U. S. Department of Education 

Office of the Chief Information Officer 

Information Resources Management (IRM) 

Strategic Plan 

FY2014 – 2017 

FINAL 

May 30, 2014

Archived Information
US Department of Education

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 2

Contents

1 Introduction (DXXA)..............................................................................................................................5

2 IRM Goals (AXXA)..................................................................................................................................6

3 Goal One: Portfolio Alignment (AXXB)..................................................................................................7

3.1 Department Alignment.................................................................................................................7

3.1.1 Department Strategic Plan (AXXA)........................................................................................7

3.1.2 Segment Architecture .........................................................................................................10

3.1.3 Value Measurement Methodology (VMM) (CXXC) (CXXD) (CXXE) .....................................13

3.2 Federal Alignment (BXXA) (BXXB) (BXXC) ..................................................................................14

3.2.1 Digital Government Strategy (GXXA) ..................................................................................16

3.2.1.1 Information Centric.........................................................................................................16

3.2.1.2 Shared Platform ..............................................................................................................18

3.2.1.3 Customer Centric ............................................................................................................20

3.2.1.4 Security and Privacy (EXXA) ............................................................................................22

3.2.2 Federal Data Center Consolidation.....................................................................................24

4 Goal Two: Technology Services (AXXB) (CXXG)...................................................................................24

4.1 Current Services..........................................................................................................................25

4.2 Future Services............................................................................................................................26

4.2.1 CIO’s Innovation Agenda.....................................................................................................28

4.2.1.1 Access Anywhere Computing..........................................................................................28

4.2.1.2 OCIO Support Services....................................................................................................31

4.2.2 Common Enabling Services (CES)........................................................................................32

4.2.3 Commodity IT and Shared Services.....................................................................................35

4.2.3.1 Maturing the IT portfolio (HXXA)....................................................................................35

4.2.3.2 Use of savings resulting from consolidations of Commodity IT (HXXB)..........................35

4.2.3.3 Maximizing use of inter- and intra-agency shared services (HXXC)................................35

4.2.3.4 Continuity of operation for mission critical applications (EXXB) ....................................36

4.2.4 Cloud Computing ................................................................................................................36

4.2.5 Cybersecurity Initiatives (EXXA)..........................................................................................38

4.2.5.1 Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 .................................................................38

4.2.5.2 Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) ..................................................................................39
US Department of Education

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 3

4.2.5.3 Continuous Monitoring (CM)..........................................................................................41

4.2.6 IPv6......................................................................................................................................42

4.2.7 Electronic Stewardship........................................................................................................44

5 Goal Three: Information and Technology Management (AXXB) ........................................................46

5.1 IT Governance Structure (CXXA) (CXXB) .....................................................................................46

5.1.1 Enterprise Architecture Program Office (EAPO) .................................................................47

5.1.2 Investment and Acquisition Management Team (IAMT)....................................................48

5.2 Key Department Contributors to the IRM Governance Process (CXXB).....................................48

5.2.1 IT Acquisition (Procurement)..............................................................................................48

5.2.2 Regulatory Information Management................................................................................48

5.2.3 Information Assurance Services (IAS) (GXXB).....................................................................49

5.2.4 Information Technology Services (ITS)................................................................................49

5.2.4.1 Network Services Team...................................................................................................50

5.2.4.2 Operational Services Team .............................................................................................50

5.2.5 Human Capital Management (FXXA) ..................................................................................51

5.2.6 Accessibility (IXXA) (IXXB) (IXXC).........................................................................................51

6 List of Figures......................................................................................................................................54

7 List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................54
US Department of Education

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 4

Document Purpose

This purpose of this document is to describe how IT will be acquired and managed within the U.S.

Department of Education (The Department) to support the achievement of the strategic plan goals.

There are five sections that discuss different aspects of implementing and managing IT resources. These 

five sections are as follows:

Section 1 is the Introduction, which specifies the Chief Information Officer’s (CIO) objectives and 

planning horizon of the Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan. The Introduction also 

provides an overview of the external policies incorporated in the Department’s IRM Strategic Plan.

Section 2 identifies the strategic goals set by the CIO to achieve the Department’s technology objectives.

Section 3 of the IRM Strategic Plan discusses Goal One: The Department’s IT portfolio alignment. This 

section discusses how the portfolio is aligned to meet the Department’s business mission and Federal IT 

initiatives.

Section 4 of the IRM Strategic Plan discusses Goal Two: OCIO’s technology services. This section 

describes the current technology services offered at the Department, along with future technologies 

that will meet the Department’s growing business requirements.

Section 5 of the IRM Strategic Plan discusses Goal Three: IT management. This section identifies the key 

stakeholders and provides an overview of what they manage and contribute to the information resource 

management process.
US Department of Education

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 5

1 Introduction (DXXA)

The CIO at the Department has primary responsibility to ensure that IT is acquired and information 

resources are managed in a manner consistent with statutory, regulatory, and Departmental 

requirements and priorities. The CIO provides management advice and assistance to the Secretary of 

Education and to other senior staff on information resources investment and operations. The CIO also 

promotes a shared corporate vision about the Department’s information activities and provides services 

to effectively manage information and to provide value-added enterprise-wide systems and 

infrastructure.

This Department Information Resources Management Strategic Plan for FY 2014 - 2017 describes:

 The relationship between the IT vision and the enterprise business goals and performance 

objectives

 The set of value-added IT services delivered or planned to be delivered

 The set of IT management processes and plans for ensuring the effective use of IT resources 

across the Department

While the IRM Strategic Plan serves as the strategic document for the Office of the Chief Information 

Officer (OCIO), it is built from other more detailed strategic, operational and tactical plans of each 

information management element throughout the Department, ranging from enterprise architecture to 

E-Government. The IRM Strategic Plan describes what will be implemented over the planning horizon, 

while the other strategic, operational and tactical plans describe how these goals will be accomplished.

Together, these plans allow the OCIO to ensure that IT activities are aligned with, and supportive of, the 

Department’s mission and strategic goals.

In addition, the Department recognizes the need to integrate external policies and directions as defined 

by Congress and the Administration into its IRM Strategic Plan. As such, the Department’s IRM Strategic 

Plan responds to:

 Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)

 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130

 Government Performance and Results Act of 1993

 Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996

 E-Government Act of 2002

 Implementing Portfolio Stat Memorandum OMB M-12-10

 Chief Information Officer Authorities Memorandum OMB M-11-29,

 Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA)
US Department of Education

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 6

OMB Circular A-130 describes the IRM Strategic Plan as a management tool that is “strategic in nature 

and addresses all information resources management activities of the agency.” OMB Circular A-11, 

Section 53, authorizes the CIO as the person responsible for developing and maintaining the IRM 

Strategic Plan. It also requires that the IRM Strategic Plan be submitted together with the Department’s 

IT budget request.

2 IRM Goals (AXXA)

The CIO’s objective is to support the Department’s mission through effective management of valueadding technologies. The IRM Strategic Plan describes the technology strategic goals necessary to 

achieve the CIO’s objective.

The three goals defined in the IRM Strategic Plan are: 

1. Portfolio Alignment – Ensure that the IT investment portfolio supports the Department’s 

business mission objectives while delivering business value

2. Technology Services – Orient OCIO as a provider of technology-based business solutions

including infrastructure services

3. Information and Technology Management – Ensure effectiveness of the IT portfolio by 

fostering innovation, increasing IT portfolio value, implementing industry accepted project 

management practices, and enhancing cyber security

Figure 1: IRM Strategic Plan Goals

IRM Strategic Plan IT Strategic Goals “What Is the Department Trying to Achieve?” IRM Strategic Plan

Portfolio Alignment “What needs to be done?” Ensure that the IT Investment portfolio supports the Department’s business mission objectives while delivering business valueTechnology Services “What role will OCIO play?” Orient OCIO as a provider of technology-based business solutions including infrastructure servicesInformation & Technology Management “How will ED do this effectively?” Ensure effectiveness of the IT portfolio by fostering innovation, increasing IT portfolio value, and enhancing cyber security.
US Department of Education

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 7

3 Goal One: Portfolio Alignment (AXXB)

Goal One of the Department’s IRM Strategy is to ensure that the IT investment portfolio supports the 

Department’s business mission objectives while delivering business value. The IT portfolio objective is to 

accomplish: 

 Alignment to Departmental Business Mission

 Alignment to Federal IT initiatives

The IRM Strategic Plan describes how the Department’s technology investments are managed to 

support the business mission and performance objectives of the Department’s program offices, and to 

respond to Federal IT initiatives.

3.1 Department Alignment

The Department’s IRM Strategic Plan is designed to demonstrate how the Department’s information 

resources are aligned to support achievement of the Department’s mission.

3.1.1 Department Strategic Plan (AXXA)

OCIO’s technology goals are to support the achievement of the Department mission and strategic 

performance goals and objectives for 2014 – 2018.

The Department of Education’s mission is:

“To promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering 

educational excellence and ensuring equal access.”

The Department’s Strategic Plan 2014-2018 embodies six Department of Education strategic goals:

Table 1: Department of Education Strategic Goals

Goal One: Postsecondary Education, Career and Technical Education, and Adult Education: Increase college access, 

affordability, quality, and completion by improving postsecondary education and lifelong learning opportunities for 

youths and adults.

Goal Two: Elementary and Secondary Education: Improve the elementary and secondary education system’s ability to 

consistently deliver excellent instruction aligned with rigorous academic standards while also providing effective 

support services to close achievement and opportunity gaps, and ensure all students graduate high school collegeand career-ready.

Goal Three: Early Learning: Improve the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for all children from birth through 

3rd grade, so that all children, particularly those with high needs, are on track for graduating from high school 

college- and career-ready.

Goal Four: Equity: Increase educational opportunities for underserved students and reduce discrimination so that all students 

are well-positioned to succeed.

Goal Five: Continuous Improvement of the U.S. Education System: Enhance the education system’s ability to continuously 

improve through better and more widespread use of data, research and evaluation, evidence, transparency, 
US Department of Education

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 8

innovation, and technology.

Goal Six: U.S. Department of Education Capacity: Improve the organizational capacities of the Department to implement 

this strategic plan.

Source: U.S. Department of Education Strategic Plan 2014-2018

The Department’s Strategic Goals are articulated through Strategic Objectives. The Department’s 

Strategic Objectives are depicted in the following Table.

Table 2: Department of Education Strategic Goals and Strategic Objectives

Strategic Goals Strategic Objectives

Goal One: Postsecondary 

Education, Career and 

Technical Education, and Adult 

Education. Increase college 

access, affordability, quality, 

and completion by improving 

postsecondary education and 

lifelong learning opportunities 

for youths and adults.

Strategic Objective 1.1: Access and Affordability. Close the opportunity gap by improving the 

affordability of and access to college and/or workforce training, especially for 

underrepresented and/or underprepared populations (e.g., low-income and first-generation 

students, English learners, individuals with disabilities, adults without high school diplomas, 

etc.).

Strategic Objective 1.2: Quality. Foster institutional value to ensure that postsecondary 

education credentials represent effective preparation for students to succeed in the 

workforce and participate in civic life.

Strategic Objective 1.3: Completion. Increase degree and certificate completion and job 

placement in high-need and high-skill areas, particularly among underrepresented and/or 

underprepared populations.

Strategic Objective 1.4: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 

Pathways. Increase STEM pathway opportunities that enable access to and completion of 

postsecondary programs.

Goal Two: Elementary and 

Secondary. Improve the 

elementary and secondary 

education system’s ability to 

consistently deliver excellent 

instruction aligned with 

rigorous academic standards 

while also providing effective 

support services to close 

achievement and opportunity 

gaps, and ensure all students 

graduate high school collegeand career-ready.

Strategic Objective 2.1: Standards and Assessments. Support implementation of 

internationally benchmarked college- and career-ready standards, with aligned, valid, and 

reliable assessments.

Strategic Objective 2.2: Effective Teachers and Strong Leaders. Improve the preparation,

recruitment, retention, development, support, evaluation, recognition, and equitable 

distribution 7of effective teachers and leaders.

Strategic Objective 2.3: School Climate and Community. Increase the success, safety, and 

health of students, particularly in high-need schools, and deepen family and community 

engagement.

Strategic Objective 2.4: Turn Around Schools and Close Achievement Gaps. Accelerate 

achievement by supporting states and districts in turning around low-performing schools and 

closing achievement gaps, and developing models of next generation high schools.

Strategic Objective 2.5: STEM Teaching and Learning. Increase the number and quality of 

STEM teachers and increase opportunities for students to access rich STEM learning 

experiences.
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Strategic Goals Strategic Objectives

Goal Three: Early Learning.

Improve the health, socialemotional, and cognitive 

outcomes for all children from 

birth through 3rd grade, so 

that all children, particularly 

those with high needs, are on 

track for graduating from high 

school college- and careerready.

Strategic Objective 3.1: Access to High-Quality Programs and Services. Increase access to 

high-quality early learning programs and comprehensive services, especially for children with 

high needs.

Strategic Objective 3.2: Effective Workforce. Improve the quality and effectiveness of the 

early learning workforce so that early childhood educators have the knowledge, skills, and 

abilities necessary to improve young children’s health, social-emotional, and cognitive 

outcomes.

Strategic Objective 3.3: Measuring Progress, Outcomes, and Readiness. Improve the capacity 

of states and early learning programs to develop and implement comprehensive early 

learning assessment systems.

Goal Four: Equity. Increase 

educational opportunities for 

underserved students and 

reduce discrimination so that 

all students are wellpositioned to succeed.

Strategic Objective 4.1: Equitable Educational Opportunities. Increase all students’ access to 

educational opportunities with a focus on closing achievement gaps and remove barriers 

that students face based on their race, ethnicity, or national origin; sex; sexual orientation or 

gender identity or expression; disability; English language ability; religion; socioeconomic 

status; or geographical location.

Strategic Objective 4.2: Civil Rights Compliance. Ensure educational institutions’ awareness 

of and compliance with federal civil rights obligations and enhance the public's knowledge of 

their civil rights.

Goal Five: Continuous 

Improvement of the U.S. 

Education System. Enhance 

the education system’s ability 

to continuously improve 

through better and more 

widespread use of data, 

research and evaluation, 

evidence, transparency, 

innovation, and technology.

Strategic Objective 5.1: Data Systems and Transparency. Facilitate the development of 

interoperable longitudinal data systems for early learning through employment to enable 

data-driven, transparent decision making by increasing access to timely, reliable, and highvalue data.

Strategic Objective 5.2: Privacy. Provide all education stakeholders, from early childhood to 

adult learning, with technical assistance and guidance to help them protect student privacy 

while effectively managing and using student information.

Strategic Objective 5.3: Research, Evaluation, and Use of Evidence. Invest in research and 

evaluation that builds evidence for education improvement; communicate findings 

effectively; and drive the use of evidence in decision-making by internal and external 

stakeholders.

Strategic Objective 5.4: Technology and Innovation. Accelerate the development and broad 

adoption of new, effective programs, processes, and strategies, including education 

technology.

Goal Six: U.S. Department of 

Education Capacity. Improve 

the organizational capacities 

of the Department to 

implement this strategic plan.

Strategic Objective 6.1: Effective Workforce. Continue to build a skilled, diverse, and engaged 

workforce within the Department.

Strategic Objective 6.2: Risk Management. Improve the Department’s program efficacy 

through comprehensive risk management, and grant and contract monitoring.

Strategic Objective 6.3: Implementation and Support. Build Department capacity and 

systems to support states’ and other grantees’ implementation of reforms that result in 

improved outcomes, and keep the public informed of promising practices and new reform 

initiatives.

Strategic Objective 6.4: Productivity and Performance Management. Improve workforce 

productivity through information technology enhancements, telework expansion efforts, 

more effective process performance management systems, and state-of-the-art leadership 

and knowledge management practices.

Source: U.S. Department of Education Strategic Plan 2014-2018
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Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

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3.1.2 Segment Architecture 

The OCIO’s Enterprise Architecture Program Office (EAPO) developed a Segment Architecture approach 

to align the IT portfolio to the Departmental strategic goals. 

The EA Program Office, in accordance with the FEA practice guidance, identified business units that 

support common missions and provide common services. These business units are then grouped into 

categories by how they address the various business and technology needs of the program and principal 

offices across the Department: core mission, business service, and enterprise services. As a result of the

identification and development process, the EA Program Office described the Department’s business 

using the 13 segments in the following table.

Table 3: The Department’s 13 Segments

Segment 

Name Segment Definition Segment Category

Budget 

Formulation & 

Execution

Enable the Department’s budget personnel to reduce manual processes and improve 

budget formulation and execution efficiency and data accuracy

Business 

Service

Compliance Ensure that policies mandated by the Department and by Federal law are being carried 

out

Core Mission

Evaluation & 

Policy Analysis

Assess the Department’s programs and related policies for meeting national education 

objectives

Core Mission

Facilities 

Management

Track assets and the provision of services related to those assets, to include the 

operation of office buildings, space planning, and other capital assets that are 

possessions of the Department

Enterprise 

Service 

Financial 

Management

Deliver responsible financial management capabilities, including centralized data, 

increased access, electronic record keeping, and improved reporting

Business 

Service 

Grants Review, award, and disbursement of formula and discretionary grants through the 

various program offices

Core Mission

Human Capital 

Management

Improve the strategic management of the department’s human capital Business 

Service

Information 

Assurance

Build and enable mutual trust needed to support widespread use of electronic identity 

authentication interactions between the public and the government

Enterprise 

Service 

Information 

Dissemination

Distribute education information products through multiple channels and formats Core Mission

IT Infrastructure Improve customer service and reduce the Department’s operational risks by improving 

performance, providing a common technology platform for business applications, and 

facilitating better information management

Enterprise 

Service 

IT Management Facilitate the interagency-wide governance of information resources, to include the 

practices of enterprise architecture, and capital planning and investment control

Enterprise 

Service 

Loans Manage and deliver federally funded or federally guaranteed financial assistance for 

post-secondary education

Core Mission

Research Research and statistical analysis on the condition of education in the U.S. Core Mission
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Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 11

Next, the EAPO worked with the segments to establish business purpose and goals that align the 

Segments’ business to the Department’s mission. The alignments between the segment architectures to 

the Department strategic goals are shown in the following figure.
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Office of the Chief Information Officer

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FY 2014 – FY 2017 12

Figure 2: Segment Alignment to Department Strategic Goals

Aligning the segments to the Department mission sets the direction of the segments’ business and 

investment decisions.

The investments in the Department’s IT portfolio are developed to improve the business performance of 

the program offices they support.

The following figure provides a visual representation of principal offices and their engagement with the 

Department’s 13 Segments.
US Department of Education

Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 13

Figure 3: Principal Office and Segment Engagement

 Reform HS  Community colleges  Adult education K-12 education  SEA & LEA  NCLB  K-12 innovations  Charter schools  NCLB (options)  Compliance

 Special education  Rehabilitation  Research

 English learners  NCLB Title III  Research  Evaluation  Statistics  Budget Service  Policy & Program Studies  Strategic Accountability  Education technology policy (OET)

 Inspector General  Compliance Programs Planning  Complaints Resolution  Technical Assistance

OCIO

Loans Grants Evaluation & Policy Analysis Segment Legend:

Information Dissemination Research

EVALUATION & POLICY ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISSEMINATION COMPLIANCE

FSA OPE OCTAE OESE OII OSERS OELA IES OPEPD OIG OCR

BUDGET FORMULATION & EXECUTION OTHER SUPPORT OFFICES: OCLA (CONGRESSIONAL LIAISON)

OCFO

OM

OPEPD

ADMINISTRATION: INFORMATION ASSURANCE, IT MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ADMINISTRATION: FACILITIES MANAGEMENT, HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, INFORMATION ASSURANCE

RESEARCH

OUS Higher & Adult Education ODS K to 12 Education Portfolio OS Policy, Communications & Management

GRANTS

Administration: Facilities Management, Financial Management, Human Capital Management, Information Assurance, IT Management

Budget Formulation & Execution IT

Infrastructure Management Compliance

Support Offices

IT INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT

Executive Offices Program Offices LOANS OGC COMPLIANCE

 Student aid policy  Postsecondary education improvement  Foreign exchange programs

 Educational Financing  Loans  Grants  Work study

The segment architecture approach is expected to improve the Department’s performance and help 

identify ways to reduce cost by aligning business processes and investment activities while eliminating 

unnecessary duplication of processes, investments and technologies.

3.1.3 Value Measurement Methodology (VMM) (CXXC) (CXXD) (CXXE)

The VMM is the process that is used to assess the relative value of the Department’s IT investments. The 

VMM applies a numerical scale to the Department’s mission priorities, value drivers and performance 

metrics to assign a value score to each of the Department’s IT investments. The VMM value score is 

combined with other rating factors such as the CIO ratings and Planning and Investment Review 

Working Group (PIRWG) select scores to make funding and management decisions about the 

Department’s IT investment portfolio.

The PIRWG uses the VMM in the portfolio selection process to make funding recommendations about IT 

investments and IT investment opportunities. The segment owners of the Department’s lines of 
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Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 14

business (LOB) use VMM to make IT investment planning decisions and determine their priority and 

funding recommendations to the PIRWG about those IT investments. The VMM also helps the 

Department identify opportunities for investment consolidation and/or termination, thereby increasing 

the efficiency of IT services and resource utilization by the Department.

3.2 Federal Alignment (BXXA) (BXXB) (BXXC)

The Department’s goal to align its portfolio also includes alignment to Federal technology initiatives.

By implementing the following initiatives in compliance with government-wide mandates, the IT

portfolio will support the Federal government’s technology direction:

 Digital/Open Government Strategy

 EA Value

 ED Space Modernization

 Customer Service 

 Cloud Computing

 Homeland Security Presidential 

Directive (HSPD-12)

 Investment Consolidation

o Financial Management

o Grants Management

o Website Consolidation

 Trusted Internet Connection (TIC)

 Electronic Stewardship

 Performance Measurement

On May 23, 2012, the White House released its strategy for digital government, “Building a 21st Century 

Platform to Better Serve the American People.” The strategy has three primary objectives:

1. Enable the American people and an increasingly mobile workforce to access high-quality digital 

government information and services anywhere, anytime, on any device

2. Ensure that as the government adjusts to this new digital world, we seize the opportunity to 

procure and manage devices, applications, and data in smart, secure and affordable ways

3. Unlock the power of government data to spur innovation across our Nation and improve the 

quality of services for the American people

Four overarching principals drive this digital government transformation:

1. An “Information-Centric” approach – Transforming from managing “documents” to managing 

discrete pieces of open data and content,which can be tagged, shared, secured, mashed up and 

presented in the way that is most useful

2. A “Shared Platform” approach – Enables the government to work together, both within and 

across agencies, to reduce costs, streamline development, apply consistent standards, and 

ensure consistency in how the Department creates and delivers information

3. A “Customer-Centric” approach – Influences how data is created, managed, and presented 

through websites, mobile applications, raw data sets, and other modes of delivery, and allows 

customers to shape, share and consume information, whenever and however they want it

4. A platform of “Security and Privacy” – Ensures this innovation happens in a way that ensures 

the safe and secure delivery and use of digital services to protect information and privacy
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The Department is committed to supporting the digital government strategy through the engagement in 

the action plan presented in the following table.

Digital 

Government 

Strategy 

Principal

Departmental Action Plan Activity

Information 

Centric 

Approach

Engage with customers to identify major customer-facing services that 

contain high-value data or content to make compliant with new open 

data, content, and web API policy

Make open data, content, and web APIs the new default by ensuring all 

new IT systems follow the open data policy and operationalize ED.gov 

and developer pages

Publish a plan to transition additional high-value systems to make highvalue data and content in existing major customer-facing systems 

available through web APIs and metadata tagging

Shared 

Platform 

Approach

Establish an agency-wide governance structure for developing and 

delivering digital services

Develop an enterprise-wide inventory of mobile devices and wireless 

service contracts

Evaluate the government-wide contract vehicles in the alternatives 

analysis for all new mobile-related procurement

Customer 

Centric 

Approach

Engage with customers to identify existing priority customer-facing 

services to optimize for mobile use

Ensure all new digital services follow digital services and customer 

experience improvement guidelines

Optimize two existing priority customer-facing services for mobile use 

and publish a plan for improving additional existing services 

Implement performance and customer satisfaction measuring tools on all 

government websites 

Platform of 

Security and 

Privacy

(Via CIO Council) Evaluate opportunities to accelerate the secure 

adoption of mobile technologies into the federal environment at reduced 

cost

(Via CIO Council) Develop guidelines for standardized implementation of 

digital privacy controls and educate agency privacy and legal officials on 

options for addressing digital privacy, records retention, and security 

issues
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3.2.1 Digital Government Strategy (GXXA)

Implementing the Digital Government Strategy

The Department of Education’s approach to the Digital Government Strategy focuses on:

 Better serving the Department’s customers

 Sharing ideas, solutions, and best practices across the Department

 Offering more cohesive processes for the delivery of digital services

 Ensuring cost effective delivery of services

 Ensuring digital services provide value

 Reducing redundancies in digital services and data collections across the Department

The Department's Data Strategy Team (DST) is conducting an inventory of all public and restricted 

datasets, and is studying ways to build more coordinated policies and processes for data collection and 

release throughout the information life cycle across the Department. The DST is establishing a Disclosure 

Review Board to be led by the Department's Chief Privacy Officer. The Department's Digital Government 

Strategy working group plans to propose revisions to the Department's Lifecycle Directive Framework 

(OCIO 1-106) policy document and to standard language for contracts and statements of work to 

promote interoperability and data openness for new and renewed IT systems.

The Department has engaged with the broader education community and other interested developers 

and entrepreneurs through social media outlets and the Department’s official Homeroom Blog. Blog 

visitors have the opportunity to comment on the blog post and provide feedback about services and 

data they would like to access through open web APIs. Representatives from the Department’s OCIO, 

the Office of Communications and Outreach, and other key offices collect, analyze, and synthesize the 

feedback from the blog and social media comments to prioritize the development of APIs. The 

Department's White House Innovation Fellow is engaged in the Project Open Data initiative, and the 

Department plans to make its data inventory available as a JSON file and to manage its data publication 

workflow to be compatible with the new implementation approach for Data.gov.

3.2.1.1 Information Centric

3.2.1.1.1 Open Government Directive

The December 2009 Open Government directive set an unprecedented standard for openness in 

government. Open Government practices became an even more prominent priority at the Department 

with the issuance of the President's Open Government directive, Transparency and Open Government, 

on January 21, 2009. 

The overall mission of the directive is to establish greater transparency, collaboration and participation 

between Federal agencies and the public. The goals of Open Government are to:

Goal 1: Increase the Department's transparency and accountability

Goal 2: Solicit and incorporate more public input into Department operations
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Goal 3: Increase collaboration and communication with other organizations

Goal 4: Create a culture of openness within the Department

The Department will take the following steps to achieve the Open Government Goals:

 Publish government information online

 Improve the quality of government information

 Create and institutionalize a culture of Open Government

 Create an enabling policy framework for Open Government

The Department has already developed an Open Government Plan that promotes open government 

practices with standards and procedures to ensure that these principles are adopted across the agency.

The Department and the OCIO will continue to coordinate open government implementation to ensure 

alignment with the Department’s strategic plan and technology investments.

The Department’s Open Government Plan will strive to give the American people a transparent, 

participatory, and collaborative Department that works for and with the public to improve education in 

this nation.

Open Data

The Department formed a DST representing all the Department’s offices that work with data collections 

to coordinate data-related policy activities within the Department. The DST established a number of 

working groups pertaining to various data-related initiatives within the Department, developing or 

redesigning policy, processes, and/or tools. Among them, DST established the Data Inventory Group 

(DIG), tasked with developing a database of information about all Department-sponsored data 

collections that can be used to produce education statistics. The primary purpose of the database is to 

provide a centralized searchable source of background information about the Department’s collections, 

with the goal of facilitating both internal and external awareness of available data, and increasing data 

use and coordination among current and future data collections. 

DIG members met first as a group and then worked via email to determine the type of background 

information (metadata) to collect, and to identify the initial scope of the group’s product. DIG members 

agreed that as a starting point, any data collection that has an OMB clearance would be included in the 

inventory database, encompassing both Department-sponsored data collections and reporting 

requirements for Department-sponsored grants. The database is currently being populated using the 

electronic OMB clearance packages (i.e., those submitted for clearance since 2005). To date, metadata 

for 46 program areas, big and small (including EdFacts and many NCES studies), have been entered into 

the ED data inventory database based on 269 OMB clearance packages. That is, and can be viewed, at 

data.inventory.gov.
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3.2.1.1.2 Data.gov

As part of the Open Government Initiative, Data.gov shares the Open Government initiative’s goals to

increase agencies’ transparency and accountability with the public by providing improved access and 

usability of Federal data.

Additionally in FY2012, OMB, General Services Administration, the Department and other federal 

agencies with education-related data (e.g., National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration, Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of State),

launched the Data.gov Education Community at http://education.data.gov. This website showcases 

education-related datasets, challenges, mobile and web applications and other interests to the 

community.

Data.gov and Data.ED.gov are user-friendly platforms with a searchable data catalog that makes more 

data and information available to the public and also provides regular updates to project maps, dated 

milestones, and financial data regarding Open Government and other key initiatives. These Data.gov 

programs provide the public with increased access to high value, machine readable datasets so that they

can easily find, download, and use information generated by the Department.

3.2.1.2 Shared Platform

3.2.1.2.1 Cloud Computing

The February 2011 Cloud Computing Initiative and the Federal Cloud Computing Strategy require all 

Federal agencies to shift to a “Cloud First” policy. The goal is to become a more reliable, efficient, and 

innovative government.

The Department of Education is adopting cloud computing technologies whenever a secure, reliable, 

cost-effective cloud option exists in compliance with the following guidance and regulations:

 Federal Chief Information Officers Council (FCIOC) Privacy Committee, Privacy 

Recommendations for the Use of Cloud Computing by Federal Departments and Agencies, 

August 2010

 FISMA of 2012, Public Law 104-347

 NARA Bulletin 2010-05, Guidance on Managing Records in Cloud Computing Environments

 NIST SP 800-144, Guidelines on Security and Privacy in Public Cloud Computing, December 2011

 NIST SP 800-145, A NIST Definition of Cloud Computing, September 2011

 NIST SP 800-146, DRAFT Cloud Computing Synopsis and Recommendations, May 12, 2011

 OMB Circular A-130

 The Cloud Computing Act of 2011 

 The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)

 Department of Education Cloud Computing Security Guidance, DRAFT, January 18, 2012
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3.2.1.2.2 Shared Services

The Department’s shared services strategy addresses the Federal Information Technology Shared 

Services Strategy, which provides policy guidance on the full range and lifecycle of intra- and interagency IT shared services. This strategy is part of the OMB “25-Point Implementation Plan to Reform 

Federal IT Management,” which seeks to increase return on investment, eliminate waste and 

duplication, and improve the effectiveness of IT solutions. The approach is commonly referred to as the 

“Shared-First” strategy. 

The Department’s shared service plan also seeks to comply with the following guidance:

 OMB Memorandum M-11-29, Chief Information Officer Authorities, August 8, 2012

 OMB Memorandum M-12-10, Implementing PortfolioStat, March 30, 2012

Please see Section 4.2.3 for more information on the Department’s shared services activities.

3.2.1.2.3 Investment Consolidation

Investment consolidation has been identified as a new initiative for the Department. Currently, it is 

comprised of three major components: Financial Management Consolidation, Grants Consolidation, and 

Web Consolidation (moving all Department websites to the same platform). The purpose of this 

consolidation is to begin to aggregate data onto the same platform to help increase access, use, and 

interoperability. 

Currently, the following three non-major Financial Management Segment investments which are 

considered to be key financial applications are not included as part of EDCAPS architecture and are 

therefore not in either the FMSS or ISS investment. Through investment consolidation, these three 

investments (key financial applications) will be included under the EDCAPS umbrella and, if feasible, 

managed within the FMSS:

(1) Frontier (formerly CheckFree RECON Plus for Windows)

(2) Continuous Controls Monitoring System (CCMS)

(5) Interface between Internet Payment Platform (IPP) and Oracle.

The proposed grants consolidation initiative is an effort to ensure G5 is the definitive, integrated grantmaking platform that addresses the business needs of all grants-making offices at the Department. This 

roadmap will outline a strategy for migrating existing functionality and systems into G5, enabling 

elimination of current IT investments or systems, and provide a path for new functionality requirements 

to be incorporated, as well. This effort will be completed in cooperation with the Office of the Chief 

Information Officer (OCIO), and the Grants Executive Board (GEB). The GEB, which has representation 

from all grants-related organizations in the Department, will provide oversight and support of the grants 

consolidation intiaitve, while its members instruct their respective organizations on the tasks needed to 

complete the effort. This consolidation is going to streamline processing and decrease required 

processing time, while aggregating grants information allowing for increased productivity and user 

satisfaction.
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With web consolidation, the Department has noticed that many ED websites do not utilize the provided 

ed.gov domain names. The Department has realized that this causes problems with both customer 

intereactions and availability. With Department websites not utilizing the provided ed.gov domains, 

there are issues with branding, inconsistent service, and increased costs due to multiple hosting 

facilities. The web consolidation effort attempts to migrate these sites onto the ed.gov platform 

ensuring consistent service and availability. Succeeding in this will provide a number of benefits for the 

Department such as better branding, increased security, accelerated modernization, decreased costs, 

and increased leverage of shared services.

3.2.1.3 Customer Centric

3.2.1.3.1 Customer Service 

The Department’s Customer Service Plan is designed to improve the delivery of services to our 

customers by redesigning the business processes and systems that impact key customer interactions, 

including increasing online services and user-friendly services. The Customer Service Plan also addresses 

the Executive Order 13571 – Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service to improve 

the quality of service the Federal government provides to the public, private entities, and intragovernmental agencies.

The Department’s Customer Service Plan FY 2012 outlines the Department’s efforts to improve 

customer relationships and the customer experience by delivering faster and better services to the 

public while reducing costs. The Department is currently forming a working group with customer service 

representatives from across the enterprise to update and expand the current Customer Service Plan.

3.2.1.3.2 Electronic Stewardship

In support of Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic 

Performance, the Department will continue to serve as an active member on the Federal Electronic 

Stewardship Working Group (FESWG) and other interagency activities, including the Federal Electronics 

Challenge. The Executive Order, released in October 2009, includes the following areas associated with 

IT electronic stewardship that the Department will continue to implement and address throughout the 

acquisition, operations and end-of-life management lifecycle: 

 Establish and implement policies to enable power management, duplex printing and other 

energy efficient or environmentally preferable features

 Use environmentally sound disposal practices for excess or surplus electronic products

 Implement best practices in energy-efficient management of servers and data centers

The Department’s Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan outlines the agency’s electronic stewardship 

programs and complies with the following guidance:

 Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic 

Performance

 Executive Order 13423, Strengthening Federal Environmental, Energy, and Transportation 

Management

Please see Section 4.2.7 for more information on electronic stewardship.
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3.2.1.3.3 EA Value/Performance

In the next year, the EAPO will develop outcome-oriented EA metrics in order to improve EAPO 

effectiveness and more efficiently prioritize and manage EA resources and the IT portfolio. Traditional 

metrics approaches tend to fail in their effort to demonstrate EA impact on business objectives. 

Through the use of outcome-oriented EA metrics, EAPO will drive effective resource allocation and 

prove the value and performance of EA to the Department business executives and IT executives. The 

approach for developing these metrics will follow the model below:

Step Description

1. Identify ED Value Drivers EA will work with senior leaders to identify ED-specific business value 

drivers which are distinct sources of value delivery. Those value drivers 

will provide EA with clear guidance on EA services and deliverables.

2. Define EA Services Through analysis EA will differentiate EA services from EA enabling 

activities. EA services are consumable, replicable, and apply to a variety 

of circumstances. Additionally EA services are designed to directly 

support a specific objective. 

3. Link Deliverables to EA 

Services and Value 

Drivers

The deliverables or outcomes that result from the EA enabling activities 

will be linked back to the EA services that are comprised by those 

activities, and the ED value drivers which guide those EA services. 

4. Specify the Business 

Impact of each 

Deliverable

Through the consolidation of external benchmarks, internal process 

knowledge, and subject matter expertise, EA can begin to calculate the 

potential value of the outcomes. This will be supported through the 

development of questions that assess how each deliverable impacts the 

current state. That impact will be used to define relevant outcomeoriented metrics. 

5. Define Metrics The metrics are outcome-oriented and will provide quantifiable 

measures for IT cost savings, business value creation, EA compliance, EA 

environment, and EA activities. 

3.2.1.3.4 ED Space Modernization

This initiative strives to bring a new approach to the workplace at the Department of Education, build 

greater employee performance and productivity through innovative space designs and technology 

enhancements, while reducing the agency’s space footprint and associated out-year costs. This 

initiative aims to reduce the Departments footprint to between 150-180 sq/ft in compliance with new 

federal guidelines. The modernization will provide the Department such benefits as upgrades to the IT 

infrastructure, it strengthens performance management, designs innovative work spaces, reduces the 

Departments footprint, and provides 21st century tools to support a new mobile workforce. Most 

importantly, it provides the option for mobile computing and gives greater opportunities for hiring
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mobile employees. This allows the Department to leverage talent from all over the country, not just 

from local markets.

3.2.1.4 Security and Privacy (EXXA)

3.2.1.4.1 Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12

The Federal government established the HSPD 12 - Policies for a Common Identification Standard for 

Federal Employees and Contractors, the requirement that users provide two forms of identification for 

access to government systems. This required a government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms 

of identification. Agency goals in the department-wide integration of HSPD-12 are to reduce identity 

fraud, protect personal privacy, enhance security, and increase efficiency.

Please see Section 4.2.5.1 for more information on the Department’s HSPD-12 activities.

3.2.1.4.2 Identity Management

The Federal government is moving toward the idea of sharing credentials across multiple agencies and 

allowing citizens to use non-government credentials to conduct business with the government online.

The Department has been a participant in the identity management initiative, which is part of the EGovernment agenda outlined by the President’s Management Council.

Identity management provides the capability for the Department’s customers to use identity credentials 

other than those currently provided by the Department of Education, such as those from the top five 

identity providers: (1) banks, (2) universities, (3) Internet service providers, (4) merchants, and (5) 

employers.

The Department’s identity management program seeks to provide identity credentials to the 

Department’s customers while strengthening security, reducing inconvenience, and minimizing the cost 

of identity management.

The Department's approach to implementing identity management is to build a solid infrastructure that 

supports shared authentication services across multiple applications. The first building block is the 

security architecture infrastructure that includes identity and access management (IBM Tivoli Access 

Manager and Identity Manager suite of products). The security architecture provides tools, technologies, 

and policies for identity and access management across the Department. The goal is to provide 

consistent access control, authorization and auditing for applications that integrate with this 

infrastructure. Once the security architecture is developed and deployed, the identity management 

infrastructure can be layered on top of it and deployed to any application already in the security 

architecture.

3.2.1.4.3 Department ID and Access Control Implementation

To meet the requirement of HSPD-12, the Department’s Office of Management Security Services 

provides policy to Department facilities in how to manage the vetting and credentialing of individuals 

requiring access to agency information systems and facilities. Having consistent policies in place reduces

vulnerabilities to the Department’s physical and logical assets.
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The Department’s HSPD-12 solution, the ID Card and Access Control System, is currently in place and is 

used by employees and contractors at the Department’s headquarters and regional locations. All of 

these systems are networked to form one system. The ID Card and Access Control System also provides

complete access control and alarm monitoring for sites, including the following additional features:

 Access Control

 Security

 Point Monitoring

 Elevator Control

 Photo ID Badges

 Guard Tour

 Key Tracking

 Image Recall with Historic and User Accountability Reporting

 Live CCTV display/control

 Interface with Paging, CCTV, Parking, Central Station Automated Alarm Systems, HVAC, and 

Elevator Control Systems

The Department maintains privately leased, GSA owned, or GSA leased facilities, all of which have 

staggered lease renewal dates. As facility leases expire, the determination of whether to relocate or to 

extend the present lease will be determined. Security systems for all locations must be 100% compatible 

with the existing systems for proper monitoring and access control. 

3.2.1.4.4 Two-Factor Authentication

To improve the security and protect the assets of the Department, all employees and contractors are 

required to access authorized Department systems using two factor authentication. Two-factor 

authentication requires two authentication methods to access a system. At the Department, users are 

required to use their PIV-enabled identification badge and a Personal Identification Number (PIN) for 

access to the Department’s network.

3.2.1.4.5 Trusted Internet Connection (TIC)

The Trusted Internet Connection (TIC) Initiative derives from the National Security Presidential Directive 

54 and Homeland Security Presidential Directive 23 and is the first of 12 initiatives in the President’s 

Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (CNCI). The TIC Initiative aims to optimize and 

standardize the security of the Federal government’s network connections.

The Department’s TIC implementation will comply with the following OMB Memoranda:

• OMB Memorandum M-08-05, Implementation of Trusted Internet Connections

• OMB Memorandum M-08-16, Guidance for Trusted Internet Connection Statement of Capability

Form 

• OMB Memorandum M-08-26, Transition from FTS2001 to NETWORX
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• OMB Memorandum M-08-27, Guidance for Trusted Internet Connection Compliance 

• OMB Memorandum M-09-32, Update on the Trusted Internet Connections Initiative 

Please see Section 4.2.5.2 for more information on the Department’s TIC activities.

3.2.1.4.6 Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)

Internet protocols (IPs) specify communication and interoperability rules on the Internet and on other IP 

networks. Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is most widely used in current Federal network 

environments. With the exponential increase in demand across the global Internet community, IPv4’s 

address space is nearing depletion, underscoring the need to transition to IPv6, which offers a larger 

Internet address space. OMB Memorandum M-05-22 mandates Federal agencies enable Internet 

Protocol version 6 (IPv6) within their current IPv4 networks. 

The Department developed an IPv6 Transition Guide, which describes the Department’s policies and 

activities to meet the Federal IPv6 requirements. The Department’s IPv6 Transition Manager and IPv6 

Working Group have met the FY2012 external application compliance milestones and are making steady 

progress on FY2014 internal application compliance milestones.

Please see Section 4.2.6 for more information on the Department’s IPv6 activities.

3.2.2 Federal Data Center Consolidation

The 2010 Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative (FDCCI) called for a government-wide effort to 

consolidate Federal data centers with goals to:

 Promote the use of Green IT

 Reduce Federal costs

 Improve IT security posture 

 Shift Federal computing to more efficient technologies

The Department of Education has achieved its data center consolidation target, completed an inventory 

of its data centers and related assets, and completed its targets of consolidation to two data centers.

Through data center consolidation, the Department aims to do its part to reduce Federal energy 

consumption, reduce operational costs, strengthen IT security, and move toward employing innovative 

and efficient technologies.

4 Goal Two: Technology Services (AXXB) (CXXG)

Goal Two is to orient OCIO as a provider of technology-based business solutions including infrastructure 

services. OCIO provides a broad range of IT services to address the current and future business needs of 

the Department. OCIO is committed to modernizing the Department with innovative technology that 

will provide future cost savings and performance improvements in meeting the agency mission and 

strategic goals.
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OCIO’s goal includes delivery of new and enhanced services to further enable the Department’s business 

modernization as well as future delivery of common IT services supporting the Department’s core 

technical infrastructure.

OCIO will enable program offices to better focus on their mission competencies by providing a robust 

enterprise platform with technology services that:

 Improve performance by providing a highly capable communications and computing 

infrastructure

 Improve efficiency with interoperable technologies that can link work across independent tools 

and enhance staff productivity

 Reduce costs for IT service delivery by standardizing software and hardware platforms

OCIO will ensure that the implementation and management of the Department’s technology services 

support the Department’s mission and strategic performance goals as well as Federal policies and 

initiatives indicated in Goal One.

4.1 Current Services 

OCIO’s role is to provide a stable technology infrastructure to support the business requirements of the 

Department. OCIO’s goal is to continue providing IT services that support the deployment, operations, 

and maintenance of the Department’s core technical infrastructure while seeking to improve 

operational and cost performance.

OCIO will continue the delivery of common IT resources, such as hardware, software, networks, and 

other services that support program offices business needs. OCIO will continue delivery of the following 

supportive technologies during the FY 2014 - FY 2017 IRM Strategic Plan.

Table 4: Current Delivery of Services

Hardware

Assistive technologies 

Hardware infrastructure maintenance and upgrade

Software

Assistive technologies 

Data Visualization

Data Management

Desktop Operating System – Upgrade to Windows 7

Email, Messaging, and Collaboration

Office Productivity Tools – Microsoft Office Suite 2010

Voice and Data

Network
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Data Center

Data Warehouse

DNS SEC

Intranet

IPv4/ IPv6 Capable

Security

Servers

Services

Enterprise Architecture

IT Acquisition

IT Capital Planning

IV&V

Security (Authorization & Accreditation, Continuous Monitoring, 

HSPD-12, Remote Access)

Service Level Agreements

Any upgrades and/or changes will be determined as needed by the Department’s business 

requirements.

As OCIO delivers these common IT products and services to maintain a stable technology platform, it will 

also seek ways to improve productivity and cost performance by eliminating costly duplicative, legacy, 

and stand-alone systems.

4.2 Future Services

To prepare the Department to meet future business goals, OCIO’s role will evolve to provide a broader 

set of technology services to the Department. This future direction will position OCIO to become a 

provider of enterprise common services beyond the current technical infrastructure.

OCIO continues to develop a clear design for the future enhanced set of service offerings and how these 

new services will be deployed, supported, and governed. What follows is OCIO’s current thinking around 

what IT shared services will be offered based on the Department’s business needs, and the management 

challenges that OCIO will need to address in the near future to provide these services in an effective and 

efficient manner.

The future core enterprise technology platform will improve the overall Department’s productivity and 

fiscal performance with faster, more reliable, and more innovative technologies.

Management Structure for Future Services

The Department will focus on these key goals for the implementation of all future technology services:
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 Establish an effective product and service delivery model

 Implement an effective governance model 

 Support the programs to develop a funding strategy

 Provide IT services to the Department

The service delivery model for shared services will be based on the following set of guiding principles for 

OCIO’s operating model: 

 Promote a supplier-customer relationship between IT and the business units to foster a 

“customer service” culture in IT while maintaining the fiduciary role of OCIO

 Implement an appropriate funding model for shared services that promotes financial 

transparency so that customers understand the costs associated with the products/services they 

consume, and understand the cost levers available to them (e.g., accept a higher level of service 

for a higher cost to meet special business needs)

 Introduce a “product-centric” model that integrates multiple disciplines and ensures 

accountability for the products/services offered to the customers. This model would include 

future product strategy, service level options, product refresh plans, etc.

 Separate the product/service planning and development functions (plan/build) from the 

operations functions to allow each to excel in their own individual disciplines and ensure that 

strategic, tactical, and operational imperatives are met

The product and service model defines roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities for operating the 

shared services at the Department. Some of the management issues include:

 When should the Department come to OCIO for a service and when should the service be 

contracted-out?

 What is the role of OCIO in satisfying office-specific business needs and how does that role differ 

if the need is enterprise-wide?

 How can OCIO maintain its fiduciary role when another organization or entity delivers the 

shared service?

 How will the Department decide whether a shared service is to be provided by OCIO or another 

organization (e.g., Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Institute of Education Sciences)?

 What is the governance model that will address investment priorities, funding mechanisms, 

portfolio effectiveness, service levels for shared services, and adherence/compliance actions?

 Are there service-specific governance models that are required, i.e., shared applications require 

shared support functions and shared governance?

 What are the appropriate organizational and contractual vehicles that are required to deliver 

shared services?

Specific steps to move toward the shared services operating model include addressing the following:
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 Understand and document the needs of the customers for specific products and services that 

can best be developed, delivered, and supported centrally

 Support the goals of Federal IT reform initiatives, such as Federal Information Technology 

Shared Services Strategy, the .GOV Reform Effort to Improve Federal Websites, and the Federal 

Mobility Strategy, using shared IT resources to the maximum extent possible

 Offer these shared products and services to the customer efficiently and at an appropriate level 

of service and cost

 Install product and service monitoring functions to adjust the product and service mix (i.e., 

specific products, services, new service levels, etc.) to reflect changes in the business needs and 

the demand for these products and services

 Define and adopt a sound management model that allows the organization to effectively 

address the strategic, tactical, operational, and governance issues simultaneously

4.2.1 CIO’s Innovation Agenda

The CIO promotes a shared vision of the Department’s information activities and offers services to 

effectively manage information to provide value-adding enterprise-wide systems and infrastructure.

While the IRM Strategic Plan is a reactive response supporting the Department’s mission, the CIO’s 

Innovation Agenda is a proactive approach to transforming the Department’s IT services and IT 

infrastructure to create the business value of tomorrow.

It is the CIO’s role to recognize and implement IT as a business enabler and catalyst to drive value across 

the enterprise.

The CIO’s Innovation Agenda identifies new technologies and services to generate cutting-edge business 

growth and advantage. The new technologies should be flexible and responsive to support ED’s business 

operations with IT infrastructure, while offering new opportunities for growth.

The current focus of the CIO’s Innovation Agenda is Access Anywhere Computing, which will integrate 

mobile computing into the Department’s computing environment.

4.2.1.1 Access Anywhere Computing

The Department will make it easier for staff to work effectively inside and outside the office by making 

the applications and data available on multiple platforms that are secure and accessible from anywhere. 

This will improve performance and reduce costs in the following ways:

Improved Performance

 Leverage employee-owned devices to help increase productivity by helping employees enjoy the 

benefits of single device management 

 Increase optimization of ED infrastructure

 Retain high-quality employees while maintaining oversight and security of agency data on 

employee-owned devices
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Improved Efficiency 

 Allow a user to integrate with workgroups of people from both inside and outside of the

Department, through cloud services, on any device, anywhere

 Allow a user access to their applications, such as office productivity software on travel, at home, 

and/or in the office

 Enable virtual desktops and applications with the same features for the same user experience 

on any device, anywhere, offline, or online 

Reduced Costs

 Allow dedication of agency IT resources toward strategic projects rather than management of 

many devices

 Enable use of employee-owned IT resources to improve work life balance with virtual work 

experience

 Allow faster, cost-effective on-boarding of new employees and contractors, while ensuring 

corporate data security

 Enable shared services and cloud computing

 Allow compatibility with hardware devices such as:

o tablets 

o smart phones

o desktops

Delivery of these applications will be via web servers, portal servers, and virtual host servers. Virtual 

host servers will let workers use personal mobile devices for work, while letting IT retain security and 

control over work-related apps on those devices.

Access anywhere computing allows for unified automated application management with dynamic 

services and applications. This will eliminate the need for manual access management (e.g., creation and 

reset of accounts, and licensing). Also, this means users will have faster access to their applications.
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Figure 4: The Department’s Access Anywhere Model
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4.2.1.2 OCIO Support Services

To support the CIO’s innovation agenda, OCIO offers the Department’s business customers the following 

three technology support services:

 IT Governance and Planning Services

 IT Project Management Services

 End-user IT Support Services

IT Governance and Planning Services help program offices align their business priorities with enabling IT 

capabilities that support accomplishing the mission of both the Principal Offices and the Department.

These services could include: 

 Governance services that validate the requirements, design, implementation and performance 

for IT projects and/or the application of Common Enabling Services (CES) (e.g., workflow and 

collaboration tools) that solve specific business needs

 Program office IT planning services in support of multi-year IT investment and project plans that 

provide the maximum benefits of available IT resources to the office

o These services could include future state IT visions for POCs, future state concepts of 

operation that identify the role of technical capabilities in supporting the business unit 

mission, and the development of transition strategies and project portfolios that leverage 

existing and new IT components

IT Project Management Services include a full range of services for applying technical capabilities to 

solve office business needs. These services are envisioned to involve custom application development 

services, package installation and deployment services, or individual subject matter expertise to support 

program office development teams (e.g., project management, acquisition guidance/support). These 

services could include:

 Applications development, enhancement and deployment services (e.g., web applications and 

decision support applications development)

 Commercial off the shelf (COTS) software package identification, selection, installation, and 

support

 IT solutions project management and acquisition support services

The selection and deployment of these services will require OCIO to engage in the following activities to 

provide IT solution development and deployment services:

 Develop detailed plans and product recommendations for various types of CES’s

 Support program offices to define relevant knowledge work requirements that will be optimally 

fulfilled by the CES

 Acquisition, deployment, and operations of COTS products on the infrastructure to provide CES

 Develop common enterprise-wide solutions or custom-developed solutions for individual 

program offices
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 Ongoing training, configuration support, help desk and related customer service top program 

office users to maintain or adjust usage of CES

End-user Support Services: The future direction for IT at the Department is heavily focused on data 

access and analytical activities in support of the Department’s mission. With the exception of small 

pockets within certain organizations, the Department has little expertise in supporting its end users in 

these areas. As the Department moves toward the application of enterprise data stores, enhanced 

analytical tools for end users, and the rollout of common enabling infrastructure tools to its knowledge 

workers, these same knowledge workers will require support to effectively apply these new capabilities 

to their day-to-day efforts. A set of shared services will be provided to deliver this support to the end 

users and could include the following:

 End user data access, query and reporting support services, including Executive Dashboard 

support services, to ensure the users understand the data available to them, how to access that 

data, and how best to manipulate the data in performing sophisticated analyses

 Technology/solutions training and support services for end users so the users can effectively use 

the new capabilities and derive value from these investments

Enterprise application operations and end user support services (e.g., IES Support) involve the basic 

support for shared applications – efficiently delivered as a shared service. Applications that are shared 

across an organization require support that is also shared.

4.2.2 Common Enabling Services (CES)

OCIO regularly receives requests for new services that will improve the Department’s business 

performance. Program offices, business units, and staff commonly requested the following technologies:

Table 5: Common Enabling Services

Requested Service Definition

Collaboration Management Allow people to work together more efficiently by enabling greater information sharing

Data Visualization and 

Transformation

Data visualization is the ability to take raw data and generate graphical representations of 

that data for calculation, comparison and analysis by disparate stakeholders. Data 

transformation supports the identification, gathering, and transformation of documents, 

reports, and other information sources into meaningful, structured and reusable 

information. 

Data Management Usage, processing, and general administration of unstructured information

Electronic Document/Record/ 

Content Management

Control the capture and maintenance of an organization’s documents and files

Mobility Tools Tools that enable mobile computing

Report Management Support the organization of data into useful information 

Security and privacy Tools that support confidentiality, integrity, and availability

Work Management Allow the monitoring of activities within a business process
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OCIO prioritizes its technology efforts by the most requested services from across the Department. Most 

of the Department’s business units have requested collaboration management and electronic 

document/record/content management as enterprise services. 

The Department funded an enterprise implementation of SharePoint to provide collaboration services.

OCIO will continue to expand the use of the collaboration platform during FY 2014 – 2017.

Data Visualization and Transformation is the ability to take raw data and generate graphical 

representations of that data for calculation, comparison and analysis by disparate stakeholders. Data 

transformation supports the identification, gathering, and transformation of documents, reports, and 

other information sources into meaningful, structured and reusable information. Data visualization 

tools accomplish these results through the integration of disparate structured and unstructured data, 

affording opportunities for more robust and compelling representations of information. By 

incorporating these techniques into the Departments data strategy, information can be more easily 

understood by those utilizing it, improving decision making. Data visualization and transformation also 

provides a more interactive way to share disparate types of data, allowing for a more creative way to 

combine, display and deliver the Department’s information.

Collaboration management tools will allow Department employees to integrate and work together on a 

unified platform. A unified collaborative platform is the most effective way to connect people, 

processes, and information across the Department and will enable stakeholders to quickly adapt, scale 

and extend the platform in response to shifting business needs. 

An electronic document/record/content management solution will allow the Department to control 

the capture and maintenance of an organization’s documents and files. The availability of an electronic 

records management tool will provide quick and reliable information for decision making by developing 

standardized processes for classifying, storing, securing, archiving, and disposing of records.

The OCIO plans to provide SharePoint, Microsoft Office Productivity Suite, and HP TRIM as the 

collaboration management and electronic document/record/content management solutions to create 

the foundation for an enhanced enterprise technology platform. The proposed platform can be used to 

enhance support to the Department’s work activity and business applications, such as GEMS, TRIM 

TRIO and others. Using the proposed platform, the Department will be able to utilize the various 

technology services that are provided to create other automated business support applications. In 

FY-13, the Department implemented E-foldering in its G-5 system using HP Trim. Currently, EFoldering is available to all grants programs. During FY14-FY17 we will expand this capability to the 

Contracting and Purchasing system (CPSS II).

The following proposed enterprise technology platform diagram illustrates the future vision of the

enhanced enterprise technology platform followed by a table that links each requested enhanced 

service to the proposed technology that meets that need.
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Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 34

Figure 5: Proposed Enterprise Technology Platform

Table 6: Proposed Technology Solutions

Proposed Solution Requested Service

Microsoft Office Work Management, Mobility Tools, Survey Design Tools 

Microsoft SQL Server Data Management, Report Management 

Microsoft SharePoint Collaboration Management, Document/Record/Content 

Management, Survey Management, Portal Management 

Microsoft OS Software Security and Privacy, Mobility Tools 

Microsoft Exchange, Outlook Work Management, Knowledge Management, Data Management, 

Collaboration Management 

Microsoft InfoPath Report Management, Work Management, Knowledge Management, 

Data Management, Document/Record/Content Management 

HP TRIM Document and Records Management 
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4.2.3 Commodity IT and Shared Services

4.2.3.1 Maturing the IT portfolio (HXXA)

As part of the EA Roadmap, the Department has sought to optimize its IT infrastructure while operating 

an IT service management framework (primarily based on ITIL standards). The need for consolidation 

and use of shared services is identified through the segment modernization planning process. 

Modernization planning is an ongoing process, which uses performance objectives and business needs 

to determine if new investments or existing services should be utilized to meet the Department’s 

business needs. During annual segment modernization planning, the segment owners review their line 

of business (LoB). 

During annual segment modernization planning, each segment determines its required capabilities 

(currently met and unmet by existing investments) to achieve the segment’s performance goals. The 

EAPO groups these needed capabilities into 18 common services. Additional details are provided in the

Enterprise Modernization Roadmap.

4.2.3.2 Use of savings resulting from consolidations of Commodity IT (HXXB)

To date, the Department has successfully consolidated many enterprise services through the EDUCATE 

and Virtual Data Center (VDC) investments for (a) IT infrastructure; (b) Enterprise IT Systems; and (c) 

Business Systems. Moving forward, the Department has identified the following three major areas for 

consolidation:

 Financial Management systems

 Web Hosting, Infrastructure, and Content Management (Enterprise IT Systems)

 Grants-Related Federal Financial Assistance (Business Systems, for details, see the Commodity IT 

Consolidation Plan, an appendix of the Enterprise Modernization Roadmap)

The Department plans to use the savings obtained from using commodity IT to invest in performanceenhancing innovations within the Department. The Department is investing heavily in consolidationrelated activities and is still in the nascent phase of grants consolidation and web-hosting consolidation. 

Additional details are provided in the Commodity IT Consolidation Plan section of the Enterprise 

Modernization Roadmap.

4.2.3.3 Maximizing use of inter- and intra-agency shared services (HXXC)

Growing mission requirements in an environment of declining resources drives the Department to find 

innovative solutions to meet its needs. Shared IT services enable the Department to improve services 

and reduce overall costs, especially in areas of commodity IT, such as human resources, financial 

management, infrastructure, and business systems. 

The Department aligns itself with the Federal Information Technology Shared Services Strategy, also 

known as the shared-first approach. The shared-first approach aims to:

 Improve return on investment across the Department’s entire IT portfolio through the 

coordinated use of portfolio reviews and commodity IT system and services consolidation
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 Close productivity gaps by implementing integrated governance processes and innovative IT 

service solutions

 Increase communications with stakeholders as shared service managing partners, customers, 

and providers in the full lifecycle of IT shared service activities

Each system developed within the Department is reviewed by the Investment Review Board (IRB) for 

adherence to our IT value management and IT investment strategy. It is also reviewed by the Enterprise 

Architecture Review Board (EARB) for conformance with EA to ensure compliance with our technical 

standards, reduce the potential of acquiring duplicative investments and driving business value for IT 

investments.

As one of the smallest Cabinet-level agencies, the Department has historically operated an intra-agency 

shared IT services model for IT infrastructure, email services, office automation, networking, 

telecommunications and multimedia. Throughout its history, the Department has also leveraged the 

products and services hosted by other agencies in lieu of maintaining Department systems for these 

services to drive cost efficiencies at the Department and Federal level. Most recently in October 2012, 

the Department moved from its internally hosted and developed “information collection” system to the 

Health and Human Services (HHS) http://www.paperworkreduction.gov portal for these services.

4.2.3.4 Continuity of operation for mission critical applications (EXXB)

Each system developed within the Department is reviewed by the EARB for adherence to numerous 

requirements, including continuity of operation and disaster recovery capabilities, consistent with 

documented Lifecycle Management Methodologies in Department directives and other Federal and 

Department regulations. In addition, the FISMA security authorization process evaluates systems as low, 

medium or high with respect to confidentiality, integrity and availability. Based on that analysis, 

applicable NIST Special Publication 800-53 controls will be required to provide a level of continuity of 

government operations.

4.2.4 Cloud Computing

The purpose of the Federal Cloud First policy is to move toward a more reliable, efficient, and innovative 

government. OCIO’s cloud computing implementation will modernize the Department’s IT infrastructure 

with greater efficiency and improved virtualized technologies to support the Department’s business 

performance.

OCIO will publish Cloud Computing Security Guidance to ensure the use of cloud services is managed in 

accordance with Federal IT management and security requirements, and to facilitate a well-managed 

and successful adoption of cloud computing by establishing a process that directs attention to IT-related 

requirements, management and security processes, and risk factors. The purpose of guidance is to 

provide CIO-level oversight to address the possibility of a higher level of risk from these new and stillevolving IT service models.

During the FY 2014 - FY2017 IRM Strategic Plan, OCIO plans to provide the following cloud computing 

services:
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Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 37

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS): The Department will provide fundamental computing resources such 

as processing, storage and networks so that Department users can deploy and run software, operating 

systems and applications. IaaS will increase utilization of existing investments, reduce infrastructure 

investments and decrease IT expenses.

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS): The Department will provide an integrated platform based computing 

solution on the cloud consisting of specific operating systems, applications software and development 

tools; that will be available via the Web. PaaS will improve the management and procurement of IT 

systems development capabilities.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS): The Department will migrate some of its desktop software applications 

and data to the cloud infrastructure. The software is accessible from various client devices through a 

thin client interface, such as a Web browser. SaaS will improve the management, cost, and accessibility 

of software applications.

Additional migration of technology services to the cloud will be evaluated on an ongoing basis. These 

three cloud services will provide the Department’s program offices and end-users with ubiquitous, 

convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources that can 

be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.

Table 7: Current Cloud Services1

Service Service 

Model

Deployment 

Model

Survey Services

The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) collects data on key education and civil rights issues in 

our nation's public schools for use by the Department as well as outside policymakers and 

researchers. The CRDC collects information about students in public schools, including 

enrollment, educational services, and academic proficiency results, disaggregated by 

race/ethnicity, sex, limited English proficiency and disability. By moving to a cloud solution, the 

CRDC was able to survey over 15% more school districts and make the surveys easier for districts 

to fill out by tailoring each survey so only applicable information was requested.

SaaS Public Cloud

Agency Private Cloud Services

The Department is implementing a private cloud capability to offer Infrastructure as a Service 

offerings internally. By consolidating the Department’s IT infrastructure under this offering, the 

Department is expecting improved asset utilization by 60-70%, a reduction in overall costs, 

improved service to its users, and greater agility in demand across the agency.

IaaS/ 

PaaS

Private Cloud

 

1

Source: U.S. Department of Education Data Center Consolidation Plan 
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FY 2014 – FY 2017 38

Service Service 

Model

Deployment 

Model

E-Mail Messaging Security Services

Spam filtering, spoofing, and quarantine services for email messaging senders and receivers are 

provided via a public cloud service provider.

SaaS Public Cloud

Digital Communications Management Services

Robust digital newsletter and email list services are provided by a public cloud service focused 

on government clients.

SaaS Community 

Cloud

Customer Relationship Management Services

The Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department uses a cloudbased provider of a customer relations management tool to track contacts and community 

outreach. 

SaaS Public Cloud

Web Content Hosting Services

Federal Student Aid through its Enterprise IT Services (Consolidated ITA/EAI) and other small 

investments is merging over 70+ standalone websites into four integrated views for specific 

audience segments. These actions are also aligned well with OMB Memo M-11-24, Implementing 

Executive Order 13571 on Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service.

IaaS/ 

PaaS

Public Cloud

4.2.5 Cybersecurity Initiatives (EXXA)

OCIO’s proposed enhanced enterprise platform will also accommodate the implementation of the 

following government-wide technology initiatives:

 HSPD-12

 TIC

 Continuous Monitoring 

The Federal government’s technology initiatives are intended to lead government innovation while 

increasing business efficiency and fiscal responsibility.

4.2.5.1 Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12

The Federal government established the 2004 mandate for Homeland Security Presidential Directive 

(HSPD) 12 - Policies for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors 

requiring a government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification.

To meet the physical and logical access requirements of HSPD-12, the Department’s top HSPD-12 

agenda items are identity management, access control, and two-factor authentication. The 

Department’s goals in the integration of HSPD-12 are to reduce identity fraud, protect personal privacy, 

enhance security and increase efficiency.

In order to meet the requirements of HSPD-12, M-11-11, and Federal mandates for Identity, Credential, 

and Access Management (ICAM), the Department developed an Enterprise Strategy that defined policy, 
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process, and technology requirements and a corresponding capability roadmap to meet specific targets 

to include the establishment of an Enterprise Identity Management (IDM) Solution. Part of this 

Enterprise IDM solution is an enterprise-wide authentication service or enterprise single sign on (eSSO).

To establish an eSSO capability for the enterprise, the Department will conduct an analysis of 

alternatives that will consider:

 Acquiring and establishing an enterprise solution for the Department

 Leveraging an existing Department solution and expanding for enterprise-wide use

The project will consider the following approaches for existing and new information systems to leverage 

an eSSO solution:

 Decentralized Federated – applications consuming credentials published by eSSO through 

secure channels

 Centralized Tight Integration – applications customized/configured to use components of eSSO

 Hybrid – a combination of applications consuming credentials published by eSSO (Federated 

Approach) and components provided by eSSO (Tight Integration)

The Department will continue to focus on the implementation of the FISMA priorities of TIC, HSPD-12 

and continuous monitoring. HSPD-12 implementation focuses agencies on upgrading their physical and 

logical access control infrastructure to require HSPD-12 PIV credentials for access to IT systems and 

facilities. As of March 2012, the Department has issued over 4,900 PIV cards to employees and 

contractors. The Federal government has experienced a steady increase with HSPD-12 compliance, and 

it was attributable to several agencies that made significant strides in HSPD-12 implementation to 

include the Department of Education, which is at 90 percent for unprivileged PIV authentication usage 

as of Q2 FY14.

Currently In Progress. The Department maintains a quarterly HSPD-12 Implementation Status report at 

http://www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/hspd_12.doc

4.2.5.2 Trusted Internet Connection (TIC)

The TIC Initiative aims to optimize and standardize the security of the Federal government’s network 

connections. The Department’s TIC implementation will improve the Department’s security posture and 

incident response capabilities.

The Department received its Authority to Operate (ATO) as a Trusted Internet Connection Access 

Provider (TICAP) in January 2010. Most of the technology required has already been implemented in 

accordance with TIC 1.0. The technologies behind this capability provide improved situational awareness 

and risk reduction to potential hacker, malware, malicious behavior, and data loss, as well as potential 

outages and negative public exposures caused by individuals, crime syndicates or state sponsored 

“hacker cells.” The fulfillment of this requirement can be seen through blocking of Internet sites that are 

not in alignment with Department policies and existing rules of behavior, as well as protection from 

viruses and worms. Through proper handling of inbound and outbound email and implementing

quarantine and junk mail filters, the Department minimizes other potential security issues via spear 

phishing attacks and the importing of malicious files.
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The Department’s current TIC efforts include activities to reduce and consolidate its external network 

connections, and enhance its external network monitoring capabilities. Forthcoming initiatives related 

to TIC are: secure email gateways, wireless networks, mobile computing and teleworking.

Continuous monitoring is provided directly via US CERT for the agency’s Internet and external 

connections. This continuous monitoring provides critical situational awareness, oversight and 

coordination among all Federal agencies when dealing with attacks that directly target them.

The reduction and consolidation of Internet and external connections provides a smaller risk footprint to 

manage and oversee, as well as minimization of exposure risks.

The Department has also updated and deployed network and system warning banners to allow for 

improved prosecution of violators.

In FY2010, the Department implemented Domain Name System Security (DNSSEC) across all of its .GOV 

domains. The Department will continue to adapt to new TIC 2.0 standards that include added 

capabilities for HTTPS proxies and Web Application Protection, while remediating TIC 1.0 findings. Major 

outstanding efforts require further external connection consolidation through Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS) monitoring equipment, which will protect IT assets not housed within either EDUCATE or 

the VDC environs.

All external connections, as defined by OMB and the DHS, must have their network traffic pass through 

Einstein devices. The Einstein devices are monitored and managed by DHS and serve as a monitoring 

tool to detect malicious activity. This includes all Internet connections, MPLS connections, out-of-band 

management connections, remote access connections (VPN and dial-in) and all site to-site VPN 

connections.

The Department intends to optimize its external connections and improve the Department’s incident 

response capability through centralized gateway monitoring. By reducing the number of access points, 

the Department and DHS can more easily monitor and identify potentially malicious traffic. All external 

connections, as defined by OMB and DHS, must have their network connection's traffic pass through the 

EINSTEIN hardware. To comply with DHS and OMB requirements, the TIC initiative is focused on 

ensuring the Department implements requirements set forth in the TIC 1.0 and 2.0 reference 

architectures.
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FY 2014 – FY 2017 41

Table 8: TIC Milestones

FY 2012 FY 2013 FY 2014 FY 2015

The Department 

Trusted Internet 

Connection (TIC) 

access point and 

supporting 

infrastructure in 

Plano, TX achieved 

94% compliance 

with 51 TIC 1.0 

critical capabilities 

required of singleservice TICAPs

The Department will address 

specific TIC Reference Architecture 

1.0 and 2.0 capability gaps; 

initiatives include:

 Deployment and transition to a 

Stratum Level 1 time source for 

both the VDC and EDUCATE 

networks

 Development of policy, 

guidance, and processes to 

facilitate the consolidation of 

external connections

 Planning and initiating activities 

to establish an alternate TIC at 

the FTC

 Market research and pilot of a 

web application security 

solution

The Department will:

 Perform progressive transition 

of prioritized systems, with 

external connections, that are 

not currently routed through a 

TIC access point to a TIC access 

point

 Complete alternate TIC site 

implementation

 Implement a web application 

security solution

 Plan for and initiate 

implementation of additional 

capabilities as required in 

response to new TICAP 

requirements or new federal 

mandates

The Department will:

 Continue transition of 

prioritized systems, with 

external connections, 

that are not currently 

routed through a TIC 

access point to a TIC 

access point

 Plan for and initiate 

implementation of 

additional capabilities as 

required in response to 

new TICAP requirements 

or new federal mandates

4.2.5.3 Continuous Monitoring (CM)

OMB Memorandum M-11-33, FY 2011 Reporting Instructions for the FISMA and Agency Privacy 

Management, requires that all agencies develop a continuous monitoring program. The Department’s 

continuous monitoring program is based on a phased-in maturity model approach. The phases align with 

the Continuous Monitoring Maturity Model found in the Continuous Monitoring and Risk Scoring 

(CM/RS) Concept of Operations (CONOPS) for Supporting Cyber Security Operations, as developed by 

the DHS Federal Network Security Branch. The Department is currently assessed to be at Maturity Level 

II with the implementation of some automated scanning tools and SCAP-compliant products. From FY13 

through FY15, this project will enable the transition from Levels III through V as described below.

Maturity Level III: Focuses on IT governance compliance. Reporting requirements specified in OMB M11-33 include the following:

• Asset Management. Enable the Department to capture and establish a baseline of authorized IT 

assets (e.g., computing hardware, network devices, software) 

• Configuration Management. Enable the Department to capture and establish a series of 

security configuration baselines based on agency-specified security configuration benchmarks 

such as CyberScope, SCAP data and Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC), USG 

Configuration Baseline (USGCB), etc.

• Vulnerability Management. Enable the Department to associate known vulnerabilities to 

misconfigurations and missing patches.
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Maturity Level IV: Focuses on continual situational awareness of operational effectiveness. Continues 

the implementation of tasks from Maturity Level III and includes specific tasks for Maturity Level IV:

• Development of a continuous monitoring data portal to aggregate and correlate data efficiently 

to:

o De-conflict findings from different tools

o Aggregate data in a common format for further processing and forensic purposes

o Integrate and fuse findings and data to provide continually updated situational 

awareness

o Visualize and generate reports for presentation to various tiers of the organization

Maturity Level V: Enriches the continuous monitoring program through innovative techniques that align 

security with Department business processes in order to anticipate and respond to change and risk by: 

• Establishing and developing a governance, risk, and compliance tool that allows business units 

to work together using common processes and information. Centralized views into enterprise 

risk, automated and repeatable business processes, integrated systems, and information as well 

as flexibility to evolve as business needs change. This will help the Department become more 

agile, gain greater visibility into their data, and drive a trusted operational framework across the 

enterprise. 

• Implementing tools to evaluate a range of decisions and score estimated outcomes to support 

decisions at all tiers of the Department and permit a common framework for intra/inter 

Departmental decisions.

4.2.6 IPv6

The Department’s goal in transitioning to an IPv6 capable environment is to provide enhanced 

technology services that improve the Department’s business performance and operational efficiency. 

IPv6 will enable the Department to support continued growth in users, devices and Internet-based 

functionality and services.

The Department has identified key advances from IPv4 to IPv6 as:

 Expanded addressing capability

 Security extensions for authentication and privacy

 Flow labeling capability

 Improved efficiency in routing and packet handling

 Support for auto-configuration and plug-and-play capabilities

 Support for embedded IP security (IPSec)

 Elimination of the need for Network Address Translation (NAT)

 Support for widely deployed routing protocols 

 Network efficiency and bandwidth conservation

Through 2012, the Department successfully completed its required IPv6 transition activities for public, 

external-facing servers and services.
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Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 43

The Department’s IPv6 goal for 2014 is to upgrade internal client applications that communicate with 

public Internet servers and supporting enterprise networks to operationally use native IPv6 by the end 

of FY14. Defining internal client applications that communicate with public Internet Servers means:

 Internal client applications refers to software running on computer systems within the 

Department that are originating connections as clients to other systems 

 Systems that communicate with public Internet servers further restricts scope to server systems 

that are on the Internet and provide services to the public as a whole 

 Systems that are on the Internet but provide only restricted access to a limited audience would 

be private Internet servers and are thus out of scope 

 Supporting Enterprise Networks: The network infrastructure that provides the connectivity from 

in scope ED systems to the Internet 

Implementation of this goal would have the following impact:

 Native IPv6 will be enabled on EDUCATE Infrastructure

 The Department’s Client PCs will have IPv6 Dual Stack enabled

 The Department’s internal staff will be able to connect with externally hosted resources that are 

IPv6 as well as IPv4.
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Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 44

The following table represents the Department’s IPv6 transition activities for internally facing services: 

Table 9: Internal IPv6 Transition Activities

4.2.7 Electronic Stewardship

The purpose of the electronic stewardship program is to support the Federal leadership goals for 

economic, energy and environmental leadership as outlined in Executive Order 13514. Specific goals and 

activities supporting the agency’s Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan include:

 2008: The Department deploys EPEAT Gold and Silver qualified desktop computers, notebook 

computers and monitors across the enterprise.

o The Department uses environmentally sound disposal practices for excess or surplus 

electronic products via an e-Stewards certified recycler.

 2009: The Department joins the Federal Electronics Challenge as an agency partner and its “ED 

Centralized” facility partner.

o The Department submits its baseline survey and participates in the Federal Electronics 

Stewardship Working Group.

 2010: The Department is awarded its first Federal Electronics Challenge (Bronze Level) Award for 

its operations and maintenance activities.
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o The Department submits its first annual report.

 2011: The Department begins implementing “duplex printing as a default” on its network-based 

printing and digital imaging equipment.

o All regional office locations are completed.

 2013: The Department completes migration to “duplex printing as a default” across its entire 

portfolio of network-based printing and imaging equipment.

 2014-2017: The Department continues to operate and maintain Energy Star and EPEAT Gold and 

Silver equipment, maintains power management settings, duplex printing and environmentally 

preferred purchasing of electronic equipment, and serves as a Federal champion for electronic 

stewardship. Additionally, the Federal Electronics Challenge has been replaced by the Federal 

Green Challenge, and the Department is evaluating its involvement.
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5 Goal Three: Information and Technology 

Management (AXXB)

The IRM Strategic Plan’s information and technology management goal is to ensure effectiveness of the 

Department’s IT portfolio by fostering innovation, increasing IT portfolio value and enhancing cyber 

security.

5.1 IT Governance Structure (CXXA) (CXXB)

The stakeholders in the Department’s IT governance structure determine IT management policies and 

plans directly impacting the Department’s information resources management process.

The Department’s IT governance process is codified in Departmental Directive OCIO 1-106, Lifecycle 

Management (LCM) Framework. The LCM Framework provides the foundation for the implementation 

of standards, processes and procedures used in developing and managing technology. The Department’s 

IT governance process ensures alignment of current and future IT initiatives to its strategic business 

objectives, as outlined in the FY 2014-2018 Department Strategic Plan.

The Department’s IT governance process applies to major program/mission critical investments and 

non-major program/mission support investments that are included in the Department IT portfolio. The 

IT governance process ensures that the Department’s IT portfolio is managed in a manner that is 

consistent with agency policy and OMB requirements. The IT governance process is managed through 

organizational entities – review boards and subordinate working groups shown the following figure.
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Office of the Chief Information Officer

Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan

FY 2014 – FY 2017 47

Figure 6: The Governance Process at the Department

5.1.1 Enterprise Architecture Program Office (EAPO)

The EA Program Office is an essential component of the Department’s IT governance process. The EA 

Program Office provides governance services, produces guidance and influences policies that directly 

impact information resources management.

The EA Program Office facilitates one governance process, the Enterprise Architecture Review Board.

 Enterprise Architecture Review Board (EARB): Provides support to PIRWG and EA Program 

Office by maintaining the Department’s technical standards, ensuring standards compliance and 

interoperability, facilitating component reuse and validating solution architecture compliance 

with Department security standards
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5.1.2 Investment and Acquisition Management Team (IAMT)

The Investment and Acquisition Management Team (IAMT) is an essential member of the Department’s 

IT governance process. The IAMT ensures that all Department of Education IT acquisitions are reviewed 

and accounted for in the Department’s capital planning and investment IT portfolio. The IAMT supports 

the Department’s information resources capital planning and investment control (CPIC) processes along 

with Department-wide bodies such as the IRB and the PIRWG to ensure continuity in the selection, 

monitoring, and evaluation of the Department’s IT investments.

5.2 Key Department Contributors to the IRM Governance 

Process (CXXB)

The following Department programs are key contributors to the effective management of IT resources 

across the Department.

5.2.1 IT Acquisition (Procurement)

The Department’s Contracts and Acquisition Management (CAM) team proactively leads the acquisition 

process, planning, negotiating, awarding and administering of contracts, including contracts for IT 

investments. CAM activities ensure the Department’s procuring and contracting are completed in 

accordance with established Department and federal acquisition policies and procedures. CAM also 

provides a procurement career management program to ensure there is an adequate and professional 

acquisition work force at the Department. The Performance and Logistics Group, within CAM, provides 

technology, systems, acquisition policy and logistical support to Department groups.

5.2.2 Regulatory Information Management

Privacy, Information and Records Management Services (PIRMS) is the Department’s organization 

responsible for providing policies, standards, and procedures that ensure the Department’s activities 

comply with the Federal information management requirements. PIRMS maintains the Department’s 

regulatory information Management (RIM) for:

 Privacy (Privacy Safeguards Division) 

 Parent and student privacy rights (Family Policy Compliance Division)

 Information Collection Clearance (Information Collections Clearance Division) 

 Federal Records Management

 Freedom of Information Act Request Processing 

PIRMS ensures Department activities are compliant with information management requirements 

through the following governance bodies: 

 Data Integrity Board 

 Data Release Workgroup, chaired by the Chief Privacy Officer
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 FOIA Coordinators – all POCs

 Program Records Officials and Records Liaison Officers – all POCs

 Electronic Records Management Executive Steering Committee 

 Information Collection Coordinators – all POCs

 Directives Liaison Officers – all POCs

Regulatory Information Management is a key component in the Department’s IRM efforts, and 

contributes to the effective management of the IRM Strategic Plan goals, portfolio alignment and 

technology services.

PIRMS reviews Department investments and acquisitions to ensure compliance with Department and 

Federal regulatory information management policy and procedures.

 Ensures internal compliance with the statutory requirements and regulatory controls on 

information program offices think they need to collect from public stakeholders

 RIM’s clearance process shapes the systems and databases that the POCs develop in order to 

administer Department programs

5.2.3 Information Assurance Services (IAS) (GXXB)

Information Assurance Services (IAS) oversees the Department's IT security program and ensures the

confidentiality/privacy, integrity, and availability of the Department's information and information 

resources. IAS ensures that the Department is fully compliant with FISMA and all related statutes and 

directives. The organization provides standardized security services and solutions in areas such as risk 

management, access controls, identity and access management, authentication, encryption solutions,

public key infrastructure technology and certification and accreditation. The Department’s Security 

Operations Center (EDSOC) enables continuous and independent monitoring of the Department’s cyber 

environment ensuring the protection and availability of IT assets and information. This effort creates an 

enterprise security operational capability to close the gaps and increase the ability of the Department to 

rapidly identify, respond to, mitigate, and proactively address vulnerabilities, incidents, and emerging 

threats.

5.2.4 Information Technology Services (ITS)

Information Technology Services (ITS) supports all enterprise-wide initiatives that reside on the agency’s 

network (EDUCATE) to include network security, network and telecommunications design and 

operations, end user services, production server hosting services and the agency’s intranet and Internet 

services. Additionally, ITS maintains and operates the Department’s primary data center and disaster 

recovery facility. As assigned, ITS develops and maintains common business solutions that are required 

by multiple program offices.

The ITS team manages or provides oversight for all enterprise-wide IT. It develops recommendations 

and implements IT solutions designed to enhance and enable the Department business processes that 

affect all like investments across the Department. 
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 Cloud Computing Services – acquisition and use of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as 

a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, including existing GSA BPAs

 Shared IT Services – acquisition and use of service offerings provided by other Federal agencies 

that when leveraged may provide the investment at a lower cost, with a faster implementation 

method than the original acquisition strategy; services range from web hosting, cloud solutions 

to unique and smaller goods

 Web Hosting Services – use of GSA or open-competition contract vehicles, such as GSA 

Networx, Alliant and IT Schedule 70 for professional services for a full range of IT services, 

hardware and software

 Electronic Stewardship / e-Cycling – best practices for “green IT” practices for acquiring 

sustainable and environmental friendly IT solutions for conferences, computer equipment and 

beyond

 OMB Mandates – ensures investment is consistent with new and existing OMB mandates and 

federal regulations that may impact the acquisition strategy of numerous investments

5.2.4.1 Network Services Team

The Network Services Team provides support for the agency’s enterprise-wide portfolio of networking, 

telecommunications and multimedia services. Team members serve as subject matter experts for areas

related to:

 Network (WAN/MAN/LAN) – acquisition and use of network hardware and software for 

connectivity to and from the Internet ranging from voice, video and data circuits, routers, 

switches, firewalls, intrusion detection/protection services, Domain Name Service (DNS), 

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) requirements, remote access services, Virtual Private Network 

(VPN) technology and authorization and use of various ports and protocols

 Telecommunications / IP Telephony – including use of traditional (analog) and Voice over 

Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone services, call center support services, Interactive Voice Response 

(IVR), toll-free numbers, digital subscriber line (DSL) and cable modems, calling cards, audio 

conferencing, etc.

 Multimedia Services – acquisition and use of multimedia platforms and services, including 

audio-visual services, auditorium and events, webinar technology, voice, video and data 

conferencing.

 Mobility and Wireless Services – acquisition and use of mobile devices, platforms and services 

including wireless handhelds, smartphones, tablets, WiFi (WLAN) services, mobile hotspots, 

Aircards, including support for emerging technologies, telework solutions and Bring Your Own 

Device (BYOD) policies and support mechanisms

5.2.4.2 Operational Services Team

The Operational Services Team provides support for the ongoing operations and maintenance of the 

agency’s enterprise-wide deployments of a full range of technology services:

 Desktop Services – acquisition and use of desktop computers, notebook computers, and 

monitors, including emerging technology such as virtual desktop interface 
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 Data Center Services – acquisition and use of network hardware and software for connectivity 

to and from the Internet, including routers, switches, firewalls, intrusion detection/protection

services, Domain Name Service, and authorization and use of various ports and protocols

 E-Mail Services – acquisition and use of digital communication services, such as e-mail, instant 

messaging, personal information management (calendaring, tasks, journal)

 ListServ Services – acquisition and use of multimedia platforms and services, including audiovisual services, auditorium and events

 Print Management Services – acquisition and use of print and digital imaging equipment,

including multifunction devices (print, copy, fax, scan), scanners, facsimile (fax) machines

 Assistive Technology (AT) – acquisition, compatibility and use of electronic and information 

technologies in support of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, in support of 

persons with disabilities

5.2.5 Human Capital Management (FXXA)

The Department’s Human Capital and Client Services (HCCS) provides leadership and direction in the 

formulation and implementation of policies, programs, and systems to promote efficient and effective 

human capital management. In performing its responsibilities, HCCS: 

 Maintains the traditional values of the Federal civil service system including integrity, continuity, 

nonpartisanship, merit and equal employment opportunity

 Provides the Secretary, Deputy Secretary, and other executive level managers with expert 

human capital management advice and a high level of technical services that further the goals 

and objectives of the Department

 Establishes and maintains staff resource utilization needs for key officials within the Department

 Ensures that Federal and Department human capital goals, policies, and practices are 

communicated to all levels of management and, where appropriate, to employees

 Evaluates the effectiveness of human capital and resources programs

These HCCS activities are essential in promoting effective information resource management 

throughout the Department.

5.2.6 Accessibility (IXXA) (IXXB) (IXXC)

Creating a diverse work environment for individuals of all abilities (IXXA)

A key aspect of creating a diverse environment where individuals of all abilities can work, interact, and 

develop into leaders involves meeting the statutory requirements of Sections 504 and 508 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973. These sections of the Rehabilitation Act protect and enhance the civil rights 

of individuals with disabilities throughout the country and ensure equality of opportunity, comparable 

access and improved quality of life for these individuals. 

Doing so involves the maintenance of a highly qualified, productive staff that has the tools it needs to 

perform its functions at its disposal. To ensure that staff with disabilities or impairments have the 
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technology that provides them equal opportunities to perform alongside their non-disabled colleagues, 

OCIO conducts needs assessments and provides subsequent recommendations to EDUCATE. The 

recommendations of OCIO are aimed at providing adequate IT-related, "reasonable accommodations" 

to those employees who have functional limitations that warrant the application of assistive technology 

solutions. Such solutions, which include special keyboards for individuals with repetitive strain injuries, 

screen readers and magnifiers for the visually impaired, video phones for the deaf and hard of hearing, 

etc., mitigate the specific functional limitations of those individuals, thereby increasing job performance 

and enhancing involvement in all aspects of work life.

Also key to the success of fulfilling the Department’s mission for individuals with disabilities is to ensure 

that all Department staff and customers have full and equal access to information and information 

systems utilized by the Department to conduct mission-critical business. Here too, OCIO conducts 

accessibility reviews of all major software, web applications and sites to ensure that they properly meet 

the technical accessibility standards of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. 

To make certain that all disabled employees and customers have full and complete access to the 

Department’s information and systems, OCIO reviews whether web pages are sufficiently labeled, 

multimedia is adequately captioned, software controls are accessible with both the keyboard and the 

mouse, and documents are properly tagged, containing good readable embedded text.

Integrating accessibility considerations into IT processes (IXXB)

OCIO conducts regular accessibility reviews of software and web applications and then includes results 

of these reviews as a regular part of the weekly EARB evaluation process for software acceptance. 

In addition, OCIO reviews any work statements that contain IT-related procurements to ensure that 

language requiring Section 508 compliance is included in these SOWs. OCIO also maintains an Assistive 

Technology program, which houses the Section 508 Coordinator and 508 Compliance Testing Team. This 

team provides ongoing testing of web and software applications under consideration for procurement 

by the Department/EDUCATE. Additionally, it also provides technical assistance to any Department and 

vendor staff, upon request, to ensure that Section 508 concerns are properly considered and 

incorporated into the development and procurement processes. The team also provides assistance to 

the respective stakeholders on issues that do not meet the standards of Section 508 (i.e., technical 

standards interpretation, proper testing processes, equivalent facilitation, Section 508 exceptions and

remediation strategies for web sites and software applications.)

OCIO, along with the Office of the Undersecretary and the Training and Development Center (TDC), also 

provides regular review, training and technical assistance on the development and remediation of Word, 

PDF, PowerPoint and Excel documents so that they meet the Department’s requirements for accessible 

document design (published in 2012.) This accessibility enhancement initiative is aimed at meeting the 

Department’s requirements for accessible design, and it continuously moves the Department toward

the goal of ensuring that all documents posted on Department websites are accessible to and usable by 

individuals with disabilities.

Building upon the success of this endeavor, the Department is serving as a co-chair for a Community of 

Practice sponsored by the CIO Council Committee on Accessibility. This Community of Practice is 
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bringing together document accessibility experts from federal agencies to unify accessibility 

requirements for documents across all agencies, so that agencies will utilize the same set of 

requirements for their staff and vendors who must prepare documents for posting and dissemination. 

Building workforce skills to support and enforce Section 508 requirements (IXXC)

Training on how to incorporate accessible document design into the day-to-day work process is

currently being provided through the TDC on a regular basis to all Department staff. This is making a 

significant difference as an increasing number of documents produced by the POCs are being made 

accessible as a routine part of their production. 

In addition, the Assistive Technology Team has held numerous training sessions for Department staff on 

a variety of topics, including the Section 508 standards, the document accessibility initiative, and 

accessible web design. The team has also conducted needs assessment awareness days, to familiarize 

staff with their rights to receive assistive technology, which will assist in reducing or eliminating 

functional limitations they experience in the workplace. 

The Office of Management and Budget has established a semi-annual reporting mechanism to track the 

implementation of Section 508 across the Federal arena. We are providing data in response to this 

request, as we continue to maximize our efforts in the area of 508 implementation.

The Dashboard covers such areas as: the presence of Section 508 testing and life cycle processes, the 

inclusion of Section 508 language in procurements, the provision of 508-related training to stakeholders

throughout the Department, and the Section 508 compliance of agency software, web sites, multimedia 

presentations, and documents.
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6 List of Figures

Figure 1: IRM Strategic Plan Goals................................................................................................................6

Figure 2: Segment Alignment to Department Strategic Goals....................................................................12

Figure 3: Principal Office and Segment Engagement..................................................................................13

Figure 4: The Department’s Access Anywhere Model................................................................................30

Figure 5: Proposed Enterprise Technology Platform..................................................................................34

Figure 6: The Governance Process at the Department...............................................................................47

7 List of Tables

Table 1: Department of Education Strategic Goals.......................................................................................7

Table 2: Department of Education Strategic Goals and Strategic Objectives...............................................8

Table 3: The Department’s 13 Segments....................................................................................................10

Table 4: Current Delivery of Services..........................................................................................................25

Table 5: Common Enabling Services...........................................................................................................32

Table 6: Proposed Technology Solutions....................................................................................................34

Table 7: Current Cloud Services..................................................................................................................37

Table 8: TIC Milestones...............................................................................................................................41

Table 9: Internal IPv6 Transition Activities .................................................................................................44