Information Technology 

Budget Guidance

Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) 

IT Budget Team 

Version 1.0 

June 2016 
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Revision History 

Date Version Summary of Changes Author 

11/04/2015 0.0 Draft Susan Orbach, 

OCFO/DPB/BOB2 

06/09/2016 1.0 Initial version 

ADAMS Accession No. 

ML15300A002 

Paula Garrity, 

OCIO/PMPD/IPMB 

Approved by 

Frederick D. Brown, 

Acting CIO 

Note: 

This document sets forth high-level guidance for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to use 

in formulating and executing the agency’s Information Technology (IT) budget. Additional detail regarding 

processes and operating procedures is maintained in separate documents to support ongoing refinement 

of the agency’s maturing investment management.

 
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Table of Contents 

IT Budget Formulation Guidance .................................................................................................. 1

Overview ................................................................................................................................... 1

Goal ........................................................................................................................................... 1

Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 1

Responsibilities ......................................................................................................................... 2

Responsibilities of the Chairman ............................................................................................ 2

Responsibilities of the Commission ........................................................................................ 2

Responsibilities of the EDO .................................................................................................... 2

Responsibilities of the CIO .................................................................................................... 2

Responsibilities of the CFO ................................................................................................... 3

Responsibilities of Each IPEC Member ................................................................................. 4

IT Budget Execution Guidance. .................................................................................................... 5

Overview ................................................................................................................................... 5

Goal ........................................................................................................................................... 5

Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 5

Responsibilities ......................................................................................................................... 6

Responsibilities of the CIO .................................................................................................... 6

Responsibilities of the CFO ................................................................................................... 6

Responsibilities of the CAO ................................................................................................... 7

Responsibilities of Each IPEC Member ................................................................................. 7
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

IT Budget Guidance 

 

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IT Budget Formulation Guidance 

Overview 

In 2014, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), under the direction of the Chief 

Information Officer (CIO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO), centralized the NRC’s Information 

Technology (IT) budget within the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and 

restructured its IT portfolio to facilitate transparency and improve decisionmaking and reporting. 

While the IT budget formulation process generally follows the agency’s overall formulation 

process, it also includes comprehensive IT governance and prioritization processes at specific 

levels defined by the CIO and CFO. This is achieved through an integrated IT governance 

framework that includes two IT governance boards. The management-level Information 

Technology/Information Management (IT/IM) Board (ITB), knowledgeable of the mission 

and business needs within individual offices and informed by IT subject matter experts within OCIO, 

recommends an IT portfolio and budget for input by the executive-level IT/IM Portfolio Executive 

Council (IPEC).1

Goal 

The NRC shall formulate the IT budget in a holistic and transparent manner so that resources 

are allocated efficiently to the highest-priority systems, services, and activities; reflect consensus 

from subject matter experts and executives from across the agency; and support the maturation 

of the IT portfolio to one that efficiently and effectively leverages IT for strategic outcomes 

in support of the NRC’s mission. 

Objectives 

1. Develop the IT budget in alignment with the overall agency budget formulation process 

and consistent with direction from the CIO, CFO, Executive Director for Operations (EDO), 

and Commission. 

2. Formulate the IT budget at a level of detail that facilitates transparency and monitoring of 

the IT investments, and supports complete and accurate internal and external reporting. 

3. Incorporate review, prioritization, and approval from subject matter experts and executives 

from across the agency. 

4. Provide visibility to the CIO, and incorporate his/her feedback regarding the impact 

of potential changes to the IT budget on the agency’s mission and business throughout 

the budget process. 

5. Ensure that the budget request presented to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) 

is consistent with Commission decisions and input provided by the IPEC, CIO, and CFO. 

 

1 The IPEC is co-chaired by the agency’s CIO and CFO. Membership includes all program leadership 

and chief executive officers, including the Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO). As a member of both the IPEC 

and the executive-level acquisition governance board, the CAO is actively engaged in the planning, 

programming, and budgeting of programs with IT resources. 
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

IT Budget Guidance 

 

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Responsibilities 

Responsibilities of the Chairman

Review the IT budget request included in the overall agency budget recommended by the EDO, 

CFO, and CIO, and submit final recommendations to the Commission.

Responsibilities of the Commission

Review and approve the agency’s IT budget request included in the overall agency budget.

Responsibilities of the EDO

1. Serve as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and, as such, ensure that the agencywide 

budget formulation process includes the CFO, CIO, and Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO) 

in the planning, programming, and budgeting stages for programs that include IT.

2. In consultation with the CFO, CIO, and program leadership, define the processes 

through which program leadership works with the CIO to plan an overall portfolio 

of IT investments that achieve program and business objectives and reflect 

sound estimates of the IT resources needed to accomplish those objectives.

3. Ensure that Commission and CIO guidance is applied to the planning of all IT resources 

during budget formulation.

4. Ensure that the NRC’s planning and budgeting process for IT investments is consistent 

and integrated with the agency’s overall planning, budgeting, and performance management 

(PBPM) process.

5. Ensure that program office and IT officials participate in the PBPM process 

for IT investments throughout their lifecycle.

6. Ensure that statutory responsibilities regarding IT investments and their oversight 

are appropriately assigned to the CIO.

7. Together with the CFO, and in consultation with the CIO, review and approve the budget 

selections for the annual IT investment portfolio recommended by the ITB through the IPEC, 

and submit recommendations to the Chairman.

Responsibilities of the CIO 

1. Co-chair the IPEC with the CFO, approve its membership, and approve revisions to its 

charter, as needed. 

2. As co-chair of the IPEC, jointly with the CFO, define the level of detail with which 

IT resources are described distinctly from other resources throughout the planning, 

programming, and budgeting stages. The level of detail shall provide transparency into 

the IT portfolio and serve as the primary input into the IT Capital Planning and Investment 

Control (CPIC) documents submitted to OMB with the agency’s budget. 

3. Review and approve the IT budget instructions prepared by the OCIO IT Budget 

Formulation Lead to ensure alignment with the agency’s overall budget instructions, 

and proper timing to allow IT governance boards to review and recommend the IT 

budget to be included in the agency’s overall budget. 
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

IT Budget Guidance 

 

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4. Receive briefings from the CPIC team, IT Budget Formulation Lead, and Strategic 

Planning and Enterprise Architecture (SP/EA) team, and provide direction 

into the IT budget formulation process and the ITB budget recommendation. 

5. Review and collaborate with program leadership on planned IT support for major 

program objectives and significant increases and decreases in IT resources. (The CFO 

will provide affirmation in the NRC’s budget justification materials that the CIO had 

a significant role in this review.) 

6. Co-chair the IPEC review of the prioritized IT portfolio and budget request recommended 

by the ITB. 

7. As the IPEC co-chair, approve the IT portfolio and budget request to be included in 

the budget submitted to the Deputy Executive Directors for Operations (DEDOs) leading to 

the agency’s overall Performance Budget submission to OMB, as well as the LowerPriority and Major Unfunded Lists. 

8. Participate in CFO and EDO programmatic and organizational reviews relating to 

the IT budget request. 

9. Advise the CFO and EDO on potential impacts of any IT -related budgetary adjustments 

by the DEDOs, Chairman, or Commission. 

10. Review responses to questions prepared by the OCIO Budget Formulation Lead 

resulting from review of the IT budget by the DEDOs, Chairman, or Commission. 

11. Affirm that data included in the CPIC documents and the NRC’s overall Performance 

Budget submission to OMB, is consistent with the budget request approved by 

the Commission. 

12. Review and approve the major IT investments portion of the IT budget request. 

(The CFO will affirm this CIO approval in the NRC’s budget justification materials.) 

13. Review and approve the NRC’s Agency IT Portfolio Summary, and affirm that 

appropriate estimates of all IT resources are included in the budget request. (The CFO 

will affirm this CIO approval in the NRC’s budget justification materials.) 

14. Establish other executive and technical review or advisory bodies, as necessary, to involve 

business and technical subject matter experts in IT investment planning and management 

oversight; ensure agencywide coordination; and comply with CPIC requirements 

for IT investments, strategic planning and enterprise architecture, security, and information 

and records management policies, as stated in the “Capital Programming Guide” 

and OMB Circular A-130. 

Responsibilities of the CFO 

1. Co-chair the IPEC with the CIO, approve its membership, and approve revisions to its 

charter, as needed. 

2. As co-chair of the IPEC, jointly with the CIO, define the level of detail with which IT 

resources are described distinctly from other resources throughout the planning, 

programming, and budgeting stages. The level of detail shall provide transparency 

into the IT portfolio and serve as the primary input into the IT CPIC documents submitted 

to OMB with the agency’s budget. 
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

IT Budget Guidance 

 

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3. Provide timely information and responses to the OCIO IT Budget Formulation Lead 

to facilitate alignment of IT budget formulation with the agency’s overall budget instructions, 

and proper timing to allow IT governance boards to review and recommend the IT budget 

to be included in the agency’s overall budget. 

4. Co-chair the IPEC review of the prioritized IT portfolio and budget request recommended 

by the ITB. 

5. As the IPEC co-chair, approve the IT portfolio and budget request to be included in 

the budget submitted to the DEDOs leading to the agency’s overall Performance Budget 

submission to OMB, as well as the Lower-Priority and Major Unfunded Lists. 

6. Incorporate CIO feedback in CFO and EDO programmatic and organizational reviews 

relating to the IT budget request. 

7. Review responses to questions prepared by the OCIO Budget Formulation Lead resulting 

from review of the IT budget by the DEDOs, Chairman, or Commission. 

8. Incorporate CIO feedback regarding potential impacts of any IT-related budgetary 

adjustments by the DEDOs, Chairman, or Commission. 

9. Affirm that data included in the NRC’s overall Performance Budget Submission to OMB, 

is consistent with the budget request approved by the Commission. 

10. Provide affirmation of the following in the agency’s budget justification materials: 

• The CIO reviewed and approved the major IT investment portion of the budget request. 

• The CIO had a significant role in reviewing planned IT support for major program 

objectives and significant increases and decreases in IT resources. 

• The Agency IT Portfolio Summary (formerly the Exhibit 53) includes appropriate 

estimates of all IT resources included in the budget request. 

Responsibilities of Each IPEC Member 

1. Ensure that their office’s ITB member partners effectively with the OCIO IT Budget Team 

to identify and articulate their IT resource needs during the annual budget formulation 

process. 

2. Receive pre-briefings from their office’s ITB member regarding the status 

of the recommended budget request. 

3. Participate in the IPEC review of the prioritized IT portfolio and budget request 

recommended by the ITB. 

4. Provide feedback and endorsement to the CIO and CFO regarding the IT portfolio 

and budget request, Lower-Priority List, and Major Unfunded List to be included in 

the budget submitted to the DEDOs leading to the agency’s overall Performance Budget 

submission to OMB. 

5. Through their ITB member, keep informed of any changes to their IT budget request 

made by the DEDOs, Chairman, Commission, or OMB, and provide feedback as needed 

to the OCIO IT Budget Formulation Lead, CIO, and CFO regarding the potential impacts 

of those changes. 
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

IT Budget Guidance 

 

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IT Budget Execution Guidance. 

Overview 

The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) was enacted on 

December 19, 2014. To assist agencies in implementing FITARA, the OMB issued 

Memorandum M-15-14, “Management and Oversight of Federal Information Technology,” 

on June 10, 2015. Attached to the memorandum was the “Common Baseline for IT Management” 

(commonly referred to as the Common Baseline), which provided guidance on the roles 

and responsibilities of the agency CIO and other senior agency officials for the management 

of IT. The memorandum directed each covered agency to conduct a self-assessment to identify 

current conformity with the Common Baseline and develop a plan for any areas in need 

of improvement to ensure that all Common Baseline responsibilities were implemented 

by December 31, 2015. 

As a result, the NRC performed the following actions to improve in the area of IT acquisition 

and budget execution: 

• refined and implemented the process by which the CIO approves execution year 

change requests 

• assigned a cost center to each IT component to track contract costs associated with 

IT investments 

• assigned a cost activity code to each IT component to track full-time equivalent costs 

associated with IT investments 

• implemented guidance to report planned expenditures for IT and resources at the contract 

and task order level to facilitate analysis and report results to the CIO, CFO, and IPEC 

• implemented a process by which the CIO approves all new IT acquisitions 

Goal 

The NRC shall monitor IT resources during the year of execution to ensure that these funds 

are being used as planned in the budget formulation process and that intra-year changes 

are identified, approved, and monitored by the CIO. 

Objectives 

The IT Budget Team monitors IT spending throughout the year of execution using reports 

provided by the OCFO, in order to achieve the following objectives: 

1. IT funds are allocated and executed efficiently during the year of execution. 

2. IT funds are allocated and obligated during the year of execution as planned 

during the IT budget formulation process. 

3. Changes in the status of the IT portfolio during the year of execution are transparent 

and approved by the CIO, as appropriate. 
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

IT Budget Guidance 

 

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Responsibilities 

Responsibilities of the CIO 

1. Assume overall responsibility for ensuring that available IT funding is directed to 

the agency’s highest-priority activities based on decisions made during the budget 

formulation process. 

2. As co-chair of the IPEC, review and approve/deny re-allocations or emergent IT needs 

submitted to, reviewed, and referred by the IT Budget Team after careful consideration 

of the following factors: 

a. mission or business impact of the change 

b. existing funding available to meet the emergent need 

c. differences between funding levels approved during the budget formulation process 

and new funding levels after funds are re-allocated 

3. As co-chair of the IPEC, review, prioritize, and approve/deny any requests for IT needs 

to be included on the NRC’s shortfall list for approval by the Commission. 

4. As co-chair of the IPEC, review a quarterly analysis of the total IT portfolio prepared by 

the IT Budget Team, and provide direction and corrective actions, as needed. 

Consistent with the IT Resource Review Policy, this analysis includes: 

a. review of contract/task order-level forward funding against office projected 

spend plans to ensure that funds are allocated efficiently and transparently 

b. review of differences between budgeted and allocated/obligated funds 

and/or planned spending to ensure that funds are allocated in accordance with 

the purpose for which they were budgeted 

5. Review and approve/deny new IT acquisitions. 

6. As a member of the Strategic Sourcing Group (SSG), provide oversight to ensure that all 

procurements valued at $1 million and above meet agency and programmatic priorities, 

and that the documentation adequately supports the proposed procurement strategy. 

7. Review all IT-related cost estimates and ensure that all acquisition strategies and plans 

that include IT apply adequate incremental development principles. 

Responsibilities of the CFO 

1. As co-chair of the IPEC, review, prioritize, and approve/deny re-allocations or emergent 

IT needs referred by the IT Budget Team, as well as any IT needs to be included 

on the NRC’s shortfall list for approval by the Commission. 

2. As co-chair of the IPEC, review a quarterly analysis of the total IT portfolio prepared by 

the IT Budget Team, and provide direction and corrective actions, as needed. 

Consistent with the IT Resource Review Policy, this analysis includes: 

a. review of contract/task order-level forward funding against office projected 

spend plans to ensure that funds are allocated efficiently and transparently 
U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

IT Budget Guidance 

 

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b. review of differences between budgeted and allocated/obligated funds 

and/or planned spending to ensure that funds are allocated in accordance with 

the purpose for which they were budgeted 

3. Provide financial reports and subject matter expertise to the OCIO IT Budget Team 

to facilitate tracking and monitoring of planned IT expenditures and emergent needs. 

Responsibilities of the CAO 

1. In addition to the responsibilities of being a member of the IPEC, ensure that contract 

actions that include IT are consistent with CIO- and SSG-approved acquisition strategies 

and plans. 

2. Ensure that the CIO is informed of all new planned acquisitions that include IT, 

and obtain CIO approval. 

Responsibilities of Each IPEC Member 

1. Approve/deny requests from their office staff for re-allocations or emergent needs 

impacting their IT investments. 

2. Ensure that their office staff maintain IT spend plans in an accurate and timely manner. 

3. Receive regular updates from their ITB member regarding the status of execution year 

budgets and actual spending. 

4. Ensure that their office’s ITB member partners effectively with the OCIO IT Budget Team 

to resolve questions/issues relating to their IT investments with respect to the following 

considerations: 

a. mission or business impact of a change 

b. assessment of excess funding potentially available to meet emergent needs 

during the year of execution 

c. differences between the formulated budget and actual spending in the year of execution 

5. Review a quarterly analysis of the total IT portfolio prepared by the IT Budget Team, 

and provide direction and corrective actions, as needed. Consistent with the IT Resource 

Review Policy, this analysis includes: 

a. review of contract/task order-level forward funding against office projected 

spend plans to ensure that funds are allocated efficiently and transparently 

b. review of differences between budgeted and allocated/obligated funds 

and/or planned spending to ensure that funds are allocated in accordance with 

the purpose for which they were budgeted