other information. In 2002 the Personal Page will provide update

capability where employees can change personal address information, federal & state tax

info (e.g., W4), DD/EFT, and other information. Since it's inception in 1998, over 214,000

federal employees have signed up, with a current active user base of over 168,000. In

1999, the Employee Personal Page received the USDA Secretary's Group Honor Award for

Excellence.

Web-based Centralized Authentication and Authorization Facility (WebCAAF)

WebCAAF is a combination of applications and business processes that provide an electronic means for Web-based applications to know that their users – USDA customers and

partners – are who they say they are. The WebCAAF combines commercial, off-the-shelf

software, a customized registration application, and interactions with Web-based applications. USDA employees help customers start the registration process, including collecting

current information and verifying customer identification, then turn over management of

the customer’s account to the customer. Although the technical architecture behind the

WebCAAF is fairly complex, the WebCAAF is practically invisible to both USDA employees and USDA partners and customers, and, once registration is complete, only requires a

few moments of their time to log in. This low impact on time and effort has increased

employee acceptance and improved customer satisfaction.

Laboratory Electronic Application for Results Notification (LEARN)

LEARN is a web-based application used by the Food Safety and Inspection Service’s

(FSIS’s) 9,000-strong field inspection force. Allowing inspectors and managers to obtain

laboratory test results from multiple plants, this extensive reporting tool enables FSIS

staff to quickly isolate potential and presumptive positive microbiological test results,

which are often the trigger for a product recall. Increased reporting and analysis means

faster decisions, which in turn mean improved public safety and potentially lives saved.

Used by inspectors in 7,000+ meat and poultry plants, FSIS district office and headquarters management, LEARN also provides results to any establishment that provides the

agency with an e-mail address.

Combined Administrative Management System (CAMS)

Currently servicing more than 60,000 employees nationwide, CAMS provides employees

Web-based access to their Human Resources information. Some self-service capabilities

include Spot and Time Off nominations, self profiles with education level, emergency

contacts, personal data, personnel actions, position descriptions, training history, performance plan/appraisals, and course catalogs and requests for training.

http://cams.usda.gov/

Appendix A:

USDA’s Current

eGovernment

Capabilities

A5

Web-based

Human

Resources

Electronic

Authentication

Data Tools for

the Field

Electronic

Human

Resources
To enhance the quality of life for the American people by supporting production agriculture; ensuring a

safe, affordable, nutritious, and accessible food supply; caring for public lands and helping people care for

private lands; supporting sound sustainable development of rural communities; providing economic opportunities for farm and rural residents; expanding global markets for agricultural and forest products and

services; and working to reduce hunger in America and throughout the world.

A healthy and productive Nation in harmony with the land.

Appendix B: USDA Mission,

Vision, Goals and Objectives

A6

USDA’s Mission

USDA’s Vision

Expand economic 

and trade 

opportunities for 

U.S. agricultural 

producers.

1.1 Provide an 

effective safety net 

and promote a

strong, sustainable 

U.S. farm economy.

1.2 Expand market 

opportunities for 

U.S. agriculture.

Promote health by 

providing access to

safe, affordable, and

nutritious food.

2.1 Reduce hunger

and improve nutrition among children

and low-income

people in the

United States.

2.2 Reduce hunger 

and malnutrition 

around the world.

2.3 Protect the 

public health by significantly reducing

the prevalence of

foodborrne hazards.

2.4 Improve public 

health through 

nutrition education, 

promotion, and 

research.

Maintain and 

enhance the Nation’s

natural resources

and

environment.

3.1 Maintain the 

productive capacity 

of the natural 

resource base for 

future generations

3.2 Protect the 

quality of the 

environment.

3.3 Provide multiple

benefits to people 

from the Nation’s 

natural resources.

Enhance the 

capacity of all 

rural residents, 

communities, and

businesses to prosper.

4.1 Expand job 

opportunities and

improve the 

standard of living 

in rural communities.

4.2 Ensure the

neediest rural residents and communities have equal

access to the USDA

programs that will

help them succeed.

Enhance the 

capacity of all 

rural residents, 

communities, and

businesses to prosper.

\\\

5.1 Ensure that USDA

provides fair and

equitable service to

all customers and

upholds the civil

rights of its 

employees.

5.2 Improve 

organizational 

productivity,

accountability, 

and performance.

Strategic Objectives Strategic Objectives Strategic Objectives Strategic Objectives Strategic Objectives 

Strategic Goal 1 Strategic Goal 2 Strategic Goal 3 Strategic Goal 4 Strategic Goal 5
Appendix B:

USDA Mission,

Vision, Goals and

Objectives

A7
To develop the Departmentwide eGovernment Strategic

Plan, the Deputy Secretary

directed the Office of the Chief

Information Officer (OCIO) to

facilitate a structured process that

would ensure the involvement of

a broad cross-section of business

and technology, management and

non-management, field and headquarters personnel. In less than

three and a half months, over 200

persons representing every

Department agency and staff office

contributed to the development of

this Plan. Additionally, 4,800

USDA employees participated in

the eGovernment employee survey.

The eGovernment Working

Group, Executive Council and

eGovernment team — OCIO staff

and full-time representatives from

each of the mission areas —

developed this strategic plan

using the following key steps:

1. Captured high-level USDA 

vision and priorities – The 

eGovernment Program conducted primary and secondary 

research to evaluate the key 

business and technology priorities for the Department. 

• Research and reviews of the

USDA’s strategic and business planning documents, 

including the USDA 

Strategic Plan, Annual 

Performance Plan, Business 

and Operating Plan, and 

Agency Strategic Plans were

conducted.

• Interviews were conducted 

Appendix C: Methodology and

Project Approach

A8

with each mission area 

Under Secretary, 11 Agency 

Administrators, senior 

executives from each 

agency, leadership from 

nearly every Staff Office, 

and nine agency CIOs.

• Three focus groups were 

conducted with farmers, 

international trade organizations and service center 

employees to gain addition

al input directly from stake

holders.

2. Conducted an eGovernment 

Readiness Assessment – The 

Readiness Assessment provides

a comprehensive analysis of 

the USDA’s current 

eGovernment capabilities in 

comparison with industry best 

practices. The Readiness 

Assessment:

• Identifies current capabilit

ies of high-impact business 

processes

• Examines stakeholder readi

ness for eGovernment and, 

in particular, issues of 

access

• Evaluates the level of 

eGovernment sophistication

for Departmental support 

functions against industry 

best practices

• Highlights the gaps in technology infrastructure and 

deployment that are 

required capabili ties for 

eGovernment

• Provides an initial comprehensive listing of all exist
ing eGovernment initiatives 

and programs ranging from, 

AMS Market News, CAMS, 

LINC, and Inventory of 

Automated Systems

3. Established USDA’s 

eGovernment Strategic 

Direction – The mission, 

vision, strategic goals and 

objectives were developed 

through weekly meetings with 

the eGovernment Working 

Group and Executive Council. 

Interview notes, key issues and

business priorities were all 

used as factors to decide 

USDA’s eGovernment strategic 

direction.

4. Identified eGovernment 

Opportunity Areas and Smart 

Choice Candidates

• Internal and external 

eGovernment best practices 

were identified

• eGovernment opportunities 

were developed by synthe

sizing information from 

over 9 visioning sessions, 

submissions of ideas to the 

eGovernment Mailbox, and 

as part of the eGovernment 

Employee Survey

• 7 mission area visioning 

sessions

• 1 collectively for the 

Staff Offices and 

Departmental 

Administration

• 1 Department-wide 

visioning session with 

eGovernment Working 

Group members.

• eGovernment opportunities 

were then prioritized and 

categorized by goals, level 

of initiative, and whether 

strategic or enabling.

• Short-term and long-term 

initiatives for each of these 

Appendix C:

Methodology and

Project Approach

A9

opportunities were then identified

• The Executive Council then 

made final decisions about 

which eGovernment oppor

tunity areas would be Smart 

Choice Candidates

• The Deputy Secretary and 

Undersecretaries then com

mitted to advancing these 

high priority initiatives in 

particular and the broader 

strategic plan in general

5. Concurrent to the development 

of this strategic plan, the 

eGovernment Program also 

began education and aware

ness-building to support the 

eGovernment Strategic 

Planning Process: • Communications

• eGovernment 

Web site – 

www.egov.usda.gov

• eGovernment mailbox – 

eGov@usda.gov

• eGovernment Employee 

Survey

• Marketing Materials:

• eGovernment pamphlet

• 3 eGovernment billboards 
Executive Directives 

& Oversight:

1. The President’s Management 

Agenda provides a foundation 

and strategy for streamlining 

the management and perfor

mance of the Federal

Government. It articulates five

"government-wide initiatives"

in order to achieve its goals.

One of these government-wide

initiatives is Expanded

Electronic Government; its

basic premise is for the

Government to deliver "greater

services at lower cost through

electronic government... and

meet high public demand for

eGovernment services." The

President’s Management

Agenda establishes a foundation and framework for

eGovernment initiatives across

the Federal Government, stressing strategic planning, linkages

with budgeting, governmentwide solutions, and citizencentered design. 

A. The President Management 

Agenda’s Goals for 

eGovernment: 

• Create easy-to-find single 

points of access to government services for individuals;

• Reduce the reporting bur

den on businesses—busi

nesses should not have to 

file the same information 

over and over because 

government fails to reuse 

the data appropriately or 

fails to take advantage of 

commercial electronic 

transaction protocols;

• Share information more 

quickly and conveniently 

between the federal and 

state, local, and tribal governments; and

• Automate internal 

processes to reduce costs 

internally, within the 

Federal Government, by 

disseminating best practices across agencies.

B. eGovernment initiatives 

should:

• Provide high quality customer service regardless of

whether the citizen con

tacts the agency by phone,

in person, or on the Web;

• Reduce the expense and 

difficulty of doing busi

ness with the government;

• Cut government operating 

costs;

• Provide citizens with 

readier access to government services;

• Increase access for persons

with disabilities to agency

Web sites and E-goverment

applications; and

• Make government more 

transparent and accountable.

The President’s Management

Agenda establishes an

eGovernment Task Force to

identify major, governmentwide eGovernment applications

and initiatives and is administered under the oversight of the

Appendix D: Relevant

Legislation and Guidance

A10
President’s Management

Council.

2. Quicksilver Initiatives - Based

on the President’s Management

Agenda, the eGovernment Task

Force has developed 24

eGovernment initiatives, often

referred to as ‘Quicksilver

Initiatives’; these cross-agency

initiatives aim to bring

eGovernment to a wide range

of areas and processes including loan administration, grants

management, employee training, and rulemaking. These

initiatives will be implemented

across the federal government,

with all appropriate agencies

participating in the design and

administration of new processes and systems. By coordinating the initiatives across agencies, the task force and the

President’s Management

Council intend to ensure efficiency while creating integrated solutions that satisfy citizen

needs without regard to organizational structure. (A full listing of Quicksilver initiatives

can be found in Appendix E.)

3. The Office of Management and

Budget has consolidated planning and oversight for information technology investment and

eGovernment into one office

under the oversight of the

Associate Director for

Information Technology and

Electronic Government. This

division will be responsible for

reviewing information technology investments to ensure efficient use of resources and to

maximize coordination of initiatives across the Federal

Government. 

4. The Office of Management and

Budget has issued guidelines

for the development of GPEA

implementation plans and will

provide continued oversight;

several departments and agencies will provide guidance on

specific areas of expertise:

• The Department of 

Commerce will follow public Federal Information 

Processing Standards, as 

appropriate, to further the 

specific goals of GPEA. The 

Department will also develop guidance in the area of 

authentication technologies. 

• The Department of Justice 

will develop practical guidance on legal considerations 

related to agency use of elec

tronic filing and record 

keeping.

• The Department of The 

Treasury will develop policies for the use of electronic 

transactions and authentication techniques for use in 

Federal payments and collections, and ensure that 

these policies fulfill the 

goals of GPEA.

• The National Archives and 

Records Administration will

develop policies and guidance on the management, 

preservation, and disposal of

Federal records associated 

with electronic Government 

transactions, and must give 

particular consideration to 

records issues associated 

with the use of electronic 

signature technologies.

• The General Services 

Administration will support 

agencies’ implementation of 

digital signature technology 

and related electronic service delivery.

Legislation and Guidance

1. The Freedom to E-File Act of

2000 (E-File) requires the

Department of Agriculture’s

Appendix D:

Relevant

Legislation and

Guidance

A11

Risk Management Agency to

allow electronic access to and

submission of program applications and other forms by

December 2001; it also requires

the Department’s Service

Center Agencies (Farm Service

Agency, Natural Resources

Conservation Service, and

Rural Development) to make

forms available for electronic

download by December 2000.

2. The Electronic Signatures in

Global and National

Commerce Act of 2000 (ESIGN)

gives electronic signatures the

same legal standing as written

signatures, enabling electronic

signing of contracts, entirely

electronic collection and storage of documents, and electronic transmission and receipt of

notices and disclosures.

3. The Federal Financial

Assistance Management

Improvement Act of 1999

requires Federal agencies and

departments to improve the

effectiveness and performance

of Federal Financial assistance

programs; simplify program

application and reporting

requirements; improve the

delivery of services to the public; and facilitate greater coordination among those responsible for delivering such services.

4. The Government Paperwork

Elimination Act of 1998

(GPEA) requires that most

Federal agencies, by October

2003, to give the public the

option to submit information,

forms, program applications,

and other transactions electronically; to maintain or disclose

information to the public using

electronic means; and to use

electronic authentication methods to verify the identity of the

sender and the integrity of electronic content. The law directs
legislative impetus for electronic procurement. OMB will continue to advance the evolution

of agencies’ acquisition

processes from paper to electronic media to save taxpayer

dollars, expedite processes, and

ease the burden on businesses.

9. The Government Performance

and Results Act of 1993

(GPRA) requires government

agencies to link performance to

results and fosters short-term

business planning and longterm strategic planning. The

law also requires that agencies

develop performance plans that

articulate their target performance goals and progress

towards meeting these goals.

Electronic government is a

means by which agencies can

fulfill these performance goals.

The Act also encourages

bureaus and offices within

agencies, such as CIO and IT

organizations, to improve service delivery and focus on

results and customer satisfaction.

10.The Computer Security Act of

1987 provides for the security

of Federal information systems.

The Act requires each agency

with a Federal computer system to establish a security plan

to protect the security and privacy of sensitive information.

In addition, the Act establishes

a Computer System Security

and Privacy Advisory Board

within the Department of

Commerce and directs the

National Bureau of Standards

to establish a computer standards program for Federal computer systems. Moreover, the

Act requires that agencies provide periodic training for their

employees on the management,

use, and operation of computer

systems.

agencies to engage in the

"acquisition and use of information technology, including

alternative information technologies that provide for electronic submission, maintenance, or disclosure of information as a substitute for paper,

and for the use and acceptance

of electronic signatures."

5. The Electronic Freedom of

Information Act Amendment

of 1998 creates a specific procedure through which all

Americans can exercise their

right to request and obtain

access to particular federal

agency records and data.

Commonly called "eFOIA," the

Act has increased demand for

publications and reports from

agencies, leading many agencies to allow their publications

and reports to be electronically

downloaded from their Web

sites.

6. The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996

facilitates, encourages, and provides for the efficient and effective use of modern information

technology by executive agencies. The Act seeks to increase

the responsibility and accountability of departments and

agencies in achieving substantial improvements in the delivery of services to the public

and in other program activities

through the use of modern

information technology.

Formerly known as the

Information Technology

Management Reform Act, this

law specifically mandates that

agencies and departments:

• Establish Chief Information 

Officers (CIOs) with defined 

duties and responsibilities;

• Design and implement capital planning and investment 

controls; and 

• Use information technology 

as a strategic enabler of 

agency and departmental 

missions and business objectives, implementing information technology-related 

actions to enhance perform ance and results-based 

management.

6. The Debt Collection Act of 1996

requires increased use of electronic commerce to improve

cash and debt collection management. 

7. The Paperwork Reduction Act

of 1995 significantly changed

many aspects of information

resources management in the

Federal Government. The Act

requires agencies to seek

approval from the Office of

Management and Budget for all

collections of information from

the public. In planning for the

development of new collections of information and the

extension of ongoing collections, the PRA directs agencies

to ensure that the minimum

burden is place on the public.

The PRA also governs agency

dissemination of and public

access to information; statistical activities; records management activities; privacy; confidentiality; security; disclosure;

and sharing of information; and

the acquisition and use of

information technology and

telecommunications.

8. The Federal Acquisition

Streamlining Act of 1994 established the Federal Acquisition

Computer Network and

increased agencies’ flexibility

in terms of procurement

processes. OMB’s Office of

Federal Procurement Policy

governs acquisitions. This Act,

and subsequent amendments

and directives found in the

Federal Acquisitions

Regulations (FAR), provides the

Appendix D:

Relevant

Legislation and

Guidance

A12
Appendix D:

Relevant

Legislation and

Guidance

A13

11.The Privacy Act of 1974 provides specific guidance to

Federal agencies on the control

and release of appropriate

records, as well as on the collection and storage of citizens’

personal information.

12.As amended, Section 508 of

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973

requires Federal agencies to

ensure that their electronic and

information technologies provide people with disabilities

access to information and data

comparable to that of people

without disabilities. This

requirement applies to Federal

employees as well as members

of the general public that conduct business with the agency.

Additional guidance regarding

this Act and its implications

for electronic government has

been issued by the interagency

CIO Council and the

Department of Justice.

Moreover, many federal Web

sites are now compliant, using

various certification standards

and tools (e.g., "Bobbyapproved" by the nonprofit

Center for Applied Special

Technology). 

13.Finally, there are numerous

other security and records management regulations and directives that impact Federal agencies:

• The Federal Information 

Processing Standard 

Publications (FIPS Pubs) are 

the official series of publications relating to standards 

and guidelines adopted and 

promulgated under the provisions of Section 111(d) of 

the Federal Property and 

Administrative Services Act 

of 1949, as amended by the 

Computer Security Act of 

1987, Public Law 100-235. 

These publications provide 

the standards to be used by 

Federal organizations in 

specifying the use of cryptographic-based security systems to provide protection 

for sensitive or valuable 

data. These standards provide four increasing, qualitative levels of security 

intended to cover a wide 

range of potential applications and environments. The

security requirements cover 

areas related to the secure 

design and implementation 

of a cryptographic module. 

These areas include basic 

design and documentation, 

module interfaces, author

ized roles and services, 

physical security, software 

security, operating system 

security, key management, 

cryptographic algorithms, 

electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC), and 

self-testing.

• The Minimum 

Interoperability 

Specifications for PKI 

Components (MISPC), pro

duced in cooperation with 

ten industry partners 

through Cooperative 

Research and Development 

Agreements (CRADAs), pro

vides a basis for interopera

ble PKI components from 

different vendors. The goal 

of these specifications is to 

foster interoperability among

heterogeneous public key 

certificate management sys

tems, and thereby provide 

security services to users in 

large communities. The

MISPC specifies a minimal set

of features, transactions, and

data formats for the various

certificate management components that make up a PKI.

Moreover, the MISPC addresses

certificate generation, renewal,

and revocation; certificate validation; signature generation

and verification; and other

related issues.

• The Circular on 

Management of Information 

Resources (OMB Circular A130) establishes the policies 

for the management of 

Federal information 

resources, and includes, as 

appendices, procedural and 

analytic guidelines for 

implementing specific 

aspects of these policies.

• The Federal Records Act (36

CFR 1220) defines Federal 

records and requires the 

establishment of agency programs to ensure adequate 

and proper documentation 

of organization, function, 

policies, decisions, procedures, and essential transactions. 

• The Critical Infrastructure 

Protection Plan (PDD 63) 

specifies how vulnerabilities

that may diminish HUD’s 

ability to achieve its critical 

mission are to be mini

mized. The plan identifies 

the minimum essential functions that HUD must be able 

to carry out in an emergency

and outlines how these 

functions are to be main

tained. In addition, the plan 

provides for the continuous 

monitoring of and responsiveness to changes in 

threats, technology innovations, and improved risk 

reduction measures. 
nesses to find the loan programs

that meet their needs. 

USA Services

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: GSA

The USA Service initiative will

use best practices in customer

relationship management to

enable citizens to quickly obtain

service online, while improving

responsiveness and consistency

across government agencies. This

initiative would enable citizens to

personalize the combination of

services they obtain across multiple programs and agencies in a

privacy-protected environment. 

EZ Tax Filing

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: Treasury/IRS

The initiative would make it easier for citizens to files taxes in a

Web-enabled environment. 

Government-to-Business

Online Rulemaking Management

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: DOT

This initiative would provide

access to the rulemaking process

for citizens anytime, anywhere.

An existing "e-Docket" system

would be expanded and enhanced

to serve as a government-wide

system for agency dockets. Other

agency systems would use the

system by creating "storefronts"

consistent with statutory requirements for each agency under the

Administrative Procedures Act.

Comments would be organized

Appendix E: Quicksilver

Initiatives

A14

Summaries of these initiatives

are taken from the

eGovernment Strategy published by the Office of

Management and Budget. A full

version of this document is available on the Web at

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/i

nforeg/egovstrategy.pdf. 

Government-to-Citizen

Recreation One-Stop

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: DOI

This initiative will build upon

"Recreation.gov" and will provide

a one-stop, searchable database of

recreation areas nationwide, featuring online mapping and integrated transactions, including

online campground reservations

and the purchase of recreational

passes, maps and other products.

The project will include links to

recreational opportunities provided by all levels of government. 

Eligibility Assistance Online

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: Labor

Through a common Internet portal, citizens (with a focus on highneed demographic groups) will

have an online tool for identifying

government benefit programs from

which they may be eligible to

receive assistance. 

Online Access for Loans

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: Education

The Online Access for Loans initiative allows citizens and busi-
using knowledge management

tools to improve the quality of

rules. 

Expanding Electronic Tax

Products for Businesses

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: Treasury /IRS

This initiative’s goals include

decreasing the number of taxrelated forms that an employer

must file, providing timely and

accurate tax information to

employers, increasing the availability of electronic tax filing and

modeling simplified federal and

state tax employment laws.

Federal Asset Sales

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: GSA

Prospective customers will be

able to find assets that they are

interested in, regardless of the

agency that holds those assets.

Customers will be able to bid

and/or make purchases electronically for financial, real and disposable assets.

International Trade Process

Streamlining

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: DOC

The initiative would create a single customer-focused site where

new or existing exporters could be

assisted electronically through the

entire export process. The 20 current Web sites would be organized

and accessed through a single

entry point. 

One-Stop Business Compliance

Information

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: SBA

This initiative would provide

information on laws and regulations that can help users understand compliance information. It

would also offer wizards and tutorials to help users determine if

rules apply to them and how to

proceed. To the maximum extent

possible, permits would be completed, submitted and approved

online.

Consolidated Health Informatics

(business case)

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: HHS

The initiative would provide the

basis for a simplified and unified

system for sharing and reusing

medical record information

among government agencies and

their private healthcare providers

and insurers. It would enable a

single mechanism for making

those records accessible.

Government-to-Government

Geospatial Information One-Stop

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: DOI

The Geospatial Information OneStop will provide access to the

federal government's spatial data

assets in a single location and

help make state and local spatial

data assets more accessible. federal agencies will also make their

planned and future spatial data

activities available to state and

local governments to promote collaboration and reduce duplicative

efforts. Data standards developed

through an intergovernmental

process will result in data that can

be used multiple times for multiple purposes, saving taxpayer

money. It will also help empower

the private sector by communicating the characteristics of a desired

standardized data product.

eGrants

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: HHS

This initiative will create an

electronic grants portal for grant

Appendix E:

Quicksilver

Initiatives

A15

recipients and the grant- making

agencies that will streamline, simplify and provide an electronic

option for grants management

across the government. This effort

will include the work of the 26

federal grant-making agencies to

implement P.L.106-107.

Disaster Assistance and Crisis

Response

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: FEMA

This initiative involves a public,

one-stop portal containing information from applicable public

and private organizations

involved in disaster preparedness,

response, recovery and mitigation.

This portal will also serve as a

single point of application for all

disaster assistance programs.

Wireless Public SAFEty

Interoperable COMmunications

(Project SAFECOM)

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: Treasury

For public safety officials to be

effective in their daily responsibilities, as well as before, during and

after an emergency event, public

safety agencies throughout all levels of government, i.e. federal,

state and local, must be able to

communicate with each other.

This initiative would address the

Nation’s critical shortcomings in

efforts by public safety agencies to

achieve interoperability and eliminate redundant wireless communications infrastructures. At the

same time, it would assist state

and local interoperability and

interoperability between federal

public safety networks.

eVital

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: SSA

This initiative would expand the

existing vital records online data
Integrated Acquisition

Environment

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: GSA

Agencies will begin sharing common data elements to enable other

agencies to make more informed

procurement, logistical, payment

and performance assessment decisions. It will also allow agencies

to make maximum use of eMarket

approaches.

Electronic Records Management

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: NARA

This initiative will provide the

tools that agencies will need to

manage their records in electronic

form, addressing specific areas of

electronic records management

where agencies are having major

difficulties. This project will provide guidance on electronic

records management applicable

government-wide and will provide tools for agencies to transfer

electronic records to NARA in a

variety of data types and formats

so that they may be preserved in

for future use by the government

and citizens. Value to Citizen:

Easier process for creating information, with more reliable storage, that is also in compliance

with the Federal Records Act

Value to the Government: More

efficient operations that meet the

statutory requirements of the

Federal Records Act.

Initiatives That Address

Barriers to E-Government

Success

eAuthentication

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: GSA (Infrastructure)

eAuthentication will build and

enable the mutual trust needed to

support wide spread use of elecexchange efforts between federal

agencies and state governments.

Value to Citizen: Elimination of

burden imposed on citizens to

obtain and deliver vital record

information from local government to the federal government.

Enables more efficient and effective benefit qualification. Value to

the Government: Save millions of

dollars annually through fraud

detection from computer matching programs as well as from

reductions in erroneous payments.

Internal Efficiency and

Effectiveness

eTraining

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: OPM

The vision is to provide a repository of government-owned courseware to be made available to all

governments (federal, state and

local), to provide high interest

and government-required training

to government employees at

economies of scale pricing. In

addition, this would foster development of communities of practice. This initiative supports

achievement of the President’s

Human Capital initiative.

Recruitment One-Stop

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: OPM

This initiative would improve

the federal hiring process by

improving the functionality of the

federal automated employment

information system. It would provide job seekers with streamlined

resume submission, online feedback about their status in the

employment process and integration with automated assessment

tools. The initiative will provide

federal employers with a searchable resume database.

Enterprise HR Integrations

Integrated Human Resources and

e-Clearance

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: OPM

This initiative will eliminate the

need for paper employee records,

enable strategic decisions regarding the use of human capital and

financial resources to improve

agency performance and address

emerging needs. It will also allow

for the electronic transfer of HR

data throughout the federal sector,

better protect the rights and benefits of the federal workforce and

streamline and improve government-wide reporting and data

analyses. It will reduce the time

required to seek and access

employee and contractor security

clearance information.

ePayroll/HR (Payroll Processing

Consolidation)

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: OPM

The vision is to simplify and

unify elements of the Payroll/HR

process in order to consolidate

and integrate HR and payroll systems across government. This

effort will provide several hundred million dollars of savings to

organizations and significantly

reduce future information technology (IT) investments and could

foster direct privatization. This

initiative supports achievement of

the five dimensions of the

President’s Management Agenda.

eTravel

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: GSA

Agencies will use a common

travel management system

throughout the federal government. Existing travel management

resources will be consolidated and

processes will be simplified for

cheaper, more efficient operation.

Appendix E:

Quicksilver

Initiatives

A16
tronic interactions between the

public and government and across

governments. This will establish a

method for satisfactorily establishing ‘identity,’ without which the

promise of E-Government will

never reach its full potential. The

project will establish common

interoperable authentication solutions for all of the E- Government

initiatives. Value to Citizen:

Secure, consistent method of

proving identity to the federal

government. Value to the

Government: Eliminate redundancy in electronic signature technology and policy operations, thereby

reducing costs and employee time

required.

Federal Architecture

Proposed Agency Managing

Partner: OMB

This activity, which supports all

of the initiatives, will map government processes by line of business. It will develop information,

data and application interface

standards to eliminate redundancies and yield improved operating

efficiency and effectiveness. Value

to Citizen: Citizens are best served

by an efficient and effective government. Value to the

Government: A well architected

federal information system will

provide a more efficient and effective government by eliminating

redundancies.

Appendix E:

Quicksilver

Initiatives

A17
Appendix F: Glossary of

Relevant Terms

A18

General Terms

Agency-Specific Applications and initiatives that deal exclusively with one USDA agency.

API Application Programming Interface is a method or set of procedures used by an operating system (such as Windows) or other software to allow communication or integration 

with other software.

CRM Customer Relationship Management is a set of methodologies, software, and Internet 

capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way.

Cross-Mission Area An eGovernment initiative that relates to more than one USDA mission area. 

Cybersecurity The security of electronic data, computers, and information systems. 

EA Enterprise Architecture is a plan to streamline and standardize computer systems with

in an agency with common hardware and software specifications 

EBT Electronic Benefits Transfer, a debit card-like system that replaces paper-based benefits 

with an electronic solution.

EITIRB Enterprise Information Technology Investment Review Board, this Departmental council makes decisions on IT capital investments.

EC USDA eGovernment Executive Council

eCommerce eGovernment is the exchange of value, including services, programs and information, 

through an electronic medium

E-FILE The Freedom to E-File Act of 2000 (see Appendix D).

EGWG USDA eGovernment Working Group

Enterprise-wide An eGovernment initiative that applies throughout the USDA organization.

GIS Geographic Information Systems store maps and other geospatial data electronically, 

enabling better graphical and geographic analysis of data.

GPEA The Government Paper Elimination Act of 1998 (see Appendix D).

Interdepartmental An eGovernment initiative that applies across Federal departments and/or independent 

agencies.

OMB Office of Management and Budget

PRA Paperwork Reduction Act (see Appendix D).

Quicksilver A set of 24 interdepartmental eGovernment initiatives coordinated by the Office of 

Management and Budget (see Appendix D).

RF-ID Identification tags that use radio frequencies for authentication.
Appendix F:

Glossary of

Relevant Terms

A19

SAN Storage Area Networks are high-speed special-purpose networks that interconnect 

different kinds of data storage devices with associated data servers on behalf of a larger 

network of users.

SLAs Service-Level Agreements are contracts between a service provider and a customer that 

specify, in measurable terms, what services the service provider will furnish, including 

measures of quality of service.

USAID The United States Agency for International Development

VPN Virtual Private Networks are secure, private networks that use the infrastructure of a 

public network (such as the Internet) to communicate. Using special security and 

encryption systems, private data is securely transmitted over the public network.

WIC Program Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, it provides 

supplementary food aid to pregnant and nursing mothers and young children.

USDA Agencies and Staff Offices:

AMS Agricultural Marketing Service

APHIS Animal and Plant Health Inspection Servic

ARS Agricultural Research Service

CNPP Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion

CSREES Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

DA Departmental Administration

ERS Economic Research Service

FAS Foreign Agricultural Service

FNS Food and Nutrition Service

FS USDA Forest Service

FSA Farm Service Agency

FSIS Food Safety and Inspection Service

GIPSA Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration

NAD National Appeals Division

NASS National Agricultural Statistics Service

NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service

OC Office of Communications

OCE Office of the Chief Economist

OCFO Office of the Chief Financial Officer

OCIO Office of the Chief Information Officer

OCR Office of Congressional Relations

OES Office of the Executive Secretariat

OGC Office of the General Counsel

OIG Office of the Inspector General

OPBA Office of Budget and Program Analysis

RBS Rural Business-Cooperative Service

RHS Rural Housing Service

RMA Risk Management Agenc

RUS Rural Utilities Service