FY 2009 Report to Congress on

the Implementation of

The E-Government Act of 2002

April 15, 2010
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Table of Contents

Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 4

Section I: Cost Savings and Avoidance Highlights........................................................................ 5

Section II: Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration.......................................................... 10

A. Major Transparency Initiatives............................................................................................ 10

B. Public Engagement Platforms.............................................................................................. 27

C. Open Government Innovations Gallery ............................................................................... 47

D. Democratizing Data ............................................................................................................. 53

Section III: Information and Information Technology Management ........................................... 58

A. The IT Dashboard ................................................................................................................ 58

B. TechStat................................................................................................................................ 63

C. Enterprise Architecture and Investment Planning................................................................ 64

D. Compliance with FOIA, Section 508, Agencies’ Research and Development Activities, 

Formal Agency Agreements, and NARA Record Schedules ................................................. 102

Section IV: E-Government Initiatives ........................................................................................ 163

Section V: E-Government Fund.................................................................................................. 238

Section VI: IT Workforce ........................................................................................................... 239
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ABOUT THIS REPORT

This is the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) seventh annual progress report on 

implementation of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107-347; Dec. 17, 2002) (the “EGovernment Act”) as required by 44 USC 3606. This report describes activities completed in 

fiscal year (FY) 2009, and is among a series of reports produced by OMB to describe the 

Administration’s use of E-Government principles to improve government performance and the 

delivery of information and services to the public.

Most prominent among these other reports are:

1. The 2010 “Report to Congress on the Benefits of the E-Government Initiatives,”

describing the economic value of multi-agency and cross-government E-Government 

activities; and 

2. OMB’s FY 2009 report, “Federal Information Security Management Act,” describing 

agency privacy programs, including compliance with section 208 of the E-Government 

Act of 2002. 

This report comprises six sections. Section I outlines agency implementation with OMB priority 

initiatives for FY 2009 and their intentions to advance these initiatives in FY 2010. Section II is 

comprised of agency transparency, participation, and collaboration initiatives. Section III 

describes agency information and information technology efforts to include investment 

management on the IT Dashboard, TechStat sessions, enterprise architecture (EA) and capital 

planning, and certain technical requirements of the E-Government Act. Section IV discusses the 

government’s efforts over the past year to implement electronic government initiatives. Section 

V describes the operations conducted with the appropriations of the E-Government Fund.

This report, other reports referenced here, and OMB’s prior reports on implementation of the EGovernment Act (i.e., for FY 2003 through FY 2008) are available on OMB’s website and have 

been provided to the Government Printing Office for distribution to Federal Depository 

Libraries. The reader is encouraged to refer to all of them for a complete picture of past, current, 

and planned Administration efforts. 
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Introduction

Twenty years ago, people working for the Federal Government had access to the world’s best 

technology. Today, many Government employees have better technology at home than at work. 

The Federal Government spends tens of billions of dollars annually on information technology 

(IT). However, fragmentation, poor project execution, and the drag of legacy technology have 

prevented the Government from realizing the productivity and performance gains that are found 

when IT is deployed effectively in the private sector. Under the leadership of the Federal Chief 

Information Officer (CIO), the Administration will continue its efforts to close the gap in 

effective technology use between the private and public sectors. The Administration will 

continue to streamline operations, transform customer service, and maximize the return on 

investment from information technology.

In its first year in office, the Obama Administration leveraged the power of information 

technology to transform the Federal Government. Starting on his first full day in office, the 

President led this effort by issuing a directive to make the Government more open and 

transparent. The Administration engaged the American people in new ways such as virtual town 

hall meetings and improved the quality of the services delivered to the public. Key initiatives 

demonstrate the commitment to changing the way Government works:

• In May 2009, Data.gov was launched to enhance access to Federal data. Since then, the 

site has grown to contain over 167,000 datasets and tools for using the data. After the 

Environmental Protection Agency toxic release data was featured on Data.gov, the 

frequency of downloads of that data increased over tenfold.

• In June 2009, the IT Dashboard was implemented to provide unprecedented transparency 

into $78 billion in annual Federal spending on IT investments. Agency CIOs now review 

the IT Dashboard monthly to provide updated status information on major IT investments 

more frequently than ever before.

• In September 2009, Apps.gov was launched to provide Federal agencies easy access to 

new cloud computing and social media technologies. This enabled agencies to transform 

their computing services quickly and avoid months of delay and redundant effort.

• In October 2009, a new platform, CyberScope, was launched to streamline the annual 

security reporting workload and improved the ability to analyze and report on IT security 

across the Federal Government.

• In December 2009, OMB issued the Open Government Directive instructing all agencies 

to implement the principles of transparency, participation and collaboration set forth by 

the President.

These efforts demonstrate that the Federal Government can implement new technology to solve 

old problems quickly and cost-effectively. The subsequent sections of this report provide 

excerpts from the individual agency reports in response to OMB’s inquiries into the information 

and information technology activities at those agencies. Going forward, the Administration is 

committed to building on these efforts to leverage the power of technology to transform the 

Government and meet its responsibilities to manage IT resources with a bold new strategy to 

guide the Federal enterprise.
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Section I: Cost Savings and Avoidance Highlights

As the President stated on February 1, 2010, the Federal Government is committed to 

“eliminating what we don’t need, and making the programs we do need more efficient.” The 

Obama Administration is committed to making the Government work better for the American 

people and be more responsive to their needs. The Government will get rid of waste and 

inefficiency that bloats our deficits and squanders the taxpayers’ hard earned dollars. The 

Administration will accomplish this by revamping outdated information technology that 

undermines our efficiency, threatens our security, and fails to serve the public’s interests. This 

section highlights excerpts from agency reports describing how new IT initiatives helped to 

provide both cost savings in the present and cost avoidance over time. 

Department of Education (Education)

The Grants Electronic Monitoring System (GEMS) program office has estimated that the 

Department will save over $485,000 annually beginning in FY2011 by replacing the paper-based 

recordkeeping method for the Offices of Postsecondary Education and Elementary and 

Secondary Education. These savings will increase as this system is rolled out to additional 

offices across the Department. Eliminating paper archival storage alone is estimated to save an 

estimated $227,000 annually. E- Folders will also improve staff productivity by saving an 

estimated 7,360 staff hours annually (approximately 3.5 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE)) in the 

areas of processing official grant documentation and responding to information requests.

Department of Energy (DOE)

As a result of the OCIO A-76 implementation, the IT Operations Program has experienced 

roughly $160 million in cost savings and cost avoidance from inception in FY2006 to date. The 

projected costs to perform the IT functions prior to the A-76 implementation were about $621 

million. The actual costs incurred were nearly $329 million and $133 million in costs were 

eliminated for work not performed.

Department of the Interior (DOI)

Immediate cost savings are achieved by eliminating the requirement of Federal Agencies to print 

out electronic records to paper. This reduction or elimination has multiple savings points, as 

identified below:

• The cost reduction of the paper for the printed documents.

• The cost reduction of the ink for the printed documents.

• The cost reduction of the storage (measured in shelf space).

• The cost reduction in searching for documents responsive to data requests.

• The cost reduction in exercising disposition of records.

Initial studies indicate that email storage space costs can be reduced by 50% through better 

electronic records management. Additional savings can be attained through leveraging these 

savings and procedures with other programs. Electronic transmission of responses to data 

requests would reduce response time and reduce postage costs. The implementation of new IT 

programs results in immediate satisfaction to citizens’ requests for information because they 

can immediately print out all responsive documents. 
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The Department of the Treasury

The following ten IT optimization initiatives are the basis of Treasury’s projected cost savings 

for IT: 

1. Data Center Consolidation 6. Treasury Network (TNET) Migration

2. Enterprise Licenses 7. Virtualization

3. Contract Optimization 8. Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)

4. Cloud Computing 9. Single sign-on/Personal Identity Verification (PIV)

5. Open Source 10. Power Management/Electronic Stewardship

As of December 17, 2009, the Department’s IT Optimization Team tentatively identified 

projected cost savings of over $199 million for FY 2010 through FY 2013.

Department of State (DOS)

All of the Department’s new IT programs are cost-effective initiatives that employ open source 

technologies and Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) products to the maximum extent possible. 

Many of these programs are incurring minimal outlays for hardware, software, labor, training, 

and travel costs. In addition, the Department has increased the alignment of IT investments with 

its diplomatic mission and is effectively leveraging Web 2.0 technology to respond to its 

changing demands. 

Regarding the specific Knowledge Leadership initiatives of the Office of eDiplomacy that are 

highlighted in the report, these initiatives are very cost-effective programs that adapt primarily 

open source, Web 2.0 technologies for use within the Department’s intranet and affiliated 

networks. State is greatly expanding the reach of these programs to significantly improve 

collaboration and effectiveness, thereby reducing the units costs associated with executing these 

programs. In terms of costs to implement, in 2009 State invested approximately $1,000 to 

purchase new software needed to deploy The Sounding Board. In terms of cost avoidance, The 

Sounding Board eliminated chaotic and time-consuming surveys on suggestions of “how to make 

the Department of State a better place.” The Virtual Student Foreign Service Program incurred 

no increased costs to implement, as it is managed via existing FTE resources and leverages open 

source technologies in order to add value and empower U.S. diplomacy. This Secretary of State 

initiated program utilizes U.S. college student volunteers who work closely with American 

embassies around the world to expand diplomatic outreach and engagement. And, regarding cost 

avoidance, this virtual, volunteer program eliminates the need for resources that would otherwise 

have been required to fund the salaries, travel and a host of other expense associated with 

traditional, non-virtual internship programs for this outreach purpose. 

Another new IT program in 2009 was the Department’s initiative to consolidate major data 

centers. This program is a prime example of our efforts to achieve program efficiencies and cost 

savings. This effort will result in two primary, domestic data center facilities for the 

Department’s needs, one on the East Coast and one in the Western U.S. In addition, we are 

working closely with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to 

support USAID’s need for an alternate data center. The Department and USAID have planned a 
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joint implementation, which will result in USAID’s installation in the Department’s East Coast 

data center in FY 2010.

The Data Center Consolidation Program will increase the availability of the Department’s critical 

business systems and reduce overall risk to the enterprise. Assuming 100% participation across 

the Department in this consolidation initiative, the Department anticipates achieving a minimum 

of $20 million in cost avoidance. The status quo would require a greater investment to modernize 

legacy data centers because they are currently out of space and power and do not provide the 

reliability required to support the Department’s diplomatic and consular mission.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Through EPA’s Computer Room Server and Storage Management Initiative, the agency plans 

over the next year to deliver email to its 25,000 email clients via an internal cloud. This cloud 

will deliver email service via four service centers in strategic locations. The anticipated cost 

avoidance of this initiative will result from a reduction in storage costs by consolidating email 

hosting. This cost avoidance depends on full implementation of the initiative in FY2011. The one 

time estimated cost avoidance is $800,000 beginning in late FY2011 to early FY2012.

The following table describes the targeted reductions for email in terms of locations, servers and 

storage:

Element Current State Future State

Computer 

Rooms 

45 large and small 

rooms

4 large computer centers

Email Servers 182 servers 20 servers (89% reduction)

Storage 81 Terabytes (TB) 33.8 TB (58% reduction)

General Services Administration (GSA)

GSA’s new IT programs are Data.gov and USAspending.gov. 

• Data.gov was able, in the first phase, to take advantage of an existing GSA contract 

which enabled the ambitious launch date of May 21, 2009, and payment for service "as 

used" rather than acquiring too little or excess capacity. The continuation of cloud 

computing is being renegotiated for a second phase within the $3 million allotted for 

Data.gov. 

• USAspending.gov will provide costs savings through economies of scales as the 

Administration provides more dashboards that visualize Government performance. This 

robust platform will support additional dashboards that otherwise would cost 

approximately $1 million if each were to be developed and hosted separately. With eight 

domain dashboards that are expected, and annual hosting costs of $400,000, the savings 

are approximately $20 million over 5 years. It also promotes innovation and service

sharing through “Measured Payment” (i.e., payment per usage of resources). It enables 

cost avoidance and reinvestment opportunity for core mission objectives. Finally, it 

provides for the addition of other Federal websites in the future to the cloud environment.
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

In FY 2009, NRC successfully implemented the eTravel system, a Presidential Priority Initiative 

under OMB’s E-Gov program. eTravel provides a common, automated, and integrated approach 

to manage the travel function of the Federal Government’s civilian agencies. Over the 4-year 

period ending in FY 2013, NRC’s projected cost avoidance and cost saving through its use of 

eTravel is $1.6 million dollars.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

OPM recently established a multi-year Enterprise License Agreement for the Adaptable Data 

Base System (ADABAS) with flat-line maintenance payments resulting in a cost savings 

of $1.32 million. This agreement established an end date coordinated with the decommissioning 

of the Personnel Investigations Processing System (PIPS) and the move to the replacement 

system, the Electronic Information Privacy Center (EPIC), which will eliminate reliance on 

ADABAS in favor of a much less costly product.

This action was completed immediately prior to an approximately 10% cost increase for 

ADABAS. Other enterprise-wide license agreements for Microsoft products have resulted in a 

$3.2 million cost savings.

The Human Resources Line of Business (HR LOB) cost benefit analysis reflects the savings 

realized by the Federal Government as agencies migrate their legacy HR and payroll systems to 

HR Shared Service Centers (SSCs) or payroll providers. The current net present value for total 

cost savings and cost avoidance related to the HR LOB amounts to over $1.37 billion over a ten 

year period from FY 2005 through FY 2015. The cost benefit analysis also identifies additional 

benefits and considerations, which increase the current net present value of the total savings to 

over $3.4 billion. Additionally, the HR LOB initiative will continue to generate approximately 

$200 million in cost savings annually after FY 2015. 

The findings from the HR LOB cost benefit analysis support the HR LOB’s overall vision and 

specific goal to achieve cost savings and cost avoidance. Information collected from the agencies 

anecdotally also supports the other three HR LOB goals of improved management, operational 

efficiencies, and customer service. 

The cost benefit analysis also reinforces the importance of cross-agency collaboration to the 

success of any government-wide initiative such as the HR LOB. The HR LOB could not have 

completed its recent revision to the original cost benefit analysis without the time and effort 

expended by the Federal agencies to validate existing information, provide additional content, 

and clarify and discuss their HR investments in multiple detailed conversations over the past 

year.

The results and findings from the revised cost benefit analysis go beyond merely supporting the 

HR LOB as an initiative. The findings also support agencies making the business case to senior 

management with respect to their legacy HR systems, including migration to a SSC. Agencies 

can adopt a similar approach to the methodology as a means to estimating cost savings and cost 

avoidance and share the overall results from the cost benefit analysis to support their case for 
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migration. The cost benefit analysis can also be leveraged by the SSCs and payroll providers as 

the basis for requesting and justifying funding to upgrade and modernize their systems. 
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Section II: Transparency, Participation, and Collaboration

A. Major Transparency Initiatives

Transparency promotes accountability and provides information for citizens about what their 

Government is doing. Information maintained by the Federal Government is a national asset. On 

January 21, 2009, in his first memorandum in office, President Obama directed executive 

departments and agencies to harness new technologies to put information about their operations 

and decisions online and readily available to the public. In the spirit of the President’s vision, the 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) asked agencies to describe major transparency 

initiatives undertaken in the past year and major transparency initiatives planned for the coming 

year.

Department of Commerce (DOC)

CommerceConnect (http://www.commerceconnect.gov/) is a DOC initiative launched in October 

2009 to make businesses more competitive and create jobs by bringing all of the Department's 

services together under one roof. It enhances transparency and open government by expanding 

the availability and reach of Commerce services to businesses of all sizes, including sole 

proprietorships. At its pilot location outside Detroit, MI, CommerceConnect is focused on 

integrating DOC programs to help businesses at every point of their life cycle. Ultimately, the 

CommerceConnect initiative aims to create a virtual "one-stop shop" for information, 

counseling, and government services that can help U.S. businesses around the country transform 

themselves into globally competitive enterprises. 

DOC launched a Twitter account in an effort to connect with Americans from all walks of life, 

especially U.S. businesses and entrepreneurs that use the microblogging service. 

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) developed the first-ever Congressional web page and 

added it to www.bea.gov in order to provide lawmakers with even more accessible economic 

statistics that can be used to track the economic health of states and localities across the U.S. 

These statistics, which are now more accessible than ever, can be used to make key policy 

decisions to improve national, state, and local economies. BEA also initiated a series of new 

Media Advisories that provide advance notice to media across the country about upcoming 

economic news releases from BEA. These advisories describe the topic of the upcoming news 

release, provide examples of how these economic statistics can be used, and direct the advisory 

recipients to BEA’s interactive web pages where the data can fully be explored and analyzed.

In October 2009, the Census Bureau launched the Director’s Blog; Dr. Groves speaks to visitors 

about how the Census Bureau is preparing for specific activities and the Census Bureau’s value 

and importance to communities across the nation. Readers are given opportunities to comment 

on these articles. This information exchange (blogs.census.gov/2010census/) also helps the 

Census Bureau dispel myths about the program with factual information. The Census Bureau has 

initiated social media channels to allow the public to interact with agency staff in new ways and 

share Census Bureau content. The director has started a blog and The Agency has been using 

Twitter as a micro-blogging platform. The Twitter account has nearly 600 followers thus far. As 

users begin to communicate with the agency through these social media channels, the Census 

Bureau will be able to see common trends in areas of interest to the public.
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FY 2010 Commerce Transparency Initiatives

As the public’s primary online point of entry into National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) Climate Services, the Climate Portal (www.climate.gov) will be a 

central component in the agency’s climate communications, education, extension, outreach, and 

professional development strategy. The Portal will have audience-focused sections designed to 

serve four key segments of society: (1) decision makers and policy leaders; (2) scientists and 

applications-oriented data users; (3) educators; and (4) business users and the public. The 

Climate Portal will provide easily accessible, user-friendly climate data and information in forms 

and formats targeted to meet the needs of key stakeholder communities. Recent developments in 

Web-based technologies make it possible for NOAA to present both existing data and new 

products in formats that are readily usable by decision-makers in government agencies and 

businesses (e.g., geospatial tools that enable resource managers to place information on impacts 

and affected resources in a place-based context relevant to planning or permitting).

In Phase 1 (concluding at the end of FY10), the Portal will contain: (1) a main home page as 

primary point of entry; (2) the climate science magazine for outreach to the public; and (3) an 

initial “Data & Services” section for data users with a subset of NOAA’s catalog of climate data 

and services. The Portal is seen as a means of engaging NOAA’s audiences. Guided by users’ 

requests and audience engagements, NOAA will use new Web technologies to serve climate data 

and products in formats that are readily usable by public users and decision makers. NOAA’s 

plan is to grow and evolve the Portal’s scope, product content, and functionality based upon user 

engagement. User feedback on products and services available through the Portal will also 

provide important insights into user applications and climate information needs that can help 

guide the future evolution of NOAA climate services.

Phases 2 and 3 (FY11 and beyond) will expand the Portal’s scope to work more extensively with 

NOAA’s external partners (government, private, and non-profit) to help host and serve their 

Web-based data, information and services in support of a government-wide national climate 

service enterprise with participation of numerous Federal agencies as well as partners in the 

academic community and private sector.

NOAA’s 20th Century Historical Climate Reanalysis Project

This project uses a 3-D globally-complete climate model as well as available weather 

observations to produce output fields of weather variables four times daily, ranging from 1871 to 

the present. Using what have been sparse datasets of observations, the project is able to 

"reconstruct" past weather and fill in missing data values over the globe. This data will be 

available via Web-based, interactive plotting pages as well as via downloadable files. In addition 

to generating plots, users will be able to conduct basic data analysis, download data subsets, and 

obtain the data in Google Earth format, allowing easy visualization using the Google Earth 

application.

Currently, the data are available at NOAA’s Earth Systems Research Laboratory/Physical 

Sciences Division, but only in 'grib' format, a format that is extremely hard to read and is not 

available for online plotting and analysis. The complete dataset itself is well over 4 Terabytes; 

examining even parts of it can use enormous space and computing resources. By enabling the 

public to work with the data and data products online, NOAA will enable users to examine past 
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weather and climate events in detail in a way that has never before been possible. Version 1 of 

the project is available today at www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/data/20thC_Rean/. However, it is limited 

to the years 1908-1958 and does not include the interactive plotting tools described above. 

Version 2 is currently under development. NOAA expects that data and online plotting tools for 

1891 to the present to be available online in the third quarter of FY2010.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

The Enhancement to the Patent Maintenance Fee Events Data project will make patent fee data 

available in machine-readable form for the first time. In the first quarter of FY 2010, the USPTO 

plans to make available to the public a new machine-readable online product—Patent 

Maintenance Fee Events. Patent Maintenance Fee information has previously been available only 

via interactive patent application retrieval from the USPTO Public PAIR system. This data has 

been frequently requested by USPTO data customers and will be the first machine-readable raw 

data from the USPTO Public PAIR system. Another new initiative, Expansion of Patent 

Bibliographic Data, will upgrade existing mechanisms for training users on Intellectual Property 

Rights (IPR). USPTO is developing an outsourcing model for public e-learning opportunities to 

globally educate and train the public on intellectual property, patents, and trademarks. USPTO is 

identifying better search tools and it is re-architecting application management systems to 

improve applicants’ electronic business experience with 24/7 capability. In addition to the 

USPTO datasets already available on www.data.gov, USPTO is working with the public to 

identify mechanisms to quickly expand public access to more USPTO data. (Source: 

www.commerce.gov/NewsRoom/PressReleases_FactSheets/PROD01_008692)

Department of Defense (DOD)

The DoDTechipedia Suite of Services was developed to accelerate innovation, enhance 

awareness of new technologies, and foster collaboration among the Department of Defense 

Science and Technology community, the military services, combatant commands, government,

and industry. A more open and innovative capability development process will assist in 

supporting the mission requirements and the needs of the warfighter. The DoDTechipedia Suite 

of Services helps to deploy superior capabilities faster, more efficiently, and more costeffectively while lowering the taxpayer expense. DoDTechipedia and its family of services, 

including the Industry Outreach and Partnership, were showcased by the White House on the 

Open Government Innovations Gallery (for using wikis to rapidly deliver technology innovations 

to the military). This tool was used to engage the public in numerous activities, including the 

Web 2.0 policy development and soliciting feedback from the public. 

DoDTechipedia Limited: DoDTechipedia Limited (unclassified) is the internal wiki for the 

Department, designed to increase communication and collaboration among scientists, engineers, 

program managers and operational warfighters. (www.dodtechipedia.mil) 

DoDTechipedia Classified: DoDTechipedia Classified is housed on the Secret Internet Protocol 

Router Network (SIPRNet), but works very similarly to the Limited version while allowing users 

to hold more open discussions of capability gaps in a secure environment. 

(www.dodtechipedia.mil/index.html)
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Department of Education (Education)

The Department of Education has undertaken the following transparency initiatives in the past 

year: 

• Posting videos and transcripts of stakeholder meetings: 

http://www.ed.gov/news/events/forum.html

• Posting transcripts and audio recordings of conference calls, for example: 

www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/05/05072009a.html and 

www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/06/06302009.html

• Posting meeting presentations, for example: http://www.ed.gov/programs/racetothetopassessment/index.html

• Posting reports of contacts with lobbyists: 

www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/disclosure.html

The Department plans to undertake the following: 

• The Department is building capacity to gather feedback more systematically and to 

improve group writing and editing by developing a robust infrastructure to support 

bulletin boards and wikis;

• The agency is providing internal offices with a more flexible technical infrastructure for 

posting news and information about conferences, papers, guidance, and resources;

• The agency is developing a streamlined and more efficient way of keeping Web 

information up to date on Department programs.

Department of Energy (DOE)

The Department of Energy (DOE) has undertaken two major transparency initiatives:

• The Open Energy Information Platform (www.openEI.org) - As part of its efforts to 

promote clean energy technologies nationally and globally, DOE has launched an opensource platform that will make DOE resources and open energy data widely available to 

the public. In coordination with the National Laboratories, DOE will open access to a 

collection of energy technology information that is free, editable, and evolving that can 

be used by government officials, the private sector, project developers, and others to help 

deploy clean energy technologies across the country and around the world.

• National Assets Program (www.data.gov/list/nationalassets) - DOE is contributing 

various tools and datasets for the National Assets program being undertaken by a group 

of six departments and agencies across the Federal Government. This information will 

help innovators find the information they need and receive real-time updates, which can 

fuel entrepreneurial momentum, create new jobs, and strengthen economic growth.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

There are many E-Gov initiatives that are designed to increase government transparency for the 

public. For example, E-Rulemaking and Grants.gov provide public facing websites designed to 

provide the public with Federal Government information. The E-Rulemaking initiative hosts the 

website www.Regulations.gov, a front-end Web application that posts and allows comments on 

proposed Federal agency rules. Grants.gov creates a single portal for all Federal grant customers 

to find, apply for, and manage grants online. 
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Additionally, the DHS Recovery Act Coordination office tracks, on an individual basis, the 

progress of Recovery funded grants from initial guidance through award and financial 

performance. All of the award data is posted to the DHS public website and to the Recovery 

Accountability and Transparency Board on a real-time basis. This information is then passed on 

to the USAspending.gov website. 

The Department has also provided considerable input to the IT Dashboard, sharing the 

investment, planning, and performance information for the existing 79 major IT programs across 

all components of DHS. The Department’s IT Dashboard compliance ensures that the public has 

insight into the performance of major IT investments and holds DHS more accountable for the 

success of these investments. DHS will continue to provide timely updates to the IT Dashboard 

and will work collaboratively with other agencies to identify ways to improve and enhance the 

effectiveness of the IT Dashboard in promoting government transparency.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Recognizing the importance of innovation as a mission enabler, the HHS Secretary and Deputy 

Secretary established a plan to promote innovation that focuses on facilitating, accelerating, and 

celebrating innovation across HHS.

A Department-wide Innovation Council has been established, chartered as an official 

administrative advisory body of the Office of the Secretary, co-chaired by HHS’s Chief 

Technology Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration, and composed of representatives 

from each of the operating and staff divisions of HHS.

At the Council’s first meeting in January 2010, it began to examine how Web 2.0 technologies 

can be leveraged to collaborate with external experts on key issues and participate with partners 

to improve service delivery and enhance program effectiveness through data transparency and 

information sharing.

Information Streaming, IdeaLab, and the YouTube “Know What to Do About the Flu and 

Prevention” Public Service Announcement (PSA) Contest are three examples of HHS 

implementing the President’s three principles for promoting a transparent and open government: 

transparency, participation, and collaboration.

• Information streaming of HHS biomedical research innovation, part of the National 

Assets for High-Tech Economic Growth commitment, uses new Web technology to 

provide real time access to information on technologies available for licensing from the 

National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 

intramural laboratories and NIH Cooperative Research and Development Agreement 

opportunities. Access to this and similar information from other Federal laboratories on 

www.data.gov will enhance user-driven innovation.

• IdeaLab is an innovative Web-based peer-to-peer program that serves as a clearinghouse 

for collaborative networking for employees of the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC). IdeaLab is open and transparent. Anyone working at CDC can post an 

idea or request help with a project, and then other CDC employees can post their 

comments, solutions, and similar experiences. IdeaLab does not, however, allow 
15

anonymous postings or comments, because doing so would be contrary to the intent of 

creating the site, which is to promote transparency, participation, and collaboration.

• The YouTube “Know What to Do About the Flu and Prevention” public service 

announcement contest encouraged populations most vulnerable to the H1N1 flu virus, 

young teens and adults, to take proactive actions such as washing your hands and getting 

a flu shot. The contest provided a venue to encourage families and students to get 

involved and reached a large audience via creative outlet and humor on a serious subject. 

More than 250 videos were submitted for review. Subject matter experts selected ten 

finalists. The public then voted to select the overall winner. The winning announcement

was featured on national television. Other runner-up announcements are being aired on a 

number of national media outlets and can be viewed on www.flu.gov.

Additional Examples:

• HHS has developed a new Recipient Readiness Tool that publicly posts all Recovery Act 

grant award data to the HHS web site to afford recipients the ability to view and copy

Recovery Act data for FederalReporting.gov recipient reports. This tool updates 

Recovery Act grant award data on a daily basis to provide recipients with greater 

transparency of HHS Recovery Act grant spending. It also supports improved data 

quality reviews and processes for agencies and recipients. 

• HHS is currently redesigning its Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System

public web-site to support best practices in transparency web-site reporting including 

enhancements and improvements to the current look, feel, and usability of the site, as 

well as new applications to solicit public feedback and support the transfer of real-time 

messaging. HHS anticipates the launch of this new site in March 2010.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD’s major FY 2009 transparency initiatives are:

• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) Section 1512 

(FederalReporting.gov): The cornerstone of the Recovery Act’s emphasis on 

transparency has been the government-wide recipient reporting in FederalReporting.gov. 

To facilitate this effort, HUD has worked extensively with recipients to provide training 

and to address questions and concerns. Guidance documents, training videos, a job 

counting calculator, frequently asked questions, and other documents have been routinely 

maintained at www.hud.gov/recovery/reporting. Additionally, webcasts and conference 

calls have been held with grantees across HUD’s nine Recovery Act programs. HUD also 

created a Recovery Reporting Call Center, accessible by phone or e-mail, to address 

grantee questions and concerns. HUD has also collaborated with other agencies and with 

OMB to improve FederalReporting.gov, to clarify guidance, and to coordinate 

communication with stakeholders.

• HUD’s Recovery Act Management and Performance System (RAMPS) is a new, webbased reporting system providing better access to key information on HUD’s Recovery 

Act awards to serve the crucial goals of transparency and accountability in ARRA. 

Through RAMPS, HUD’s Recovery Act recipients report on the status of their 

environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act. This information is 

then provided to the Council on Environmental Quality for publication. Additionally, 
16

RAMPS collects information on recipient “core activities,” such as housing units built or 

rehabilitated, energy efficiency improvements, and clients served. This information 

facilitates better management, problem-solving, and communication between HUD and 

award recipients.

HUD remains committed to transparency and accountability and has undertaken a transformation 

initiative that will:

• Provide a systematic and cross-cutting approach to transformation;

• Build a foundation of current data on performance, as well as reliable evidence about 

program and policy results; 

• Test new program approaches in a carefully structured and rigorously evaluated manner; 

• Diffuse innovation and support state and local partners in using public resources 

effectively; and 

• Upgrade technology and link data to prevent waste, inform program managers, and 

stimulate high performance.

As a part of its transformation initiative, HUD recently launched a website that allows both 

internal and external stakeholders an opportunity to contribute real-time feedback to improve the 

Department. Stakeholders are able to submit ideas through an interactive website called “HUD 

Ideas in Action” (http://hudideasinaction.uservoice.com). This is an opportunity for employees to 

contribute day-to-day insights about what works well at HUD and what can be improved. 

Additionally, it will be a resource for HUD’s partners to share their insights as well. Once an 

idea has been posted, anyone can vote and comment on which ideas are best. “HUD Ideas in 

Action” is reviewed daily and the ideas that receive the most votes and comments are assessed 

for possible implementation.

Department of the Interior (DOI)

Data.gov: The Data.gov project team is led by the Office of Management and Budget in close 

cooperation with the DOI and Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) CIOs and supported by 

team members from DOI, EPA, and General Services Administration. Data.gov is a citizenfriendly platform that provides access to Federal datasets. With a searchable data catalog, 

Data.gov helps the public find, access, and download non-sensitive Government data and tools in 

a variety of formats. Data.gov is an important part of the Open Government Initiative that 

increases the ability of the public to easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated 

and held by the Federal Government.

In response to the President’s January 21, 2009, memoranda on the Freedom of Information Act 

(FOIA) and on Transparency and Open Government and the Attorney General’s March 19, 2009,

memorandum on FOIA, DOI’s FOIA Office has been working with its bureaus and offices to 

improve transparency in DOI and encourage discretionary and proactive disclosures of 

information where appropriate. DOI has enhanced employee awareness of the Administration’s 

policies through various briefings, training sessions, and memoranda sent to all employees in 

July and to assistant secretaries and heads of bureaus in August 2009.

Employees have been made aware of their responsibilities under the FOIA and advised not to 

withhold information simply because it is technically legal to do so, but rather only when 
17

disclosure would result in a specific harm to an interest protected by one of the nine statutory 

exemptions, e.g., national security, personal privacy, commercial/financial, etc.

Additionally, DOI FOIA staff officials have been collaborating with its Bureaus and Offices to 

identify information of interest to the public and make it available online prior to receiving a 

FOIA request for it, and making the Department’s and Bureaus’ FOIA websites more intuitive 

and customer-focused. The Department will continue its efforts to promote transparency in FY

2010, provide more timely responses to requesters, and reduce its FOIA backlog.

Department of Justice (DOJ)

The Department of Justice continues to use information technology to deliver information to the 

public and to its workforce. In support of the President’s open government agenda, the 

Department has undertaken several initiatives to promote and increase openness and 

transparency in government. Significant efforts include the Department’s lead role in providing 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) guidance to Federal agencies; acting as steward of the funds 

the Department received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; and 

contributing DOJ data to Data.gov. 

To expand on the President’s January 21, 2009, memorandum on FOIA, the Attorney General 

issued comprehensive new FOIA Guidelines on March 19, 2009. These guidelines address the 

presumption of openness that the President called for in his FOIA memorandum, the necessity 

for agencies to create and maintain an effective system for responding to requests, and the need 

for agencies to proactively and promptly make information available to the public. To assist 

agencies in implementing the new FOIA guidelines, the Department’s Office of Information 

Policy (OIP), which is responsible for providing government-wide policy guidance on 

implementation of the FOIA, issued extensive written guidance to all agencies on April 17, 2009; 

OIP also undertook numerous outreach efforts to ensure Federal agencies are fully aware of the 

new FOIA guidelines posted on FOIA Post, the Department’s online FOIA publication. These 

guidelines discuss the new approaches for responding to requests and working with requesters; 

the new, more limited standards for defending agencies when they deny a FOIA request; the new 

requirements to maximize the use of technology to disclose information; the new requirement to 

post information online proactively; and the new accountability requirements for agency Chief 

FOIA Officers. Additionally, the Attorney General directed agency Chief FOIA Officers to 

review “all aspects of their agencies’ FOIA administration” and to report each year to the 

Department of Justice on the steps taken “to improve FOIA operations and facilitate information 

disclosure.” 

As steward of the $4 billion in funds the Department received through the American Recovery 

and Reinvestment Act of 2009, DOJ ensured the funds were expended responsibly and in a 

transparent manner. In February 2009, the Department began reporting on the Recovery.gov 

funds to enhance state, local, and tribal law enforcement efforts, including the hiring of new 

police officers; combating violence against women; fighting internet crimes against children; and 

supporting and expanding Project Gunrunner, an initiative to reduce firearms trafficking on the 

Southwest border. (See www.justice.gov/recovery/ for more details on the DOJ Recovery Act 

programs.) In addition, the Department is working closely with the Office of the Inspector 
18

General as well as the Recovery Accountability Board to ensure that proper internal controls and 

accountability measures are in place for the reporting and spending of the Recovery Act funds.

In May 2009, the Administration launched Data.gov, an initiative intended to allow the public to 

easily find, download, and use datasets that are generated and held by the government. DOJ 

datasets were among those published in the initial launch. At the end of FY 2009, DOJ 

contributions included datasets and tools from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), FBI’s 

Criminal Justice Information Service, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the Executive Office 

of the United States Attorneys. DOJ is in the process of identifying additional high value datasets

to register on Data.gov in FY 2010. 

In December 2009, the Department set a transparency precedent for the rest of the government 

by being the first to release its Annual FOIA Report in a machine readable format. DOJ also 

published on Data.gov the FY 2008 DOJ Annual FOIA Report along with 19 other agencies' 

Annual FOIA Reports. In October 2009, the Department launched the refreshed DOJ website, 

www.justice.gov that incorporated many updated features aimed at providing greater access to 

DOJ information and services while allowing the public to participate and become more 

involved with Department activities. The Department of Justice Action Center box on the 

Justice.gov home page offers the public a quick and easy way to navigate to frequently requested 

Web pages that allow citizens to accomplish many tasks online. Additionally, to further enhance 

its direct communication with the public, DOJ now has a presence on social networking sites 

such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube.

Department of Labor (DOL)

The Department of Labor has undertaken several innovative approaches to promote greater 

transparency in all aspects of its operations and to increase public participation and collaboration 

in policy development. Examples of these initiatives include:

• Improving public participation in DOL rulemaking. A new webpage has been developed 

that provides the public with a central point on DOL’s website where they can learn more 

about the regulatory process in general, specific DOL regulatory activities, and where 

they can have easier access to DOL regulatory material. This new website was unveiled 

with the release of the Fall 2009 Regulatory Plan and Agenda as a live public event 

where the Secretary of Labor conducted a web chat, consisting of a two hour session 

during which she answered questions about DOL’s regulatory agenda that were 

submitted online from the public. This public event also included video testimonials from 

stakeholders for key priority regulations. The website will be updated periodically. The 

initial update will provide DOL stakeholders with information, using social media 

technologies, on the rulemaking process. This will include information on how to get 

involved in the rulemaking process and guidance on how to provide effective comments. 

The site will also provide electronic subscription services to notify the public of news and

events on DOL regulations.

• Document Disclosure Library. DOL is developing a searchable database that will be a 

repository for all of DOL’s research and evaluation outcomes or products. The system 

will also provide an electronic subscription service that notifies the public of newly added 

or recently completed studies. For the first time, the public will have complete access to 
19

DOL’s research and evaluation agenda, outcomes and products. This action will build 

confidence with policymakers and academicians that DOL understands the importance of 

building its research and evaluation capacities. This action will also allow the public to 

determine if DOL is appropriately reviewing and assessing the issues that have the 

greatest potential impact on policy and program development and implementation.

• Tools for America’s Job Seekers Challenge. DOL recently invited the workforce 

development system to participate in the Tools for America’s Job Seekers Challenge. The 

Challenge utilizes crowd-sourcing to allow jobseekers and workforce development 

professionals to provide their recommendations and comments on job search and career 

advancement tools. This effort seeks to identify useful job-related online tools that can be 

made available through the national network of One Stop Career Centers.

• Keeping America’s Workers Out of Harm’s Way. For the first time, the Department of 

Labor is systematically publishing employer-specific information about occupational 

fatalities online. Employers with reported fatalities will have an incentive to take 

proactive steps to improve safety and prevent future accidents. In addition, responsible 

employers will be able to utilize the database to identify dangerous conditions and take 

precautions.

• Searchable Enforcement Database. One of DOL’s major open government initiatives will 

be to post on the Internet all of the Department’s enforcement and compliance data, 

which are legally permissible to share with the public. The goal is to develop a searchable 

database that allows the public to search for DOL enforcement and compliance activity 

across all DOL agencies. The first phase of this project will be made available to the 

public in the second quarter of FY2010.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

DOT continues to expand transparency in Government through web-based applications, 

including participating in the Data.gov initiative, a public-facing, government-wide access point 

to Federal data sources. Currently, DOT has ten datasets posted on the Data.gov website. As part 

of the Open Government Initiative, DOT is actively working to supply additional datasets for 

public use. DOT has been an active participant in the data.gov initiative and will continue to be 

engaged in the Open Government and Data.gov Initiatives.

On October 16, 2008, the Passenger Rail Improvement and Investment Act was enacted. This 

Act required that a Preliminary National Rail Plan be developed within a year. Initial face-toface outreach was completed with a diverse cross-section of stakeholders, including Federal and 

state government, industry, and the public. As the Federal Railroad Administration moves to 

develop the National Railroad Plan, based on the foundation laid by the preliminary plan, 

extensive outreach is will be conducted using webinars, web-enabled phone conferences, a 

docket, and face-to-face working groups as necessary.

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

(ARRA), which provided an $8 billion down payment to jump-start a High-speed Intercity 

Passenger Rail (HSIPR) network. The Federal Railroad Administration conducted extensive 

outreach to include stakeholders in the development of the HSIPR Guidance. Outreach sessions 

were held in seven cities around the country and attended by over 1,100 people. The citizen and 

industry feedback received during the outreach sessions provided valuable insight to inform the 
20

development of the HSIPR Guidance. Outreach continued throughout the HSIPR application 

process with weekly web-enabled phone conferences with DOT stakeholders. Regular and 

consistent engagement with relevant stakeholders instilled confidence in the application process 

and enabled this fast-moving program to be fine-tuned “on-the-fly” to meet ARRA objectives 

and stakeholder concerns. Additionally, a docket was opened on Regulations.gov to provide an 

alternative forum for stakeholder input.

Department of the Treasury (Treasury)

The Department implemented a number of transparency initiatives in support of the President’s 

goal for a more open and transparent government. The Department expanded the use of the 

Internet, not only to provide information, but as a venue to encourage the exchange of ideas 

between consumers and their government. The following initiatives are representative of the 

Department’s activities:

The Office of Financial Stability established the FinancialStability.gov website; a major 

transparency initiative that provides consumers with information on the nation’s plans to address 

the current financial crisis. The Troubled Asset Relief Program transaction data is currently 

available on Data.gov. Both sites will continue to expand in the coming year. 

The Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund posts all award descriptions to 

the Federal Register for public comment. The public posts comments to the website 

CDFIFund.gov. CDFI also posts all grant award data to USAspending.gov and provides a link to 

Recovery.gov from the CDFI Fund homepage to facilitate citizen access to this data. 

The Department also implemented enhanced methods to capture citizen feedback. The Office of 

the Comptroller of the Currency created the On-Line Customer Complaint application, 

appsec.helpwithmybank.gov/olcc_form/, providing consumers with the option to submit a 

complaint via the Internet. Prior to the launch of this application, complaints could only be 

submitted using U.S. mail, fax, and email.

Department of State (DOS)

The Department received ARRA funding in FY 2009 that must be obligated by the end of FY 

2010. All of DOS’s project plans for the use of these funds, weekly reporting, and financial 

information are posted on DOS’s publicly available website: www.state.gov/recovery. 

In FY 2009, DOS made information about its IT investments publicly available on the IT 

Dashboard at www.USAspending.gov. Making this information available on this site permits a 

high level of public scrutiny into the major IT investments at the Department of State. The 

Department’s CIO scores each investment, which has already gone through a thorough 

examination by subject matter experts.

The Department has various initiatives underway to implement the Open Government Directive, 

which is designed to provide new levels of public access to information that was previously 

buried inside individual agencies. Core aspects of this effort at the Department are transparency, 

participation and collaboration, and the effective leveraging of the Data.gov portal. The public 

will have access and visibility into the foreign affairs datasets and will be able to combine data 
21

from differing sources that previously would have been difficult or impossible to find. The goal 

is to identify information of value to the American public. All bureaus within the Department of 

State have and will be asked to contribute datasets that improve the public’s knowledge and 

participation in foreign affairs.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

Central Contractor Registration (CCR): VA implemented the CCR module in its core financial 

system in the fourth quarter of FY 2009. The primary objective of the CCR is to provide a Webbased application that provides a single source of vendor information in support of the contract 

award and the electronic payment process of the Federal Government. The new software module 

will significantly improve the accuracy of vendor information for VA.

VA Supplier Relationship Transformation (SRT) Initiative: VA initiated SRT, a leading-edge 

supply chain best practice, in a concerted effort to improve acquisition processes, 

communications and relationships with industry partners, and, most importantly, the capability to 

support veterans. VA established the VA SRT public website at: 

www.va.gov/oamm/transformation/index.cfm. On this website, industry partners and the public 

can view presentations, get updates on issues and transformation efforts, learn about VA’s “13 

Greatest Challenges,” and submit concept papers, ideas, and feedback to the Department. As part 

of this initiative, and linked from the public website, VA established the VA Virtual Office of 

Acquisition at www.voa.va.gov/default.aspx, where industry can register and submit ideas and 

concept papers proposing potential solutions to VA’s “13 Greatest Challenges.”

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA): VA administrations and staff offices 

developed a reporting system for ARRA projects supporting transparency and accountability 

using several existing public reporting applications. One hundred percent of ARRA projects are 

published on the Federal Business Opportunities System to maximize public awareness of 

contracting opportunities. Once awarded, all contracts are reported to the Federal Procurement 

Data Center using the Federal Procurement Data System. 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The Environmental Protection Agency’s major transparency initiatives include: 

• Deploying and operating the Federalreporting.gov infrastructure, in support of the 

Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board, to enable reporting of spending 

activities related to implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act;

• Deploying and operating the Regulations.gov/Exchange social media effort on behalf of 

37 partner agencies, which was featured on the White House Innovations Gallery; and

• Convening public video contests to promote public understanding.

New transparency initiatives include a public dialogue on open government, public meeting with

virtual engagement on the nation’s waters, advanced response to what the public wants to engage 

on through analysis of web analytics, and strengthened online presence for the Agency through 

Facebook and online chats.
22

General Services Administration (GSA)

• Data.gov: The Data.gov website was inspired by the President’s initiative on open 

government. Data.gov is a public-friendly website that provides descriptions of the 

Federal datasets, information on how to access the datasets, contact mechanisms, 

metadata information, and links to publicly accessible applications that leverage the 

datasets. The end users are also provided with opportunities to provide information 

feedback and ratings in the spirit of the President’s open government and transparency 

agenda.

• USAspending.gov: USAspending.gov, originally developed to meet the requirements of 

the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, also supports the 

President’s open government initiative. USAspending.gov is a public-friendly website 

that provides easy access to the expenditures and payments of Government funds through 

contracts, grants, loans, and other mechanisms. This information can be searched and 

sorted by payee, locations, and other designations.

• Central Contractor Registration (CCR): CCR was expanded to implement the Recovery 

Act requirement for all prime recipients to be registered in CCR. The first level of subrecipients must also be registered in CCR in order for their information to be reported in 

FederalReporting.gov. As a result, the CCR registration base has grown substantially to 

add grants and loans community recipients.

• Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps): FedBizOpps moved quickly to 

consolidate all site instructions for Recovery Act opportunities and advertise them 

prominently on the homepage. Buyers can now indicate whether or not a notice is a 

Recovery Act action, and submissions are automatically flagged as Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act actions. FBO also now has a prominent new Recovery Act search 

button and a direct link to the Recovery Act Frequently Asked Questions.

• Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS): FPDS allows for the insertion of Treasury 

Account Symbols into FPDS and tracking recovery spending based on information that 

agencies entered. The changes will be reflected in the upcoming Version 1.4, scheduled 

for release in the second quarter of 2010.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

As part of the Agency’s ongoing efforts to advance citizen participation and engagement in space 

and aeronautics, NASA is supporting the Open Government Directive with a number of Internetbased programs designed to make the agency more accessible and create a dialogue with the 

American people.

NASA is one of six departments and agencies working to spur innovation by making it easier for 

high-tech companies to identify collaborative, entrepreneurial opportunities. Government

agencies are home to treasure troves of data and information, too many of which are

underutilized by the private sector because they are either not easily found or exist in 

cumbersome formats. NASA and the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug 

Administration in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Agricultural Research 

Service in the Department of Agriculture, the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 

the Department of Commerce, and the Department of Energy are working together to increase 

access to information on publicly-funded technologies that are available for license, 

opportunities for Federal funding and partnerships, and potential private-sector partners. NASA’s 
23

Innovative Partnerships Programs Office is working to establish an RSS feed to publicize 

technologies available for public licensing. By making information from multiple agencies 

available in RSS and XML feeds on Data.gov, the government empowers innovators to find the 

information they need and receive real-time updates, which can fuel entrepreneurial momentum, 

create new jobs, and strengthen economic growth. NASA’s RSS feed will make these 

opportunities more visible to the commercial and research communities.

NASA is also working with the President and Congress to provide support for the American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. NASA is required to provide spending and 

performance data on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and as required basis. NASA’s Recovery Site 

(www.nasa.gov/recovery/index.html) will be one of the Agency’s primary ways for 

communicating up-to-date information on plans, progress, and results. Towards these efforts, 

NASA supported the streamlining of the Treasury Account Symbol assignments and the 

transition to the NASA Enterprise Applications Competency Center, contributing to the prompt 

transmission of NASA’s data to USAspending.gov. NASA was one of the first agencies to meet 

this requirement in early 2009.

NASA continues to expand is its support for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) 

Research.gov site. Legislators and the public are demanding increased transparency regarding 

how Federal research dollars are being spent. NSF and NASA responded to this call when 

Research.gov released NASA grant award information through the Research Spending and 

Results service on Research.gov. Research Spending and Results is a search capability that 

provides increased transparency about how research dollars are being spent and what results are 

being achieved. In 2009, NASA upgraded the Grants & Cooperative Agreements monthly 

interface from a Secured File Transfer Protocol to a Web service. This improved the quality of 

NASA’s data and positioned NASA to be able to submit data more frequently in the future.

Additional efforts to support transparency include:

• Voluntary posting of Source Selection Statements online, a free alert service for postings 

of interest,

• Deployment of an electronic method to identify and search non-competitive award 

notices posted by NASA buyers; a free subscription service was also provided for this 

initiative, and

• Deployment of an electronic capability to post Justifications & Approvals for public 

viewing in compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302

Looking ahead to 2010, several of NASA’s “open source” community met in early December to 

brainstorm on possible future NASA-related transparency and data accessibility projects. The 

team explored how NASA could better support open government and how to make the Agency’s 

data more effective, useful, and accessible to those both inside and outside NASA. The goal was 

not just how to use data that has been pulled from government, but rather how to build tools that 

incentivize and support government employees themselves to share more information, 

collaborate, and leverage existing science data to change the world and settle the solar system.
24

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

The NRC has been working on transparency for many years as part of its openness objective 

described in the agency’s FY 2004-2009 and FY 2008-2013 Strategic Plans. NRC’s openness 

objective states, “The NRC appropriately informs and involves stakeholders in the regulatory 

process.” Openness is one of the agency’s organizational values (www.nrc.gov/aboutnrc/values.html) and is part of the NRC’s “Principles of Good Regulation.” The NRC was the 

first agency to provide the public with electronic access to all of its public documents through the 

groundbreaking Agency Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS), which went 

into production in 2000. The NRC’s policy is to make most non-sensitive documents public 

through ADAMS unless there is a specific reason not to do so; this practice reduces the number 

of Freedom of Information Act requests the agency receives.

As one important measure of transparency, the agency has established a composite information 

dissemination timeliness measure composed of four sub-measures related to the timeliness of 

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) responses, public meeting notices, and the timely release of 

internally and externally generated public documents. The agency improved on all four of those 

measures in FY 2009 and met the agency-established target for three of them: the FOIA, the 

public meeting notice, and the internally generated documents timeliness measures. In an effort 

to improve performance on the fourth measure in FY2010, the agency added the timely release 

of externally generated documents to the set of measures for which NRC offices are held 

accountable.

In addition to the documents available through ADAMS, the NRC posts a vast array of 

information on its public website (www.nrc.gov). This information includes all non-sensitive 

Commission decisions, hearing transcripts, enforcement actions, petitions, event reports, daily 

plant status, a facility information finder, and detailed information on the performance of reactor 

licensees. In FY 2009, the agency added the capability for site users to subscribe to desired 

content (www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html) and to receive updates. The agency is 

transitioning to a Web-based distribution of agency correspondence related to operating reactors. 

This new distribution method allows the public to receive correspondence on a facility-byfacility basis through an interactive website. This new method greatly increases the ease and 

speed by which the public can access information. In a recent 30-day period, the agency 

distributed more than 17,000 pieces of correspondence to recipients in 16 different countries. 

Recognizing the important role of the Web in openness and outreach to the public, the NRC 

commissioned a number of surveys and reviews of usability and content and is now undergoing a 

major redesign of its public website. The redesign, scheduled for implementation in 2011, will 

improve navigation, appearance, content, usability, and accessibility. Part of the redesign will 

include a significant upgrade to ADAMS, the agency’s online document management system, to 

make it more user friendly, with a significantly improved search capacity. 

National Science Foundation (NSF)

NSF recognizes the importance of transparency initiatives in ensuring the American public is 

aware of the results of government work. In response to the American Recovery and 

Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), NSF developed policies, procedures, and guidelines to 

ensure the transparency and accountability of awards made with Recovery Act funds. Each NSF 
25

award including Recovery Act funds contains specific conditions identifying the funding as 

coming from the Recovery Act, and requires awardee reporting as mandated by Section 1512c of 

the Recovery Act and OMB. NSF began to implement tracking and monitoring procedures for 

ARRA-funded grants as soon as the first funds were awarded. 

One of NSF’s most significant transparency efforts continues to be Research.gov 

(www.research.gov). Research.gov, led by NSF, is a multi-agency, community-driven solution 

that gives the general public, the science, engineering, research, and education community, and 

Congressional staff access to key information and services from multiple Federal agencies. 

Research.gov improves access to information and increases the transparency of Federal research 

spending, the results being achieved with federally-funded research activities, and the Federal

grant-making process. The Research.gov initiative is discussed further in other sections of this 

report. 

A major transparency effort planned for next year is NSF’s Research.gov Science and Innovation 

service. This service will disseminate information about NSF’s investment outcomes to its target 

audiences: Federal and state-level decision-makers, business leaders, science organizations and 

associations, and members of the public. This service will describe the outcomes of NSF’s 

research and educational investments in non-technical language to demonstrate how the 

investments have directly benefited society. Information will be searchable by state, region, 

Congressional district, and scientific theme or educational topic; one feature of the service will 

be an interactive map that allows the public to browse investments by state. We plan to conduct a 

soft launch of the site in early 2010, engaging select policy makers and institutional customers to 

provide feedback and identify areas of improvement before a broader rollout later in the year.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has conducted a detailed analysis of OMB 

memorandum (M-10-06) on open government, released December 8, 2009, and is currently 

planning to address the actions requiredin the memorandum.

Apart from the above analysis, OPM has identified fourteen different Federal employee 

retirement based statistical abstracts to be published on Data.gov. OPM also publishes statistical 

information about the Federal civilian workforce on FedScope 

(www.fedscope.opm.gov/index.asp). FedScope is an online analytical tool that allows the user to 

search data, extract data and customize reports, allowing customers to access and analyze the 

most popular HR data elements from OPM‘s Central Personnel Data File covering 1.8 million 

Federal civilian workers. Customers for FedScope include OPM program offices, OMB, the 

General Accountability Office, Federal Government agencies, Congressional committees, the 

media, academia, and the general public. OPM published current FedScope data on the Data.gov 

portal (www.data.gov/details/955) and this accessibility via Data.gov resulted in an increase in 

the use of FedScope data.

As required by the Open Government Directive, OPM will develop a flagship initiative as 

outlined in its Open Government Plan to be implemented in 2010.
26

Small Business Administration (SBA)

Driven by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the SBA Office of the CIO

has undertaken a number of transparency initiatives in the past year which are described in this 

document. The two most significant are the Audit Visibility & Tracking tool and the SBA 

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool.

The Audit Visibility and Tracking tool facilitates collaborative and efficient responses to audit 

requests from external and internal sources. The solution provides the necessary tools to register 

each recommendation from an audit finding, then track the tasks needed to provide a response. 

Apart from an easy-to-use interface that incorporates alerts and notifications for convenience, the 

tool also provides performance metrics to help SBA manage its resources more effectively.

The SBA CRM is an easy to use application that bridges the gap between existing disparate loan 

and lender databases and partner contact lists. This application:

• centralizes customer contact data;

• facilitates consistent service delivery;

• streamlines access to and evaluation of customer information;

• organizes customer communications across the agency; and

• features comprehensive analytical capabilities to support and enable Agency decisionmaking.

Social Security Administration (SSA)

During FY 2009, SSA engaged in a number of transparency initiatives. These included

participation in government-wide initiatives such as Data.gov, and posting all required 

information to USAspending.gov, the IT Dashboard, and other sites. SSA operates its FOIA 

program in accordance with the March 19, 2009, memorandum from the Attorney General.

The agency has made very visible its challenges and initiatives for improving the hearings 

process and disability program. Information about backlogs, waiting times, and other workload 

information are posted on the agency’s website while program improvements are reflected in 

posted transcripts and web casts. The agency has posted or provided links to laws, regulations, 

and rulings pertaining to the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs. It also 

provides links to the Program Operations Manual System, the operating policies and procedures 

used in administering programs under SSA’s jurisdiction. The agency posts budget and 

performance information on its website. The agency provides forms and publications online (and 

in paper) in English, Spanish, and, for some documents, in 15 other languages. Materials are 

available in Braille, large print, CD, or cassette tape upon request.

SSA uses a service called GovDelivery to reach out to members of the public who have specific 

interests so they are alerted to updates to web pages that are of interest to them. The agency also 

keeps the public, national organizations, and advocacy groups informed through E-Colleague 

Letters and the Social Security Update newsletters.

Each year the agency mails out approximately 150 million individualized earnings statements to 

the public showing them what SSA records contain about their earnings under Social Security, 

their coverage for Social Security benefits, and estimates of disability and retirement benefits 
27

based on current and projected earnings. The individual has an opportunity to review and correct 

their records prior to filing for benefits.

Activities planned for this year will expand on many of the initiatives already underway. This 

includes providing additional datasets for public release on Data.gov, and continued postings to 

USAspending.gov, the IT Dashboard, Regulations.gov, and other Federal dashboards. SSA plans

to continue to use and leverage GovDelivery to reach the public about web page changes. The 

agency will continue to conduct public briefings and work closely with advocates and 

communities of interest on proposed changes. The agency will be launching an open government 

portal that will provide a way for the public to provide ideas and feedback to SSA on its

programs as well as its open government initiatives.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Pursuant to Division A, Title XI of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 

111-5), USAID received $38 million for immediate information technology security and 

upgrades to support mission-critical operations. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 

of 2009 requires that dollars spent under the Act be subject to unprecedented levels of 

accountability and transparency. The Agency is also seeking to make non-Recovery Act 

activities and data more accessible to the public in FY2010. Specifically, USAID expects to post 

at least four datasets for public access on Data.gov and will be exploring new ways to engage 

citizens via its public website.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

FoodSafety.gov is the gateway to food safety information provided by government agencies. The 

Food Safety and Inspection Service of in USDA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Department of Health and Human Services

serve important roles in ensuring food safety in the United States. The Food Safety and 

Inspection Services is responsible for ensuring that the nation's commercial supply of meat, 

poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.

The Federal Government is using www.foodsafety.gov to better communicate information to the 

public. To this end, the website includes an improved individual alert system that allows 

consumers to receive such food safety information as notification of recalls. Agencies will also 

use social media to expand public communications.

Health and Human Services and USDA will continue to serve as the Food Safety Working 

Group’s leadership, bringing information and experience from the front lines of food safety to 

their sister agencies across the government. Food Safety Working Group:

www.foodsafetyworkinggroup.gov/

B. Public Engagement Platforms

Public engagement enhances the Government's effectiveness and improves the quality of its 

decisions. Knowledge is widely dispersed in society, and public officials benefit from having 

access to that dispersed knowledge. In accordance with the President’s memorandum issued on 

January 21, 2009, executive departments and agencies should offer Americans increased 

opportunities to participate in policymaking and to provide their Government with the benefits of 
28

their collective expertise and information. Executive departments and agencies should also solicit 

public input on how they can increase and improve opportunities for public participation in 

Government. OMB asked agencies what tools they are using to advance citizen participation and 

engagement and to cite examples of how the agency has used citizen feedback.

Department of Commerce (DOC)

The Bureau of Industry Security provides export control systems using the export control license 

application (SNAP-R) to 28,000 registered exporters via Web access. The export enforcement 

Investigative Management System Redesign implements Web 2.0 technical features for 

restricted authorized users using Web 2.0 tools such as AJAX 

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajax_(programming). BIS used Web 2.0 tools to create these interactive 

Web applications or rich Internet applications en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Internet_application). 

Both SNAP-R and IMS-R provide users controlled information sharing capability. These 

applications are fully running on client browsers without any plug-ins. While IMS-R is running 

in a controlled environment without any connection to the Internet, it provides many Web 2.0 

capabilities to its users. For example, IMS_R provided search engine optimization to links 

(similar to the “tagging” feature in Web 2.0) activities (such as leads, outreaches and inspections) 

with identities (exporters, consignees, companies and people, etc.) to support the enforcement 

agents in building cases.

The Minority Business and Development Administration (MBDA) embraces social media as an 

important tool to advance citizen participation and engagement. MBDA uses Facebook as an 

open forum on MBDA affairs, Twitter as a business development and growth tool, and LinkedIn 

for B2B networking. MBDA also uses RSS feeds, both inbound and outbound, for current affairs 

about minority business news, small business information, and general business financing. 

NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS) is developing eSpotter, which will aggregate local 

Twitter spotter reports. NWS is working on a Facebook page to primarily cover news stories; 

new multimedia offerings; weather facts; post-severe weather, water, and climate updates; and 

posts featuring NWS employees and the work they do. 

NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research participates in several third party social 

media and Web 2.0 sites to aid citizen engagement and participation from their Ocean Explorer. 

They are actively using the following solutions to compliment their outreach and communication 

activities on the Web: YouTube (www.youtube.com/oceanexplorergov), Flickr 

(www.flickr.com/photos/oceanexplorergov), and Twitter (twitter.com/oceanexplorer).

The National Ocean Service (NOS) social media program was developed and implemented to 

extend the reach of the NOS website (http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/) and thus the NOS message. 

The following tools have been implemented by NOS.

• RSS feeds for ocean facts, weekly news, and audio podcasts to deliver NOS news and 

information directly to subscribers; RSS feeds are the most frequently requested pages on 

the entire NOS site.
29

• Two audio podcasts –“Making Waves” weekly news program and “Diving Deeper” biweekly interview program – use a new tool to inform a broader audience about the work 

of NOS.

• NOS Twitter account (www.twitter.com/usoceangov) was implemented to attract more 

visitors to the NOS website. It currently has over 5,500 followers, and new content added 

daily.

• NOS YouTube channel (www.twitter.com/usoceangov) was implemented to present 

videos from NOS. It currently has approximately 200 channel subscribers and over 6,000 

channel views. New videos are posted approximately every two weeks (or as available).

• NOS Facebook page (www.facebook.com/usoceangov) was implemented to reach an 

additional audience with NOS messages and provide a forum for this audience to voice 

their opinions and interact with NOS. It currently has approximately 800 Facebook fans. 

Fans regularly interact by commenting on posts and posts are made daily.

• NOS Flickr account (www.flickr.com/photos/usoceangov) was implemented to make 

NOS images available to a larger number of users and direct users to the NOS website. 

Three to four new images are added each week. Images average 10-20 views per week.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) launched a YouTube site in April 

2009 at www.youtube.com/user/usnistgov. The site features videos on a wide range of topics, for 

example short news videos about new research results of interest to the public; tutorial videos for 

research scientists and engineers; cyber security practices for small business; and best practices 

for implementing the Baldrige Criteria to achieve organizational excellence. The NIST YouTube 

channel has received almost 18,000 page views and includes regularly updated content. The 

public is encouraged to comment on the videos and to ask questions. NIST launched Facebook 

located at www.facebook.com/4NIST and Twitter pages at www.twitter.com/usnistgov in 

November 2009. The Facebook page features all of NIST’s major news items and encourages the 

public to comment on specific items or to post questions or comments on the Facebook “wall.” 

The Twitter account is linked to the Facebook page; consequently, all Facebook updates also 

appear on Twitter. NIST also uses Twitter during many of its major conferences to allow 

attendees to quickly share information presented at conferences with others, using agreed upon 

“hash tags.” 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) uses a variety of technologies in working with 

the public and its customers.

• USPTO Director’s Forum: David Kappos’ Public Blog: www.uspto.gov/blog/

• Patent and Trademark Advisory Committees: www.uspto.gov/about/advisory/index.jsp

• Search library information: www.uspto.gov/products/library/search/index.jsp

• Products, Events, and Training for the Public: www.uspto.gov/products/events/index.jsp

Department of Defense (DOD)

DoD Industry Outreach and Partnership – This is a structured enterprise process, via an 

automated online tool housed as part of DoDTechipedia, for providing a one-stop-shop for nontraditional and traditional industry vendors, academia, Federally Funded Research and 

Development Centers (FFRDC), the public, and others with a method of providing, educating, 

soliciting and discussing with DoD new emerging and applicable IT/ National Security Systems 

(NSS) products, services and capabilities (including non-IT/NSS). It provides a consolidated and 
30

automated venue to reach out to the DoD-wide community from the vendor/public perspective. It 

also provides a medium for communicating innovation in the public, private, and academic

sectors. It allows for efficient and effective knowledge sharing that keeps DoD, its Components,

and Combatant Commands (COCOMS) informed of new and emerging technologies and shares 

the pertinent information with those who may have a potential to harness such a technology or 

services. It acts as a DoDTechipedia family of service. (DoDoutreach.defensesolutions.gov) 

DefenseSolutions.gov - DefenseSolutions.gov is a portal through which innovative companies, 

entrepreneurs, and research organizations can offer potential solutions to the Department. This 

portal and the team working behind it are designed to encourage participation from companies 

that have never considered doing business with DoD. Currently, a crowd-source method of 

leveraging innovation in industry is being utilized. The public is also encouraged to provide their 

inputs or innovative ideas. (www.defensesolutions.gov) 

Web 2.0 Guidance Forum - The Web 2.0 Guidance forum is an example of a DoD effort to 

engage citizens in DoD policy making. Questions were asked of target user groups (the Web 2.0 

community, military families, etc.) to provide input on ideas and concerns for the Department’s 

use of Web 2.0 technologies. (http://web20guidanceforum.dodlive.mil/)

Department of Education (Education)

The Department launched a blog in April 2009 to support the Secretary’s Listening and Learning 

Tour: (www.edgovblogs.org/duncan/topic/listening-tour/)

The agency asked in the blog some of the same questions the Secretary asked during his travels 

to some 30 states: Should academic standards be raised, and, if so, how? What education 

challenges do rural communities face? Feedback is being used to inform agency thinking in 

preparation for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. 

(www.edgovblogs.org/duncan/topic/join-the-conversation/)

Department of Energy (DOE)

DOE is utilizing new media tools to engage citizens and garner their feedback. Social media sites 

such as Facebook and YouTube have allowed the Department to connect directly with the public 

at little or no cost to the American taxpayer. The Department uses these media to inform the 

public of its actions, highlight success stories, and solicit ideas on subjects such as energy 

efficiency. The best publicly-submitted suggestions are occasionally elevated within the 

Department or cited in future projects. DOE is actively working towards expanding this 

engagement in the coming year.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The Department is using a variety of public websites to increase citizen participation in 

government. The Business Gateway initiative hosts the website Business.gov, which acts as a 

forum where government officials, small business owners, and everyday citizens can discuss 

issues within the small business community. DisasterAssistance.gov provides access to federally 

funded disaster aid for citizens. The Regulations.gov and Business.gov sites have comment 

sections for the public to provide feedback on content. Also, the Department of Homeland 
31

Security’s IT Dashboard information gives the public an opportunity to see the performance 

metrics of IT programs and to submit comments and/or questions.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The Department has made ground-breaking advances over the past year in furthering citizen 

participation and engagement. The establishment of the HHS Center for New Media has served 

as one of the key elements driving innovation across the Department and has been critical in the 

response to several major crises including the H1N1 public health emergency. The Center’s 

innovative use of new and social media as part of the H1N1 response, including the widely 

acclaimed, citizen-generated YouTube public service announcement contest, allowed for direct 

public participation and reached audiences who were previously on the margins of government 

engagement. Other tools and platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, allowed the Department 

to engage with citizens directly and empowered them to use these new tools to share key 

messages to a much wider and diverse audience than previously possible. Direct citizen feedback 

on major government initiatives, including Flu.gov and HealthReform.gov, integrated citizen 

participation and feedback into decisions about the development, organization, and presentation 

of information presented to the public via the Department’s public facing Websites.

Another example is the HHS-managed Grants.gov website. To “Find and Apply” for any HHS 

discretionary grants, including any of the Recovery Act awards, HHS applicants and grantees use 

the Grants.gov portal as the single point of entry. HHS established various means for people to 

provide feedback on their experience with the system and to suggest improvments. Besides 

contacting HHS directly, HHS applicants and grantees have the opportunity to directly request 

enhancements on grants.gov applications and services via the following means:

• Submit a customer enhancement form at grants.gov/contactus/contactus.jsp;

• Request changes and submit ideas during the Quarterly Stakeholder webcasts;

• Request changes during the ad-hoc presentation sessions offered by Grants.gov; and

• Express ideas and request changes via the customer’s association or via the grantor’s user 

group.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD is committed to the new open government directive and the advancement of citizen 

participation and finds that delivering housing and community information and resources online 

is an effective manner to engage the public. To improve participation and information delivery, 

HUD unveiled a redesigned HUD.gov this year. The new HUD.gov website was launched on an 

enterprise portal platform that is more user-friendly and allows the public to easily find and 

access the agency’s information. The new HUD.gov platform also provides a completely 

integrated set of components for portals, business intelligence, dashboards and dynamic online 

communities that leverage social computing services and all types of business applications. This 

includes rich Web 2.0 technologies such as wikis, blogs, tagging, linking, discussions, and 

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds to distribute information and increased efficiencies for 

HUD staff and the public to work together. 

Today, the new HUD.gov features the most sought-after information such as “Buying a Home,” 

“Avoiding Foreclosure,” and “Rental Assistance,” and provides easy access to a wide variety of 

resources, including an apartment search tool and calculators to help families decide whether to 
32

buy or rent a home or how much mortgage payment they can afford. The redesigned website also 

gives visitors the opportunity to participate through the use of social networking tools such as 

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Blogs. Additionally, HUD.gov is providing an integrated set 

of tools and services, so that HUD is able to continue to build and deploy next-generation 

collaborative applications and portals that improve business processes and information delivery. 

Recent examples of how HUD is employing HUD.gov and other mechanisms to gather and use 

feedback from the public include:

• HUD Ideas in Action: Partnering with the National Academy of Public Administration, 

HUD has launched an interactive website called HUD Ideas in Action. This site allows 

HUD staff and the public to provide real-time feedback on ways to improve HUD. Once 

an idea is posted, others are able to vote and comment on their favorite ideas. The ideas 

with the most votes and comments will be reviewed for possible implementation. HUD 

Ideas in Action was launched as part of HUD’s FY2010-2015 Strategic Plan which 

allows the agency to fulfill its vision of being a partner for residents, partners, employees, 

and the public over the next five years. (www.hudideasinaction.uservoice.com)

• DisasterRecoveryWorkingGroup.gov: HUD and DHS launched 

DisasterRecoveryWorkingGroup.gov, a new interagency website allowing Federal

disaster recovery officials to solicit public comments from state, local, and tribal partners, 

and the public. The new website will be used by the Federal Government’s newly formed 

Long Term Disaster Recovery Working Group, co-chaired by HUD Secretary Donovan 

and DHS Secretary Napolitano, to solicit stakeholders’ ideas for disaster recovery;

articulate objectives for recovery assistance going forward; identify examples of best 

practices; raise challenges and obstacles to success; and share thoughts, experiences, and 

lessons learned. (www.disasterrecoveryworkinggroup.gov)

• Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act Outreach Campaign: In an effort to address 

industry concerns about how to implement new mortgage rules due to take full effect on 

January 1st, 2010, HUD is providing a series of live interactive online presentations 

intended to increase readiness among mortgage professionals. Led by HUD’s Deputy 

Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing, the online meetings are intended to allow 

industry professionals to ask questions about implementing the new rules. In addition, 

HUD has published more than 250 frequently asked questions to answer many of the 

mortgage industry’s specific compliance issues. These efforts build on the Department’s 

commitment to assist consumers and industry organizations in adopting modern standards 

that will improve the manner in which American families purchase homes and refinance 

mortgage loans. (http://www.hud.gov/webcasts/archives/)

• World Habitat Day web page: HUD launched a new web page showcasing the variety of 

events taking place around the country including the World Habitat Day opening 

ceremony and a prestigious awards program taking place at the National Building 

Museum in Washington, DC. World Habitat Day is an annual event sponsored by the 

United Nations General Assembly to promote innovations in affordable housing and 

sustainable urban development. This year, the United States is hosting the event for the 

first time ever. HUD's new web page offers online registration for those who wish to 

attend the October 5th opening day ceremony at the National Building Museum and a 

host of other events, including a forum on Livable Communities being hosted at Howard 

University in Washington. The web page also directs readers to the official UN 
33

HABITAT website, which highlights the events taking place around the world as well as 

links to HUD and U.N. co-sponsoring partners. (www.hud.gov/whd)

Department of the Interior (DOI)

ePlanning: DOI currently uses the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) ePlanning and the 

National Park Service (NPS) Planning, Environment, and Public Comment systems to publish 

and receive comments from the public on proposed management of Federal lands. BLM and 

NPS developed these tools to help process the suggestions they receive from the public on 

proposed land use plans. These systems enhance the Bureaus’ ability to interact with the public 

by making this functionality available on the internet thereby removing the barrier of having to 

visit an office or send comments via regular mail. 

E-Rulemaking (Regulations.gov): All Bureaus of the DOI have implemented Regulations.gov 

and use the Federal Docket Management System to administer comments received from the 

public on regulatory and other documents that are typically published in the Federal Register. In 

calendar year 2009, DOI had more public comments on its proposed regulations than any other 

agency. A revamping of the home page for Regulations.gov and a public exchange site have 

enabled the public greater access to the rulemaking process, enabled easier comment processing, 

and has allowed the public to see how other interested entities analyze the Bureaus' proposed 

regulations. This improved public access has allowed the Bureaus to categorize comments in a 

consistent manner--also improving the public's understanding of how the Bureaus administer the 

rulemaking process pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act and the E-Government Act.

GovBenefits.gov: GovBenefits.gov provides a confidential bilingual website available to all U.S. 

citizens. With a selection of DOI’s 15 programs, citizens have viewed more than 12,000 pages. 

As a supporting partner, DOI works with the Department of Labor through its Change Control 

Board to refresh GovBenefits.gov and include the feedback from citizens.

Geospatial One-Stop (GOS) www.GeoData.gov: The Federal Geographic Data Committee 

(FGDC), Geospatial One-Stop (GOS), and The National Map are three national geospatial 

initiatives that share the goal of building the National Spatial Data Infrastructure. The FGDC, 

chaired by the Secretary of the Department of the Interior with the Deputy Director for 

Management, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as Vice-Chair, focuses on policy, 

standards, and advocacy; GOS focuses on discovery and access; and The National Map focuses 

on integrated, certified base mapping content. The National Geospatial Programs Office (NGPO) 

of the U.S. Geological Survey in the Department of Interior is the organizational host for these 

complementary activities. The FGDC prepares a report of accomplishments promoting 

coordination of the NSDI (www.fgdc.gov).

There are several tools used by GOS to advance citizen participation and engagement. Citizens 

are encouraged to contact the GOS team through the "contact us" link at the bottom of each page 

on the website. GOS responds to these emails on a daily basis. Citizens (users) also have the 

ability to contact the data set owner on every data set in the GOS collection. This can be used to 

inform the data set owner of errors in their metadata for example. The GOS portal also has 

communities of interest, and within each of these communities there is a discussion forum. 

Through the integration of GOS with Data.gov, citizens have the capability to rate datasets in the 
34

Data.gov portal. All of the above tools allow for two way dialog and participation for citizens. 

Other tools for engagement of citizens used by GOS include Geographic Really Simple 

Syndication (GeoRSS) feeds and an upcoming newsletter. 

Business Gateway Initiative (www.BusinessGateway.gov): The Business Gateway Program is a 

Government-wide effort intended to provide plain language information and services that reduce 

compliance and regulatory burden on citizens and the small business community. Through the 

Business Gateway Initiative and the Managing Partner of the program, Small Business 

Administration, DOI utilizes Business.gov and Forms.gov to reduce compliance and regulatory 

burden on citizens and businesses. DOI maintains numerous compliance links on the 

Business.gov website and over 200 forms are available for access on Forms.gov. The Office of 

Surface Mining is also currently enhancing its Single Source Coal Reporting system to allow 

businesses to file the required IRS excise tax forms electronically.

Department of Justice (DOJ)

The Department utilizes the refreshed DOJ website, Justice.gov, as a valuable information 

dissemination tool and to engage citizen participation. Launched in October 2009, Justice.gov 

has incorporated many updated features aimed at providing greater access to DOJ information 

and services, while allowing the public to participate and become more involved with 

Department activities. For example, the Department of Justice Action Center box on the 

Justice.gov Home Page offers the public a quick and easy way to navigate to often-requested 

web pages that allow citizens to accomplish many tasks online, such as reporting a crime; 

applying for a grant; registering and applying for permits; and requesting records.

To further enhance its direct communication with the public, DOJ now has a presence on social 

networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube. The Department of Justice 

believes utilizing these popular public platforms will allow its communications to reach further 

and give citizens the opportunity to receive updates from the Department through channels that 

they choose - rather than only through Justice.gov. For example, to date DOJ has over 256,000 

followers on Twitter who receive Justice Department updates and information on a regular basis.

To elicit feedback from the public, DOJ utilizes the Foresee Customer Satisfaction Survey. The 

Survey, which utilizes the American Customer Satisfaction Index, contains both multiple choice 

and open-ended questions and provides insight into important customer characteristics that 

cannot be gleaned from other statistical tools. Visitors are randomly asked to complete the 

survey upon leaving a DOJ site.

Examples of DOJ response to citizen feedback and requests: 

• Services and information available via the Department of Justice Action Center box on 

the Justice.gov Home Page -- see http://www.justice.gov

• Providing more detail about the DOJ Agencies -- see 

www.justice.gov/agencies/index_list.html. In addition, on the DOJ Agencies page there is 

a direct link from each agency description to its contact information. 

• Providing visible and easily accessible information for contacting DOJ, by mail, phone, 

and/or email -- see www.justice.gov/contact-us.html. The US DOJ: Contact Us link is in 

the footer on every upper-level page. 
35

Department of Labor (DOL)

The Department of Labor has advanced citizen participation and engagement with the use of 

social media tools, to include the following:

• Facebook: DOL has two Facebook pages, one for the Department and one for the 

Secretary of Labor. We use the Facebook pages to promote awareness of DOL activities 

and initiatives and to answer simple questions posed from other Facebook users or to 

direct those users to existing resources for assistance. 

• Twitter: DOL has four Twitter accounts, one for the Department and one for the 

Secretary and Spanish versions of each. This communication channel is used to notify 

followers about all DOL national news releases, provide information about DOL events 

and initiatives, and interact with users in an informal way. By tracking the mentions of 

DOL on Twitter, the Department has been able to measure response to activities it is

promoting and can use that information to revise or clarify the message it is

communicating. 

• Webcasting and YouTube: In FY 2009, the Department created the internal ability to 

provide live webcasts of DOL events. Since starting this in April, DOL has webcast 

events for Earth Day, messages about the proposed DOL budget, an Asian Pacific 

Heritage Month discussion with Congresswoman Mazie K. Hirono, a roundtable 

discussion on international child labor, a panel discussion about migrant farm worker 

children, a panel discussion on people with disabilities in the arts, and DOL’s annual 

salute to veterans. Previously, these events would have been open only to DOL 

headquarters personnel, but now are available to the world, both live and in replays. 

Many of the videos are also published to YouTube, ensuring they reach an additional 

audience that might not normally visit a DOL website.

Department of Transportation (DOT)

An example of DOT’s efforts to advance citizen participation is the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 

Administration’s engaging the public through “listening sessions” and webinars on various 

topics, including webinars on reviewing business processes and work practices prior to 

identifying new technology solutions. DOT is currently planning for governance, testing, and 

implementation of Web 2.0 technologies, and evaluating existing tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, 

Wikipedia, and YouTube.

Another example of advancing citizen participation and engagement is the Federal Railroad 

Administration (FRA)’s series of High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Workshops to begin 

the implementation of President Obama’s vision for developing a cohesive national intercity and 

high-speed passenger rail network. This vision was set forth in FRA’s Strategic Plan for HighSpeed Rail announced by President Obama, Vice President Biden, and U.S. Transportation 

Secretary LaHood, and sent to Congress that same day on April 16, 2009. 

Through these workshops, FRA reached out to the rail community in seven regions across the 

country to seek input on the Interim Guidance FRA was required to issue for the $8 billion in 

grant funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) for the 

high-speed rail corridors program, intercity passenger rail grants, and congestion grants. The 

workshops enabled FRA to discuss the strategic plan with key stakeholders such as state 
36

departments of transportation, regional planning authorities, metropolitan leaders, associations 

and labor groups.

Department of the Treasury (Treasury)

Within the Department, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel 

(TAP), a Federal Advisory Committee made up of citizen volunteers, to help the IRS identify 

ways to improve customer service and responsiveness to taxpayer needs. By analyzing issues, 

setting priorities, and conducting research, TAP makes important recommendations to improve 

the IRS and reduce taxpayer burden. TAP releases an annual report describing activities and 

recommendations to improve IRS service and customer satisfaction. The report is available on 

the TAP website ImproveIRS.org.

The Department uses YouTube to provide training and educational video content directly to 

consumers. Some examples are:

• www.youtube.com/user/OCCChannel and www.youtube.com/user/irsVideos;

• The Office of Financial Stability uses a service-based approach for providing YouTube 

video content with a channel for the Home Mortgage Modification program

www.youtube.com/user/MakingHomeAffordable;

• The IRS has a channel designated for their taxpayer advocacy program 

www.youtube.com/user/TASNTA; and,

• Some Treasury Department bureaus also provide individual videos for recruiting 

candidates such as the Bureau of Public Debt (BPD) Administrative Resource Center’s 

video available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IimNzjaTWpg.

Reviewing viewer comments facilitates planning for creating additional video content. The 

Treasury Department often develops new content that expands on topics that generate the most 

viewer interest. For example, comments from initial IRS videos showed a great interest in the 

appeals process from citizens. The Treasury Department now provides citizens a number of new 

videos that provide detailed explanations of the appeals process. These new appeals process 

videos are some of the most viewed videos on the YouTube IRS channel.

Also within the Department, the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI) 

Fund uses GovDelivery to provide government-to-citizen communication solutions. 

GovDelivery email and digital subscription management solutions support all communications 

from the CDFI Fund to the citizen. Citizen feedback comes via public/citizen comment 

concerning award descriptions and other CDFI Fund initiatives posted to the Federal Register. 

The CDFI Fund uses this feedback from the public/citizen and other Federal agencies to comply 

with proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) uses a variety of IT tools to advance 

citizen participation and engagement. The OCC maintains two websites: its official 

organizational website (OCC.gov) and a consumer-focused website (HelpWithMyBank.gov). 

The official website provides information about OCC’s role as the administrator of national 

banks, including guidance to bankers, access to all published reports and datasets, and other 

information useful to consumers and community development groups. The consumer-focused 
37

website provides answers to common questions about banking and provides consumers 

instructions on how to file a complaint on a national bank. The site also provides the basic forms 

and allows consumers to file and track their complaints online.

In addition to the websites, the OCC maintains a robust e-mail subscription service with more 

than 20,000 subscribers to multiple lists such as OCC News, Banker Education, Community 

Affairs, and Consumer Advisories. The OCC also expanded its use of social media in the last 

year to promote citizen engagement. The Agency has used Really Simple Syndication (RSS) 

feeds to allow content syndication since late 2006 (www.occ.gov/rss/occ_news.xml) and to 

publish public service podcasts on consumer-related news and trends 

(www.occ.gov/rss/occ_podcasts.xml.). The OCC added widgets that allow OCC news postings 

to social network sites. OCC also expanded its presence on social networks to promote 

awareness and improve access including YouTube (www.youtube.com/OCCChannel) and 

Twitter (www.twitter.com/usocc).

Department of State (DOS)

The Department’s Digital Communications Center (DCC) actively encourages direct 

engagement with the public by offering open forums on the Department blog (DipNote), as well 

as a presence on various social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, etc). 

Members of the general public are able to use these platforms to discuss U.S. foreign policy 

issues and submit questions to Department officials. DCC staff responds to inquiries and also 

comments on U.S. foreign policy blogs that discuss issues germane to the Department’s mission. 

One specific example of direct engagement occurred during an attempted coup in Madagascar. 

DCC noticed a rumor spreading on Twitter indicating that the President of Madagascar was 

seeking refuge in the U.S. Embassy. Tweets urged Madagascar citizens to gather outside the 

embassy and demand the President’s release. Within minutes, DCC confirmed with the embassy 

that this was false and quickly countered the rumors on Twitter, preventing a potential riot that 

may have put embassy staff at risk. This entire episode lasted about 15 minutes and took place 

well before the normal press cycle.

On www.state.gov, the Foresee Results survey indicated that users were dissatisfied with search 

results, which prompted the Electronic Information and Publications Office in the Bureau of 

Public Affairs to develop and implement a faceted search function that enables users to browse 

the site by topic, speaker, document type, and more. Within one day, the number of queries made 

through this function increased 270%. In addition, the user satisfaction rating for searching the 

site has generally increased. 

The Foresee Results survey indicates that www.state.gov has an overall satisfaction rating that 

averages around 71 out of 100. DOS is constantly seeking ways to improve this ranking, and to 

that end, recently redesigned the top-level navigation and home page of www.state.gov. The 

Department will monitor the Foresee results, comments sent to “Contact Us” and other social 

media platforms to assess the impact as it moves forward with a full-scale revamp of the site. 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The www.va.gov site provides Internet presence for all Department of Veterans Affairs 

Administrations and staff offices. The main VA website contains many hundreds of thousands of 
38

pages. Citizens can sign up to leave on-topic comments on VA’s social networking pages; 

however, the best on-line contact for all questions and comments is through the VA Inquiry 

Routing and Information System (IRIS) located at: iris.va.gov. IRIS is VA’s Internet-based, 

public message management system. All electronic messages received from the public through 

VA Internet websites are directed to IRIS. IRIS provides VA customers with secure 

communication of personal data should they voluntarily choose to send it to VA. IRIS employs a 

tool, Veterans Assistance Inquiry (VAI), which is used to record and control an unresolved issue 

for follow-up action subsequent to personal contact (such as a telephone call or personal 

interview) with a member of the public. IRIS is used to create and control VAIs.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The Agency provided a wiki platform for local watershed groups to post information for their 

own group and to collaborate through best practices with others. This innovative way, an 

example of government as a platform, enables EPA to better understand local citizens’ issues and 

concerns and to adapt its information products and technical assistance.

• My Environment (www.epa.gov/myenvironment/)

• Surf Your Watershed 

(cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfmhttp://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/locate/index.cfm)

• AirNow (http://airnow.gov/)

• Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) (www.epa-echo.gov/echo/)

• National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) 

(nhd.usgs.gov/http://nhd.usgs.gov/http://nhd.usgs.gov/)

• Science Inventory (SI) (cfpub.epa.gov/si/http://cfpub.epa.gov/si/)

• Regulations.gov Exchange 

(www.regulations.gov/http://www.regulations.gov/http://www.regulations.gov/)

• Watershed Central (epa.gov/watershedcentral/http://epa.gov/watershedcentral/

General Services Administration (GSA)

USA.gov, the official web portal of the U.S. Government, is managed by the Office of Citizen 

Services (OCS). OCS consolidates all of GSA’s citizen-centered activities into a single 

organization, providing American citizens access to information and services they require. OCS 

also helps government agencies procure contact centers, assists with consumer outreach and 

publications, facilitates a variety of web services, and promotes intergovernmental collaboration 

and innovation to help governments around the country and around the world share innovative 

and valuable ideas.

The blog Your Voice Matters (dialog.usa.gov) was started to help GSA’s Office of Citizen 

Services manage USA.gov and use citizen suggestions to make it better. This dialog will help 

improve online delivery of government information and services.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA continues to undertake extensive efforts to use the Internet and social media tools to 

engage the public on agency activities. NASA’s home page on the Internet, www.nasa.gov, 

offers information on all of the Agency’s missions, research and discoveries. In January 2009, 

nasa.gov capitalized on the Agency’s growing social media efforts by rolling out a new “Connect 

and Collaborate with NASA” page at www.nasa.gov/connect. This provides the public with 
39

quick connections to the Agency’s pages on Twitter, Facebook, UStream, YouTube, Flickr, and 

MySpace, as well as NASA podcasts and vodcasts on iTunes. The page also provides links to 

agency chats, Tweetup events, RSS feeds, and the Agency’s official blog.

The Agency’s social media presence was further expanded in November with the addition of 

NASA’s Twitter feed to the homepage. The website offers links to NASA-related desktop 

“widgets” and opportunities for the public to collaborate directly with the agency through art 

contests, engineering challenges, and imagery and data analysis. Another new communication 

tool is Spacebook, a NASA internal expert networking utility. Spacebook has been used to 

improve collaboration across NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. The Spacebook site allows 

new and established NASA staff to get to know the Agency’s diverse community of scientists, 

engineers, project managers, and support personnel.

NASA also remains very active in the virtual world of Second Life, opening the door for 

everyone to participate in the agency’s vision for space exploration via the new technology of 

virtual life in cyberspace. As the population of Second Life has grown rapidly in recent years to 

many millions of residents, NASA is using the virtual world to bring lots of people into the 

agency’s general mission, letting them participate in the day-to-day work and successes of the 

agency. NASA has established several islands in Second Life: CoLab 

(colab.arc.nasa.gov/virtual) and Explorer Island 

(slurl.com/secondlife/explorer%20island/182/151/23) are the two main public entrance points.

Through them the agency works with any person who is interested in learning more about the 

Agency and even participating in a NASA mission through exploration in the virtual world. 

NASA also has an installation with launch pads, rockets, shuttles, and space stations all built by 

teens on the Eye4You Alliance Island in Teen Second Life. There’s a detailed simulation of the 

International Space Station, built entirely by teens, in orbit above the NASA spaceport on the 

virtual teen grid. Timelines in the much anticipated Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond game

will be set far in the exciting future (2035+). Another project seeks to enhance formal and 

informal education in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering fields with the goal of 

increasing the number of students in those fields of study. For more information, go to: 

ipp.gsfc.nasa.gov/mmo. 

Another approach that NASA is using to engage the public is OpenNASA (www.opennasa.com), 

a collaboratively written public blog by NASA employees about the Agency that presents open, 

transparent and direct communication about the space program. Team OpenNASA shares lessons 

learned, and what others can learn from them. Because the OpenNASA authors blog on their 

own time (and therefore do not represent NASA), the site allows a dialog to occur not only 

within the internal NASA community but also between the public and NASA. The goal of 

OpenNASA is to help the Agency become more transparent, authentic, and direct with its 

communication to the public, and to help create a participatory space agency that actively 

engages people from all backgrounds and perspectives.

To better reach the next generation of explorers, in December 2009 NASA launched a new 

website created specifically for teenagers that provides access to current NASA spacecraft data 

for use in school science projects. The site also allows them to conduct real experiments with 
40

NASA scientists, and helps them locate space-related summer internships. Called “Mission:

Science,” the site is designed to showcase NASA’s educational science resources and encourage 

students to study and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The 

site also features social networking tools, links to enter science contests or participate in a family 

science night, information about college research programs, and an array of NASA images, 

animation, videos, and podcasts. To access the “Mission: Science” website, visit: 

missionscience.nasa.gov. 

NASA uses citizen feedback in its Centennial Challenges program 

(www.nasa.gov/offices/ipp/innovation_incubator/cc_future.html). The Agency reached out to the 

public in 2009 (and previous years) for assistance in formulating ideas for new prize challenges, 

with the help of engineers and scientists throughout NASA. For this outreach effort, NASA 

targeted ideas from private industry, outside organizations, and the public. A 2003 NASA Space 

Architect study, assisted by the X PRIZE Foundation, led to the establishment of the Centennial 

Challenges. The Centennial Challenges seek to:

• Drive progress in aerospace technology of value to NASA’s missions,

• Encourage the participation of independent teams, individual inventors, student groups 

and private companies of all sizes in aerospace research and development, and

• Find the most innovative solutions to technical challenges through competition and 

cooperation.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

The NRC uses numerous tools to foster citizen participation and engagement, including its public 

website, public meetings, public hearings, rulemaking, document comment processes, and 

conferences.

The NRC public website is designed to do the following: (1) increase openness by providing 

information that enhances the ability of stakeholders to participate effectively in the regulatory 

process; (2) broaden the public’s understanding of the NRC’s mission, goals, and performance; 

and (3) make doing business with the NRC easier by enhancing access to agency information 

and making tools available for conducting business electronically. In addition, the NRC makes 

use of public meetings, user groups, application-specific help desks, and surveys to further 

promote citizen participation. 

The NRC is committed to ensuring the quality of all information that it relies on for its 

regulatory decisions or disseminates. The agency’s practices in this area are consistent with the 

Office of Management and Budget Information Quality Guidelines and NRC Information 

Quality Guidelines as required by Section 515(a) of Public Law 106-554.

The NRC Public Involvement page serves the goal of enhancing participation in the regulatory 

process (www.nrc.gov/public-involve.html). It contains links to pages with opportunities to learn 

about public meetings, comment on proposed rules and draft documents, request agency 

enforcement actions, participate in hearings, and ask the NRC to change or establish a regulation. 

Members of the public may also comment on proposed rulemaking actions through the Federal 

E-Rulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. 
41

The following sections of the NRC’s website, “About NRC”, ”Nuclear Reactors”, “Nuclear 

Materials”, and “Nuclear Waste” aim to broaden the public’s understanding of the NRC’s 

mission, goals, and performance. The other main section of the website, the Facility Information 

Finder, provides Information about specific regulated facilities.

The agency’s Electronic Submittals Page, where stakeholders can submit documents 

electronically to the NRC, addresses the goal of conducting business electronically. The NRC 

also has electronic hearing dockets.

The NRC conducts numerous public meetings across the country to engage stakeholders in the 

regulatory process. The agency’s policy is to Webcast all high public interest Commission 

Meetings and to post public meeting notices on its website at least 10 calendar days in advance 

of the meeting. In FY 2009, the agency was successful in meeting this public meeting notice 

timeliness target 94 percent of the time, surpassing its 90 percent target. Also, in FY 2009, the 

NRC successfully piloted the use of “Live Meeting” at select meetings so that remote 

stakeholders could participate. The NRC will expand this capability during FY 2010. The agency 

also collects feedback from participants at every public meeting.

To enhance public outreach and openness, the NRC has created a program to train existing staff 

to serve as in-house meeting facilitators and advisors. The NRC In-House Meeting Facilitator & 

Advisor Program will help ensure that NRC public meetings and outreach are effective, 

inclusive, fair, and increase NRC's capacity to collaborate and solve problems with both internal 

and external stakeholders. Facilitators serve as consultants to the staff members who have the 

lead for a meeting. They help ensure that outreach and participation best practices are used 

appropriately to make meetings effective for all parties involved. The facilitators are NRC staff 

members who assist with meetings as a collateral duty, led by a program manager. Currently, 

fourteen facilitators-in-training are being trained and mentored by experienced NRC staff and 

contractors to become solo facilitators as part of this program.

The following paragraphs provide examples of how stakeholder feedback has been used by the 

agency. 

Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) - Document Search and 

Retrieval -Since July 2001, the NRC has had an ADAMS User Group (AUG) for interested 

members of the public who use ADAMS on a routine basis. Through the user group, participants 

can learn about new releases and upgrades of the ADAMS software and can communicate with 

NRC staff about their ADAMS experiences and provide suggestions and comments for making 

ADAMS more accessible and easier to use. The minutes of past AUG meetings are available at

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams/users-group.html#2.

The agency also uses a distribution list of interested users to augment the activities of the group 

and provide faster communication to both heavy and casual ADAMS users. This listserv is 

intended for NRC to send communications to the AUG in order to notify them about ADAMS 

meetings, issues, problems, upgrades, etc. Information about this listserv can be found at the 

following URLs:
42

 

• www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html 

• www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserve-descriptions.html

The NRC is working to improve the public’s ability to search for publicly available documents in 

ADAMS and will provide a Google-type interface to the Publicly Available Records System

early next year.

Electronic Submissions-License Applications - In providing the capability for industry to 

electronically submit license applications, the NRC coordinated with the Nuclear Energy 

Institute to hold working group sessions with the industry. These sessions presented proofs of 

concept and collected input and feedback on electronic submission formats. They were 

successful in allowing the NRC to understand industry best practices and in defining an 

information technology solution for submitting electronic license applications.

Adjudicatory Proceedings - The NRC initiated its Meta System project to provide the means to 

receive and manage complex electronic document submittals in anticipation of major license 

applications. To identify process and technology improvements to streamline the receipt, service, 

processing, distribution, and utilization of adjudicatory documents through the NRC Meta 

System, the agency’s Meta System Help Desk maintains an ongoing dialogue with external 

stakeholders. This help desk provides end-user support for Meta System applications, including 

supporting web-based E-Filing and Electronic Hearing Docket systems, answering questions 

about business processes, and identifying areas for improvement. 

Additionally, as follow-on to the long-standing practice associated with Commission meetings, 

the NRC has begun to provide Webstreaming access to selected adjudicatory proceedings, 

including those involving the Yucca Mountain high-level radioactive waste repository and 

combined license applications for new reactor facilities. As part of the access process for each 

adjudicatory Webstreaming event, the NRC provides stakeholders with an opportunity to provide 

comments on their experience using this technology.

National Science Foundation (NSF)

NSF programs impact millions of people through workshops, promotion of science activities via 

museums, television, videos, journals, and the dissemination of curricula and other teaching 

materials. To promote these important programs and other significant Agency activities, NSF

utilizes online social networking tools such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. These tools 

allow NSF to connect with, engage, and inform researchers, grantees, government officials, and 

the general public on a daily basis. In the past year, over 10,000 people have connected with NSF 

through its social media outlets to stay informed of its activities and learn how its work is 

shaping the future of the nation. 

NSF’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/US.NSF/) is increasing the visibility of science and 

encouraging public engagement with science through posts highlighting NSF-sponsored research 

and a variety of special reports and news about discoveries. Currently, over 3,000 people connect 

to NSF on Facebook, where they can read important news stories and network with other 

members of the science and research community. 
43

Additionally, NSF grantees can follow Foundation activities using Twitter, where they can learn 

about events or get up-to-the-minute details on important application information. NSF currently 

maintains fifteen Twitter feeds. The main NSF feed (www.twitter.com/NSF/) has over 10,000 

followers and is included on more than 580 Twitter lists. NSF is currently using Twitter to 

disseminate NSF news and solicitation announcements and to drive traffic to other NSF outlets, 

including news releases, Facebook, YouTube, NSF podcasts on iTunes, Science360, and the 

main NSF website. 

NSF established a YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/user/VideosatNSF) in January 2009 to 

leverage the burgeoning amount of video content produced by the Office of Legislative and 

Public Affairs (OLPA) and other agency sources. To date, NSF has placed approximately 50 

videos up on the channel. NSF’s channel has garnered over 10,000 page views and more than 

100 individuals have subscribed to the channel’s content. 

The agency first approached its YouTube efforts as a largely one-way communication project: 

videos would be posted and viewers would watch them. However, it soon became clear that the 

channel has the potential to foster interactions between the agency and the public and among 

viewers themselves. The YouTube channel is now used more broadly to foster the Agency’s 

mission and goals, to educate the public about scientific endeavors being undertaken on their 

behalf, and to improve knowledge sharing between NSF and the researchers and institutions who 

receive support from the agency for their work. 

The Agency is using the page view popularity metrics and comments from the channel’s various 

videos to determine which areas and topics are most popular with viewers. One popular topic has 

been Research.gov. NSF program staff created a short tutorial of Research.gov using PowerPoint 

and narration, and posted the video on the NSF YouTube channel. Hundreds of grantees have 

viewed the video and several have remarked that it aided their transition to using Research.gov. 

NSF also reviews comments received via YouTube to identify ways to improve its video 

offerings. In 2010, the agency plans to implement a video-based “Ask NSF” project whereby 

citizens can post videos with scientific questions they may have. NSF staff will find a 

knowledgeable speaker to produce short video responses that will be posted on YouTube. 

Aside from Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, pilots and other activities are in development to 

expand NSF’s social media presence through tools like blogs, wikis, Second Life, Flickr, and 

LinkedIn. For example, the CISE directorate has been experimenting with Second Life since 

2007, and purchased a virtual work environment in mid-2008. They have carried out a number of 

activities including two panels, small meetings, and a class held entirely within this social 

medium. 

To help further the Foundation’s use of social media tools, NSF created the “Social Media and 

Web 2.0 Working Group.” The goals of the working group are to coordinate social media and 

Web 2.0 activities within NSF and recommend policies, procedures, and strategies for 

implementing the use of these technologies across the Foundation in the future. 
44

NSF incorporates feedback mechanisms into its major agency information dissemination 

products whenever feasible. The feedback received from stakeholders and customers often has 

significant impact on how future information dissemination services and tools are developed. For 

example, after the initial launch of Research.gov, comments from grantees that were received via 

conferences, e-mail, and the website were very positive. NSF also uses third-party automated 

tools (Foresee and Webtrends) to measure customer utilization and satisfaction on Research.gov, 

specifically in the areas of service quality and reduced administrative burden on users. 

Customers rate Research.gov as excellent and express their desire for other Federal research 

agencies to embrace Research.gov.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

The Office of Personnel Management actively seeks feedback and interaction with the public as 

follows:

• Extensible Markup Language (XML) and Really Simply Syndication (RSS) feeds are 

made available to access What's New, News Release and Operating Status information to 

any subscriber interested in obtaining this content. See the subscription page at 

www.opm.gov/about_opm/rss/.

• OPM offers a listserv subscription service in addition to the XML feed referenced above 

that allows users to obtain Washington, D.C. DC Area Operating Status notification via 

email. Currently this service has approximately 85,000 subscribers. 

• In addition to the individual subscriber system referenced above, OPM also utilizes email 

distribution lists to notify media and other important stakeholders of Federal operations.

• Using internal email distribution and intranet postings the agency fully endorsed and 

supported employee engagement activities to promote OMB's Save Award program and 

to solicit participation in the Green Gov Challenge.

• OPM created interactive cutting-edge Web 2.0 sites that attracted thousands to the Feds 

Feed Families (FFF) initiative; the nationwide effort helped collect about one million 

pounds of food for food banks in the National Capital Area and throughout the country 

while at the same time underscoring the generosity of Federal employees to the public. 

The public engagement methods used in FFF included Twitter and My Story. Similarly, 

OPM has developed a Feds Get Fit site that offers a portal to Map My Fitness to allow 

active participation with the challenge and goals.

• OPM led a government-wide initiative aimed at linking America's veterans with Federal

hiring managers. FedsHireVets.gov is a public facing site that models the leadership 

qualities of America's veterans -- who are valued, experienced and trained, illustrating for 

the public what it takes to become a Federal employee.

• OPM developed a YouTube Channel to better engage the public on issues involving 

Federal workers and, for the first time, launched video news releases to better engage the 

public, media, and stakeholders in issues relating to the Presidential Veteran's Initiative, a 

new labor management partnership Executive Order signed recently by the President. As 

part of any new initiative, OPM is developing video to communicate the story directly 

through this social networking site, OPM.gov broadcasters, bloggers, and the media.

• OPM also administers the Federal Employees Health Benefit Plan, retirement, the 

Federal Long Term Care Insurance Plan, and other benefits for nearly 8 million current 

and former employees and their dependents. OPM.gov is a crucial public engagement 

hub for these benefits for agency stakeholders. This year OPM launched a Benefits Open 
45

Season Facebook page which stimulated significant discussion of Federal benefits 

programs.

• OPM published its draft Strategic Plan (2010-2015) at 

www.opm.gov/strategicplan/UserFeedback/Index.aspx and actively solicited input from 

customers and the general public. The agency is utilizing feedback from users to finalize 

the plan.

• OPM is currently developing a Web-based user feedback form to collect and rank 

comments on the implementation and expansion of teleworking through the Federal 

Government.

As an agency, OPM is committed to hearing its stakeholders and assuring the work of the agency 

incorporates useful feedback from its customers and stakeholders alike.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

SBA’s Business Gateway program focuses on reducing compliance and regulatory burden on the 

nation’s small businesses; it provides procedural transparency, plain language resources, and 

contextual information to the small business community. Business Gateway has taken a usercentric approach to all planning and execution activities. Content, services, and technology 

decisions are all filtered through the needs of the small business user. Product management 

disciplines and commercial best practices are leveraged to align all business and technical 

functions. In addition, Business Gateway utilizes Web 2.0 technology such as Facebook and 

Twitter to engage citizens.

Social Security Administration (SSA)

SSA has advanced citizen participation and engagement in many ways. It provides a mechanism 

on its website for the public to submit comments. These comments are reviewed and addressed 

by agency staff. The Frequently Asked Questions on the SSA website provide for submitting a 

question that is not answered, or not understood by the individual. The Office of Inspector 

General has a fraud hotline for the public to alert the agency to possible fraudulent activity. Each 

tip on the hotline is reviewed and, as appropriate, investigated.

SSA assembles advisory groups under Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) to get advice 

on program issues. It currently has a FACA panel, the Future Systems Technology Advisory 

Panel, operating to provide SSA with insights into the strategic use of information technology. 

Meetings of this group are open to the public and SSA has a public web page that provides 

information about the mission and points of discussion.

SSA has also held public meetings on improving the disability process. It held five public 

hearings on the topic of Compassionate Allowances. The initial list of Compassionate Allowance 

conditions was developed as a result of information received at public outreach hearings, public 

comment on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, comments received from the Social 

Security and Disability Determination Service communities, and the counsel of medical and 

scientific experts. SSA has also held meetings with medical experts and disability advocates and 

used this information as it has updated the regulations for assessing disability (the medical 

listings). SSA routinely has informal meetings with disability advocates to discuss disability 

program issues and proposed changes. Input from these sessions is held in high regard and 
46

considered when policies are being developed or refined. With the input of many mental health 

professionals, organizations, experts and industry leaders, SSA has produced a fact sheet that it

shares with members of the mental health community.

SSA is planning to use an idea tool and other web 2.0 technologies in the upcoming year. It has

joined the Ideation Community of Practice and is benchmarking the experiences of early 

adopters across the Federal sector. SSA plans to launch at least one public blog this year to get 

public input on a range of issues related to Open Government, and will continue to use feedback 

from Data.gov to guide the posting of new datasets.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

The Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) is the largest online resource for USAID 

funded international development documentation. Through the DEC, development experience 

documents are available to USAID offices and mission staff, Private Voluntary Organizations, 

Non-Governmental Organizations, universities and research institutions, developing countries, 

and the public worldwide. USAID is in the process of updating the DEC to be more user-friendly 

and to include a host of tools to help users easily find and share information. 

• USAID hosted the 2009 Seminar Series, providing a forum for presentations and panel 

discussions that allow participants to explore a variety of international development 

topics. 

• USAID's Economic Analysis and Data Services provide USAID and the development 

community with access to statistical data on the development process, as well as to data 

analysis tools. Publicly available USAID statistical data resources include the Global 

Education Database, Latin American and Caribbean Economic and Social Data, and 

more. 

• In an effort to further engage the public, USAID plans to develop an Open Government 

Webpage in FY 2010 to serve as a gateway for agency activities related to transparency, 

participation, and collaboration. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Beginning in the summer of 2009, Secretary Vilsack and other government officials embarked 

on the USDA Rural Tour, stopping along the way to hold town meetings and engage citizens in a 

dialogue about agricultural challenges in the 21st century. The town hall forum is a proven way

to deliver communication in an extremely rich medium while allowing citizens to participate 

directly in the conversation. In addition, USDA has created the Rural Tour Web Log (blog) as a 

tool to help extend the Secretary’s message beyond the town hall forums. Secretary Vilsack uses 

the blog to document each town visit and provide a transparent record of where the department 

stands on key agricultural issues, thus constantly updating and informing citizens who cannot 

participate in person. In addition, because the blog can be accessed online at any time it is 

limitless in regards to participation; anyone who would like to comment on something he reads 

on the blog is free to do so. With its ease and transparency, the blog has allowed USDA to 

extend the Rural Tour effort to all citizens and not just to those visited along the tour stops.

In addition to advancing citizen engagement through the Rural Tour effort, USDA has made 

exceptional use of the latest social media to encourage public feedback. Using tools like blogs, 

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Podcasts, and RSS Feeds, USDA has created a dynamic 
47

forum to increase citizen participation in the Federal Government. For example, through various 

blogs, USDA gives citizens the chance to comment on department activities and policy. The 

ARRA Blog in particular allows citizens to share their stories about how the economic crises and 

the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have affected them and what more USDA can do 

to help. Using Twitter, citizens are able to spread USDA news and stories of interest among their 

communities and followers. In addition, YouTube and its use of video streaming provide a richer 

medium through which USDA can address the public. Tools like these allow USDA to not only 

communicate with the public and improve citizen understanding more effectively, but also to 

provide an outlet for citizens to respond directly to USDA with their own suggestions, stories, or 

critiques. 

With this new encouragement towards citizen participation, USDA has also made strides at 

listening to what the people are saying. In the fall of 2008, the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) was petitioned by private citizens and environmental groups to reclassify the Light Brown Apple Moth (LBAM). More specifically, these citizens and groups 

wanted APHIS to downgrade the status of the LBAM to non-actionable, non-quarantined pest. 

APHIS took this petition very seriously, and spent most of 2009 working with a third-party to 

thoroughly research the position of the petitioners. While official results are still pending, APHIS 

did release a significant draft response in September 2009. The case of the LBAM is but one 

example of how USDA agencies are taking real action according to citizen feedback. 

C. Open Government Innovations Gallery

The Open Government Innovations Gallery celebrates the innovators and innovations that are 

championing the President’s vision of more effective and open government. In the Innovations 

Gallery, the public can browse examples of new ways in which agencies across the Executive 

branch are using transparency, participation, and collaboration to achieve their mission. For this 

section, OMB asked agencies to describe innovations they would like to share with the public 

and the Federal workforce on the Innovations Gallery. The following agencies replied with 

potential candidates:

Department of Commerce (DOC)

The Digital Coast (www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/) is a partnership and community resource 

initiated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Ocean 

Service Coastal Services Center for use by organizations who manage the nation’s coastal 

resources. It was developed to provide a simple and effective way to access user-specified data, 

and the tools and methods to turn that data into usable information. A website is the primary 

mode of communication for Digital Coast. This enabling platform provides access to priority 

geospatial data needed by coastal management organizations along with the tools, training, and 

case studies needed to address coastal issues. A partnership group, comprised of representatives 

from the target audience, is used to determine the focus of the content, form, and function of the 

Digital Coast initiative. These user groups also use the Digital Coast initiative as a forum from 

which they can create new partnerships to address coastal management issues. During its first 

year, 19,000 users downloaded data from the Digital Coast, and 8,000 users downloaded tools.

Collaborations with other Federal efforts are critical to ensuring the success of the Digital Coast. 

This includes close working relationships with the Federal Integrated Ocean and Coastal 
48

Mapping effort and the National Map. Coordination with the private sector, which develops a 

variety of coastal data and tools, is equally as important to enable the government to efficiently 

develop needed data and tools quickly.

 

The Severe Weather Data Inventory at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center provides users 

access to archives of several datasets critical to the detection and evaluation of severe weather. 

These datasets include:

• Next-Generation Radar (NEXRAD) Level-III point features describing general storm 

structure, hail, mesocyclone, and tornado signatures 

• National Weather Service Local Storm Reports collected from storm spotters 

• National Weather Service Warnings 

• Lightning strikes from Vaisala's National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN)

These datasets are archived in a spatial database that allows for convenient searching. These data 

are accessible via the National Climatic Data Center website, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), or 

automated Web services. The results of interactive Google Maps-based Web page queries may 

be saved in a variety of formats, including plain text, XML, Google Earth’s KMZ, and Shapefile. 

Summary statistics, such as daily counts, allow efficient discovery of severe weather events. For 

more information, please refer to www.ncdc.noaa.gov/swdi.

NOAA’s Office of Atmospheric Research developed the Drought Portal in recognition that 

drought risks are dependent on the ability to monitor and forecast the diverse physical indicators 

of climatological drought, as well as relevant economic, social, and environmental impacts. A 

2004 report from the Western Governors’ Association made it clear that recent and ongoing 

droughts expose the critical need for a coordinated and integrated drought monitoring, 

forecasting, and early warning information system. To fill this need, Congress passed the 

National Integrated Drought Information System Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-430) (NIDIS). 

The first component of NIDIS is the Drought Portal (www.drought.gov). It is part of the 

interactive system to:

• Provide early warning about emerging and anticipated droughts; 

• Assimilate quality control data about droughts and models; 

• Provide information about risk and impact of droughts to different agencies and 

stakeholders;

• Provide information about past droughts for comparison and also to understand current 

conditions;

• Explain how to plan for and manage the impacts of droughts; and 

• Provide a forum for different stakeholders to discuss drought-related issues. 

The next major addition to the drought portal will be soil moisture observation data from the 

U.S. Climate Reference Network, not currently available to the public.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office nominates two applications for the Innovations Gallery. 

Peer-to-Patent opens the patent examination process to public participation for the first time, 

allowing the community to review and improve the quality of patents. For more information, see 

www.peertopatent.org/ . The Business.gov community leverages familiar online tools and plain 

language content to engage and facilitate conversation between the small business community 

and all levels of government. (community.business.gov/bsng/)
49

Department of Defense (DOD)

The Department currently has three innovations shared on the Innovations Gallery. The 

following are the three shared DoD innovations, one each in transparency, participation and 

collaboration: 

• Transparency: DoDTechipedia – Using wikis to rapidly deliver technology innovation to 

the military. 

• Participation: Wikified Army Field Guide – Soldiers collaboratively update Army 

Doctrine from the field. 

• Collaboration: Aristotle – Networking and knowledge for military scientists. 

Department of Education (Education)

The Department has the following innovations for the Gallery:

• The Department challenged YouTube visitors in the “I Am What I Learn” contest to 

create a video explaining why education is important to fulfilling their dreams: 

www.youtube.com/user/usedgov. Winners were announced live via a national town hall 

meeting with students in December 2009. Students were able to ask questions via 

telephone, email and video during the town hall meeting.

• Education Secretary Arne Duncan is reaching out to the public in a new way via his 

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SecretaryArneDuncan. 

• www.free.ed.gov makes it easier to find teaching and learning resources from across the 

Federal Government. 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The following E-Government initiatives are currently shared with the public and Federal 

workforce on the Innovations Gallery: Business.gov and Regulations.gov. DHS recommends 

adding DisasterAssistance.gov and SAFECOMprogram.gov to the current collection of 

innovations. DisasterAssistance.gov is a web portal that consolidates disaster assistance 

information, allowing citizens quick access after emergencies. Since December 31, 2008, the site 

has received over 459,000 visitors. SAFECOMprogram.gov provides members of the emergency 

response community and other constituents with information and resources to help them meet 

their communications and interoperability needs. It offers comprehensive information on topics 

relevant to emergency response communications and features best practices that have evolved 

from real-world situations.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Recovery Act Projects Map: The transparency and oversight requirements of American 

Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) cite that agencies making ARRA funds 

available must provide on their dedicated Recovery website, detailed reports and other 

information on funding received and obligated and funded project and activities. To meet these 

ARRA transparency and oversight reporting requirements, both the U.S. Department of 

Agriculture (USDA) and HUD implemented maps that were easy to access and use by the public. 

However, USDA implemented Google mapping technology that efficiently and effectively takes 

the ARRA reporting information and displays the information geospatially by state and counties. 

Recognizing the benefit of this solution, including but not limited to ARRA data submission, 

accurate and timely data reporting, and information posting requirements to agency websites, 

HUD partnered with USDA to merge ARRA data from both agencies into the USDA ARRA 
50

Projects map. The resulting cutting edge Recovery Act web mapping tool is increasing 

transparency and keeping the public informed and involved in Recovery Act spending by 

allowing an internet user to search and view HUD and USDA projects that are funded by the 

Recovery Act nationwide. This collaboration was an initial effort between several agencies to 

demonstrate the geographical location of Recovery-funded projects, which has since been 

accomplished for all grants and contracts government-wide by Recovery.gov.

(www.usda.gov/recovery/map/)

Department of the Interior (DOI)

The United States Geographical Survey (USGS) has developed the Twitter Earthquake 

Detection. In this exploratory effort, this system gathers real-time, earthquake-related messages 

from the social networking site Twitter and applies place, time, and key word filtering to gather 

geo-located accounts of tremors. This approach provides rapid first-impression narratives and 

photos from people at the hazard’s location. The potential for use of this tool for earthquake 

detection in populated but sparsely seismically-instrumented regions is also being investigated. 

Social networking technologies are providing the general public with anecdotal earthquake 

hazard information before scientific information has been published from authoritative sources. 

People local to an event are able to publish information via these technologies within seconds of 

their occurrence. In contrast, scientific alerts can take between 2 to 20 minutes. By adopting and 

embracing new technologies and innovative approaches the USGS can augment its earthquake 

response products and the delivery of hazard information. (recovery.doi.gov/press/us-geologicalsurvey-twitter-earthquake-detector-ted/)

For more information on this project, please e-mail USGSted@usgs.gov or follow @USGSted

on Twitter.

Department of Justice (DOJ)

Following are two candidates for inclusion on the White House Innovations Gallery:

• Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Hiring Recovery Program Toolkit found 

at www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2208. The COPS Hiring Recovery Program 

(CHRP) Announcement Toolkit provides information on how the $1 billion in Recovery 

Act Funding to state, local and tribal law enforcement was awarded. The toolkit provides 

additional information on how the application was created, reviewed and final awards 

were selected. Included for review is the final award list; CHRP applicant rankings by

state; state summary sheets that includes the number of agencies that applied and were 

awarded, dollars requested and awarded, and a list of agencies awarded; frequently asked 

questions and the methods used to develop and evaluate CHRP applications.

• The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has developed a series of widgets to let the 

public host FBI news, fugitives, missing kids, and other content on their website or blog

accessible at: www.fbi.gov/widgets.htm. The FBI widgets serve to attract users to the FBI 

internet website and to allow users to share virtually FBI information on their social 

media sites such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Twitter and iTunes. 
51

Department of State (DOS)

The Department of State’s Office of eDiplomacy, which is part of State’s Information Resource 

Management Bureau under the direction of the Department’s CIO, was formally launched in 

2003 and granted wide latitude to develop knowledge-sharing innovations, following a broad 

strategy to empower Department personnel to find and contribute knowledge anywhere and 

anytime. The creation of this center for knowledge management generated and continues to fuel 

several innovations that give substance to the ongoing shift of the Department toward a more 

open knowledge-sharing organization. Two of the most recent innovations include: 

• The Virtual Student Foreign Service (see www.state.gov/vsfs/). Launched in the 2009-

2010 academic year, this pilot program allows for over 40 U.S. college students to work 

virtually and voluntarily with U.S. embassies abroad. Focusing on a range of projects, 

from social networking outreach to the digitization of the Iraq National History Museum 

in Baghdad, the Virtual Student Foreign Service project could be the start of a “crowd 

sourcing” or “mechanical Turk” trend toward utilizing the vast, enthusiastic resources 

present in American universities in aiding the work of U.S. diplomats serving overseas.

• The Sounding Board. In response to Secretary Clinton’s call for an online suggestion box 

shortly after she came to the Department of State, the Office of eDiplomacy, working 

with the Office of the Secretary of State and the Office of the Under Secretary for 

Management, launched an interactive site called “The Sounding Board.” This hugely 

popular site has allowed for any of the Department’s 70,000 employees to offer 

suggestions on improving management in the Department. This initiative for bettering the 

“how” of diplomacy has done a great deal to open up the sometimes hermetic culture of 

the Department, and has already improved a number of efficiency and quality of life 

issues for members of the civil and foreign services of the United States. 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The VA and Kaiser Permanente recently launched a pilot medical data exchange program in San 

Diego using the Nationwide Health Information Network. This innovative pilot enables 

clinicians from VA and Kaiser Permanente to obtain a more comprehensive view of a patient’s 

health using electronic health record information, including information about health issues, 

medications, and allergies. Led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the 

network provides a technology “gateway” to support interoperability standards and a legal 

framework for the secure exchange of health information between treating physicians, when 

authorized by a patient. Clinicians from the participating organizations can electronically, 

securely, and privately share authorized patient data, ensuring around-the-clock access to critical 

health information. This immediate electronic access supports increased accuracy, efficiency and 

safety. It also helps to avoid redundant care and testing. The new pilot program connects VA’s 

VistA (Veterans Affairs Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) and Kaiser 

Permanente HealthConnect®. VA beneficiaries and Kaiser Permanente members in the San 

Diego area were the first to be offered the opportunity to sign up for the pilot, with the 

understanding that their information would not be shared without their consent. The program’s 

next phase will add authorized data from the U.S. Department of Defense’s health care system to 

this exchange in early 2010. Ultimately, this program is planned to be made available to all 

Veterans and Service Members. 
52

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

EPA has developed a mobile application to report the daily UV Index, allowing the public to 

easily check their exposure to harmful radiation from their mobile phone. At the home or the 

beach, check the UV Index- driving to another city, the app will give you the reading at the new 

location (using the phone’s Global Positioning System (GPS)).

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA’s “Spacebook” was recently featured in the Innovations Gallery. Launched in June 2009, 

Spacebook is a professional network that lets NASA individuals and communities connect to 

each other in a new way, via an enhanced Intranet designed around user profiles, forums, groups, 

and social tagging. Spacebook gives NASA employees and contractors the opportunity to 

network with their colleagues, encourages collaboration and information sharing, and energizes 

their community as they push the edge of the technological envelope.

By creating a culture of collaboration and encouraging teams to consider diverse viewpoints, 

Spacebook gives rise to new, innovative ideas. By improving communication, trust, teamwork, 

and access to information, Spacebook promises to minimize duplication of efforts. By facilitating 

the sharing of experience across teams, Spacebook can reduce project risks. By connecting 

colleagues to swap and reuse equipment, Spacebook saves money and environmental impact. 

Finally, Spacebook also helps NASA attract and retain the next generation of scientists and 

engineers, who expect to be able to use social media tools to support their work. For more 

information, visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/open/innovations/spacebook

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

The NRC has recently contributed to the Innovations Gallery. The newly unveiled 2-minute 

video, available at www.whitehouse.gov/open/innovations, explains the NRC’s use of Web 

conferencing to bring meetings about possible changes to emergency preparedness regulations to 

more people. As part of the agency’s outreach efforts, public meetings were held in venues 

throughout the country. At each meeting, anyone with a computer could log on to an internet 

based conference center and participate from any location by listening to content, asking 

questions, and providing comments.

NRC has regularly provided its stakeholders with leading edge, innovative solutions to improve 

the efficiency and effectiveness of stakeholder interaction with the agency. Examples are noted 

in various sections of this report and include the agency’s electronic document management 

system and automation of the license application and adjudicatory proceedings.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

OPM made innovative use of the Web by implementing the employee-funded BENEFEDS portal 

at: https://www.benefeds.com/.

Small Business Administration (SBA)

The SBA has two new tools that are candidates for inclusion in the Innovations Gallery: The 

Audit Visibility & Tracking tool and the SBA Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool.

Contact the SBA Office of the CIO at: eGov@sba.gov to schedule a demonstration of either 

tool.
53

Social Security Administration (SSA)

SSA has started innovative research, experimentation, and trials in several areas including 

geospatial, assistive technologies, end user experience, and the application of social 

technologies. We are also actively participating with the Federal Communications Commission 

(FCC) on the National Broadband initiative, a public/private partnership to develop packages and 

programs that address barriers to adoption of broadband service. At this time we have not 

identified any initiatives for the Innovations Gallery. 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

The USDA's Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services recently launched a multi-phased contest 

called the Innovations for Healthy Kids Challenge. The first part of this challenge is the Web 

Games for Healthy Kids Contest ― USDA released a dataset with 1,000 of the most common 

food items as well as open source codes from USDA nutrition resources to enable development 

of a Web-based learning application that incorporates the USDA-generated dataset. This 

challenge is open to entrepreneurs, software developers and students to design a creative and 

educational game targeted to kids, especially “tweens,” aged 9-12. The dataset is available to the 

public on www.Data.gov and www.MyPyramid.gov .

The Web-based games will help motivate kids to learn about healthy dietary habits and the 

importance of eating more nutritional foods. Using the foods dataset, the game should be 

centered on educational messages that emphasize one or more key nutrition concepts from the 

Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DietaryGuidelines.gov) and the MyPyramid Food Guidance 

System (MyPyramid.gov).

Subsequent contests within the Innovations for Healthy Kids Challenge will include producing 

public service announcements (PSAs) (Healthy Eating Videos: For Kids by Kids) and creating 

healthy recipes to be used in schools (Cooks for Kids Recipe Contest).

D. Democratizing Data

Data.gov allows the public to easily find, download, and use datasets and data tools that are 

generated and managed by the Federal Government. As a priority Administration initiative, the 

vision for Data.gov was encapsulated in the President’s January 21, 2009 Open Government and 

Transparency memorandum where he states that information should be disclosed “rapidly in 

forms that the public can readily find and use.” 
54

Data.gov is the Administration’s flagship open government initiative. The purpose of Data.gov is 

to unlock the value of government information. Launched on May 21, 2009 with 47 datasets, 

Data.gov now hosts over 100,000 datasets and continues to grow.

(http://www.data.gov/reports/agencyparticipants)

On December 8, 2009, the Administration issued the Open Government Directive to hardwire 

the values of transparency, participation and collaboration into the DNA of the Federal 

Government. As part of the Directive, Federal agencies answered the President’s call by 

democratizing hundreds of high-value datasets on every aspect of government operations. While 

this is meaningful for the technology community and transparency advocates who have been 

working on this issue for years, the data released also has a direct impact on the daily lives of the 

American people. (http://www.data.gov/ogd)

For example, a set of data which once cost $100 to access is now available for free on Data.gov, 

providing valuable statistics and records about the cost and performance of Medicare programs. 

Or, now anyone using Data.gov can take advantage of the Government’s detailed ratings of car 

safety or child seat ease of use. Even the data behind the status, safety, and livability of multifamily public housing assets is now available, helping to make sure Government services deliver 

on their promises. Finally, Americans can see how the expenditures required to support the local 

public schools in their neighborhood compare to the resources of other public schools, 

empowering public advocates with strong, meaningful data.

The public’s use of Data.gov has increased steadily since October 2009, peaking at over 9,000 

dataset clickthroughs on the day of the addition of agencies’ datasets related to the Open 

Government Directive.
55

Following the example of Data.gov, States and cities in the United States and other countries are 

creating their own sites to make their data more publicly accessible. As a result of making more 

data available on Data.gov, new software applications providing useful services to the citizens 

have been rapidly developed for the public by the private sector.

Data.gov has caught the public’s imagination. Recently, The Sunlight Foundation 

(http://www.sunlightfoundation.com/) ran a contest called “Apps for America” to catalyze use of 

government information in innovative ways. A number of innovative uses of such information 

came out of this challenge.

Govpulse, for example, puts the Federal Registry at a user’s fingertips. By drawing on 

Data.gov’s records about such Government publications as the Federal Register, Govpulse 

makes them searchable, more accessible and easier to digest. This encourages every citizen to 

become more involved in the workings of their government and make their voice heard on the 

things that matter to them, from the smallest to the largest issues.

Alternatively, yourCPI.com produces visualizations of custom consumer price indexes (CPIs). 

These custom CPIs are generated by “mashing-up” demographic groups' average expenditures 

with consumer goods' price changes. The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a national CPI; 

individual spending patterns, however, can differ significantly. Those differences often correlate 

with demographics. This site mashes up price data for individual items and consumer spending 

data to help the user discover the impact of price changes on them, given their particular 

spending pattern.

Overall, Data.gov continues to grow, thanks to the over 200 representatives from Federal 

agencies actively working to integrate their data into Data.gov. Below is the inventory of data as 

of February 2, 2010.
56

Numbers and types of datasets available for each Federal agency

As of February 2, 2010.

Raw Datasets & 

Tools

(count)

Geospatial Datasets

(count)

Department of Agriculture 13 49

Department of Commerce 58 166,454

Department of Defense 204 0

Department of Education 17 0

Department of Energy 35 0

Department of Health and Human Services 117 0

Department of Homeland Security 48 0

Department of Housing and Urban Development 11 0

Department of Interior 57 305

Department of Justice 43 0

Department of Labor 9 0

Department of State 45 0

Department of Transportation 87 0

Department of Treasury 13 0

Department of Veterans Affairs 27 0

Environmental Protection Agency 462 154

General Services Administration 44 0

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 24 626

National Archives and Records Administration 17 0

National Science Foundation 7 0

Nuclear Regulatory Commission 2 0

Office of Personnel Management 3 0

Small Business Administration 5 0

Social Security Administration 16 0

U.S. Agency for International Development 3 0

Other Agencies 190 0

Totals 1,557 167,588
57

Total Geospatial 

Datasets Published Examples

Department of 

Agriculture 49 Digital satellite imagery during the agricultural growing seasons in 

the continental U.S. 

National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric 

Administration

1,936 Historical weather and severe weather information

Bureau of Land 

Management 1 Solar and Wind energy project applications in California 

US Fish and Wildlife 

Service 3 Study results of customer use of National Wildlife Refuge services 

and programs 

US Geological Survey 301 Status of toxic contamination of US air, water, soil, and wildlife 

resources 

Environmental 

Protection Agency 154 Water quality monitoring data 

National Aeronautics 

and Space 

Administration

626 Satellite data for land use change, agricultural and natural resources 

management

Census Bureau 164,518 Results from the 2009 American Community Survey, 2009 

Population Estimates, 2007 Economic Census, and Census 2000

Total Geospatial: 167,588
58

Section III: Information and Information Technology Management

A. The IT Dashboard

The Challenge

Taxpayers have spent billions on Federal Government IT systems; many were mismanaged, 

poorly planned or ill-conceived from the start. In the past, under-performing investments were 

placed on a “Management Watch List,” which merely was a list that was posted on a website. 

This closed, secretive and compliance-based management approach was put together behind 

closed doors with little or no follow-up. Good money was often thrown after bad, and failing 

investments continued long after they should have been corrected or terminated. On June 30, 

2009, OMB launched the IT Dashboard to provide transparency into the performance of Federal 

IT investments. 

The Solution

The IT Dashboard is a platform that enables anyone with a web browser to track major 

investments from the 7,000+ item Federal IT portfolio and hold the Government accountable for 

progress and results. The IT Dashboard allows the public to see which IT investments are 

performing well (and which are not), offer alternative approaches, and provide direct feedback to 

each agency’s chief information officer responsible for these multi-million dollar investments. In 

effect, it allows citizens to keeping tabs on the people responsible for how tax dollars are spent. 

The IT Dashboard represents a shift from a closed, secretive and opaque approach to 

management to one that is open, transparent, and participatory.

The IT Dashboard is part of the Administration’s commitment to creating an unprecedented level 

of openness in Government, and a firm belief that having an engaged and informed public is the 

foundation for a Government that works for the people. On his first full day in office, President 

Obama issued a memorandum to all Federal agencies, directing them to break down barriers to 

transparency, participation, and collaboration between the Federal Government and the people it 

serves. In December 2009, the Administration issued the Open Government Directive to 

hardwire accountability and instruct every Federal agency to open its doors and data to the 

American people. (http://www.whitehouse.gov/open/documents/open-government-directive)

In conjunction with the launch of the IT Dashboard, OMB also reshaped the process each agency 

uses to manage its investments to lower the reporting burden on agencies. OMB reduced the 

amount of data requested from Federal program managers by more than 50 percent (from 58 to 

24 data elements Rather than collecting a massive array of data annually, often including 

information that wasn’t used, OMB shifted to the monthly collection of focused information that 

results in better decision making. 

What gets measured gets done. Narrowing what we measure to key elements allows Federal 

managers to focus on what is actionable, what is most important, and what needs to get done. 

One of the key accountability features of the IT Dashboard is the requirement that each agency’s 

CIO provide a personal rating and comment for each of the agency’s IT investments. This helps 

avoid "faceless accountability” and requires that agency CIOs conduct reviews for each 

investment on the IT Dashboard, and then provide a rating indicating their confidence and 
59

assessment of the program’s risk management, requirements management, contractor oversight, 

historical performance, and human capital performance.

The IT Dashboard has many features to maximize the value of the data, by making it easy for 

visitors to download or share the information with others. Every page has a button which 

converts the data embedded in the page’s graphics to a numerical table or Excel spreadsheet. 

Additionally, there is a catalog of data feeds that allows visitors to build custom data feeds. 

Visitor can even create a dynamic data feed that automatically updates with new information. 

These features will allow the public to create applications which integrate the IT Dashboard’s 

data into other places on the web (e.g. a personal blog or social media websites). 

Evidence-Based Accountability

The IT Dashboard is already changing the way Federal managers run their IT investments. In 

July 2009, just two weeks after its launch, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced 

that it was temporarily halting 45 IT projects which were either behind schedule or over budget. 

After a thorough review of each project, the VA announced in December 2009 that 15 of these 

projects would be terminated. Federal managers were able to catch these bad projects, in part, 

thanks to the IT Dashboard, which helped shed light on the performance of these investments 

across the Federal Government. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the 

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are also conducting comprehensive 

reviews of their IT portfolios using the IT Dashboard.

Given the size and complexity of the Federal IT portfolio, the challenges faced are substantial 

and persistent. The IT Dashboard is not a substitute for good management. Its value comes from 

leaders who use the information to make tough, evidence-based decisions on the future of IT 

investments. In order to assist Federal managers, OMB is expanding the transparency foundation 

provided by the IT Dashboard and holding managers accountable by holding TechStat

Accountability Sessions. 

Started in January 2009, a TechStat session is a face-to-face, evidence-based review of an IT 

program, conducted jointly by the OMB and agency leadership, and powered by the IT 

Dashboard. TechStat sessions are triggered when an OMB analyst discovers signs of trouble in 

reviewing the cost, schedule and performance data provided on the IT Dashboard. In the session, 

OMB and agency leadership work together for one focused hour, leaving no allowance for 

distractions. They review the management of the investment, examine project performance data, 

and explore opportunities for improvement. 

OMB must actively build upon the transparency foundation the IT Dashboard provides to hold 

the Federal Government accountable for performance of these key IT programs, and OMB must 

fundamentally change the way Washington works when it comes to IT.

OMB asked agencies to answer the following questions concerning their use of the IT 

Dashboard:

• How has the IT Dashboard impacted the investment management process at your agency?

• Describe your agency’s efforts in complying with reporting requirements for the IT 

Dashboard; and
60

• Describe the process your agency is using to apply CIO Evaluations for your major IT 

investments.

Agency responses to these questions are listed below.

Department of Commerce (DOC)

The IT Dashboard has proved internally useful as an alert to senior management that providing 

quality data for performance, cost, and schedule are critically important. The CIO rating raised 

the visibility of the CIO and OMB’s seriousness regarding quality funding and milestone 

information. This heightened senior management awareness of project management has proved 

valuable. The ability to have a snapshot view of Commerce IT investments affords the 

opportunity to compare the quality and usefulness of available information across investments. 

This provides help in comparing the usefulness of project milestone data.

Department of Education (Education)

Dashboard requirements have resulted in a more frequent collection of current data for 

milestones for all major investments. Milestones in the business case are now updated monthly 

by the project managers, so the 2010 business cases have stayed more current. The Dashboard 

requirement for CIO evaluations allowed the opportunity to use existing Independent Program 

Reviews and Select Phase assessments as a means to evaluate the major investments. CIO 

evaluations are revisited when investments make progress in any of the measurement areas. 

Investments are rescored, and in some cases, the CIO evaluation on the IT Dashboard is updated 

as a result of the progress made. 

Department of Energy (DOE)

The IT Dashboard allows the CIO and senior management to obtain investment performance 

data (i.e., cost, schedule, performance, acquisition, project manager qualification, risk 

management, etc.) on a more frequent basis to support IT decision making and oversight. When 

field sites submit their monthly data, Program and Staff Offices are asked to self-assess their 

investments and provide any comments or corrective actions that might be planned to address 

any items.

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The IT Dashboard has improved IT investment management at HHS through heightened 

management attention to and interest in the investment information being reported to the public, 

and improved investment manager responsiveness and adherence to IT Investment policy and 

process in an effort to improve their HHS CIO ratings.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The use of the IT Dashboard provides HUD with the ability to hold Investment Owners and 

Project Managers accountable for the risks, costs and schedules of its major investments. 

HUD completes the CIO evaluation during the preparation of the monthly IT Dashboard 

submission. Each major investment owner completes a self assessment of the risk of their 

investments and a rationale is provided to support the score. The Office of the Chief Information 

Officer (OCIO) completes an assessment of each major investment. The scores from both the 

investment owner and OCIO are averaged into a single risk score. This report is submitted to the 
61

Department CIO to review and consider other factors that may be affecting the investment 

resulting in a final CIO risk score. 

Department of the Interior (DOI)

The Dashboard has changed DOI's management in how the investment assessment process 

moves forward. The Dashboard is helping DOI with improving stakeholder communications and 

decision-making. It focuses DOI on better managing the performance of investments as 

published on the website. For the 14 DOI Bureaus and Offices, the IT Dashboard is a unifying 

mechanism that provides one score of an IT project for an agency. Each of the stakeholders can 

immediately view at a single visual representation how an investment is doing which has created 

an easier mechanism to communicate about why the performance of a particular investment is 

what it is. The IT Dashboard has made it easier for DOI to advance the dialogue to concrete 

actions that are needed on an investment. Overall the IT Dashboard has improved internal 

communications at DOI and has led to a focus on normalizing the view of investments across the 

board.

Additionally, the implementation of the IT Dashboard has made the IT project stakeholders 

respond quickly to inquiries. The Bureau CIOs paid a greater level of detailed attention to the 

CIO ratings on IT investment projects, reflecting personal insight into the health of a project. The 

Bureau CIOs took these ratings seriously and some scores had multiple reviews by the Bureau 

and DOI CIO to reflect their personal insights on the health of a project prior to finalizing the 

ratings. Specifically, the IT Dashboard has helped raise awareness and visibility of the DOI CIO 

role with the Department. 

Department of Justice (DOJ)

The Federal IT Dashboard has fostered more communication and collaboration between the IT 

Investment Management and the Earned Value Management teams. The Federal IT Dashboard 

requires a close integration of these staffs to ensure cost and milestone data entered in the IT 

Dashboard is consistent with information reported in the Exhibit 300s.

Department of Labor (DOL)

The IT Dashboard ratings and metrics are incorporated into DOL’s investment management 

process. The IT Dashboard provides us with a vehicle to show the status of IT investments to the 

public in a transparent manner.

Department of the Treasury (Treasury)

The IT Dashboard heightened awareness of how investments are performing. In addition, it 

provided the Department’s executives, administration officials, Congress and the public with an 

insight into the health of the IT portfolio. 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

IT Dashboard requirements have resulted in more proactive involvement of senior management 

in the assessment of progress and spending related to IT capital investments. Activities that 

would have been reviewed on a quarterly basis are now reviewed monthly if not more frequently. 

VA has been transparent in dealing with projects whose progress is less-than-satisfactory and has 

modified, and in some cases, canceled future activity.
62

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

If an investment in the IT Dashboard is shown as “yellow” or “red”, then the program’s senior 

management official may provide the CIO a corrective action plan that mitigates the investment 

deficiency. EPA is evaluating the current IT Dashboard performance metrics to better align with 

the Agency processes for measuring cost and schedule performance. In the future, EPA plans to 

use the IT Dashboard for trend analysis. The trend analysis will give us greater insight into the 

true health of the investments to chart a proper course over time. EPA’s senior management 

investment review board meets quarterly to review investment standings and the overall health of 

the portfolio, as presented in the IT Dashboard.

General Services Administration (GSA)

Publication of major IT investment information on the IT Dashboard has increased GSA 

leadership awareness of the progress and status of major IT investments. The IT Dashboard 

promotes transparency of investment progress, and reporting of same, promoting greater 

engagement of stakeholders in IT governance decision-making. 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

The IT Dashboard is currently presented quarterly at the NASA Baseline Performance Review 

meetings. These meetings are chaired by the NASA Associate Administrator and can direct 

action to address investment issues. The IT Dashboard is also reinforcing the concept of rebaselining at the business case level and is helping add discipline to that process.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

The agency holds responsible managers accountable for the score of their major IT investments 

on the IT dashboard in their Senior Executive Service (SES) plans. The IT Dashboard has 

increased the visibility of an investment's health and has promoted discussion between 

management, the Information Technology Business Council, and the investment managers on 

how they can improve the management and progress of their investments. 

National Science Foundation (NSF)

The IT Dashboard reinforces NSF’s existing IT governance and capital planning processes while 

providing an additional tool for the agency to use in overseeing IT investments. The IT 

Dashboard allows us to recognize Federal-wide macro level trends and provides us additional 

data on Federal IT investments.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

The IT Dashboard has had a positive impact on OPM’s investment management process. The 

CIO uses the IT Dashboard to facilitate internal discussion among key executives about the 

overall health and risks of OPM’s major IT investments. The IT Dashboard has become a critical 

component of OPM’s executive-level IT Investment Review Board meetings. The Board’s 

regular discussion of the CIO Evaluation Ratings and Comments allows all Board members to 

collect information about investment status and recommend corrective actions. At the start of FY 

2010, OPM began an initiative to evaluate and improve its investment management processes 

and is currently considering additional ways to utilize the IT Dashboard.
63

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA uses the IT Dashboard to 1) better manage high-risk investments, the USDA IT 

investment portfolio life cycle costs, and enterprise-wide investments and 2) provide economic 

and programmatic rationale for investments in IT. The IT Dashboard makes USDA IT spending 

more visible as it is available for public inspections and review.

B. TechStat

The Challenge

The Federal Government has spent over $600 billion on IT over the past decade, with many 

poorly planned or managed programs wasting taxpayer dollars.

On June 30, 2009, the Federal Government launched the IT Dashboard. The IT Dashboard 

allows the American people to monitor every IT program in the Federal Government. If a 

program is over budget, or behind schedule, the IT Dashboard demonstrates that, and by how 

much. The IT Dashboard also provides contact information for the person responsible, the 

agency chief information officer, and allows the public to provide feedback.

The IT Dashboard is the first step in better managing the taxpayer’s investments in IT. However, 

it is not enough to simply shine a light on IT programs and hope results follow. As the President 

said in his inaugural speech “those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account, 

to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can 

we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.” Following the President’s 

lead, the Federal CIO held the first TechStat Accountability Session in FY 2010.

The Solution

A TechStat is a face-to-face, evidence-based review of an IT program with OMB and agency 

leadership, powered by the IT Dashboard. A TechStat is triggered when an OMB analyst 

discovers signs of trouble while reviewing the cost, schedule and performance data provided on 

the IT Dashboard. In the session, Federal IT leaders work together for one focused hour, leaving 

no allowance for distractions. The group reviews the management of the investment, examine 

program performance data, and explore opportunities for improvement.

In many cases, the immediate result of a TechStat session will be a collaboratively developed, 

concrete action plan to address issues and turn around the troubled or failing program. With new 

perspectives and renewed vigor, Federal managers will then be responsible for executing the plan 

and correcting the program’s performance. Federal portfolio managers will continue to monitor 

these programs through the IT Dashboard as agencies make progress against their plans and 

ultimately yield benefits for the public.

However, in some cases, a TechStat session may reveal that the best course of action for an 

investment is to temporarily halt or even terminate the program. Finding these failed programs 

sooner saves the taxpayers money and promotes accountability to high standards and program 

management success.
64

Into the Future

An IT portfolio the size of the Federal Government’s demands continuous improvements in 

oversight. Going forward, TechStat will be the new way OMB does business. OMB will take 

action to turn around troubled programs and will not hesitate to terminate failing investments and 

put the money where it will actually make a difference.

The IT Dashboard will continue to provide unprecedented insight into Federal IT investment 

performance. Continuing to engage these opportunities through candid TechStat sessions will 

allow Federal managers to confront these challenges together, make bold adjustments, and make 

program success a reality. The IT Dashboard brought transparency; TechStat will bring 

accountability.

C. Enterprise Architecture and Investment Planning

A long sought goal of the Federal Enterprise Architecture (FEA) has been the creation of shared 

target architectures among Federal agencies. Shared target segment architectures provide 

agencies with detailed guidance to use as they plan and architect the evolution of their IT 

portfolio and their use of information to improve agency performance. Planning and architecting 

along these lines is critical to improving information sharing, increasing efficiency, and 

effectiveness, tightening performance and strategy alignment, and securing Federal cyberspace.

Agencies plan from their current, baseline “as is” and they make business decisions about how to 

allocate capital via the Capital Planning and Investment Control process to evolve their IT 

portfolio using shared target segment architectures as alignment targets. Agency investment 

proposals need to be aligned with the agency Enterprise Architecture (EA). To show alignment 

with the agency EA and transition plan, each investment is mapped to the FEA Reference 

Models and agency-defined segment architectures. This creates a linkage from agency strategy to 

EA to segment architecture to IT investment, thus ensuing resources are utilized to support the 

strategic objectives of the organization. Agencies were asked the following questions for this 

section:

1. Provide your agency’s Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan and EA 

Transition Plan;

2. Outline the progress of integrating the Enterprise Architecture and the Capital Planning 

and Investment Control processes and policies;

3. Provide the status and maturity of your modernization roadmap (segment architecture) 

activity including use by major programs and alignment on shared target architectures;

4. For each E-Gov initiative, provide the final determinations, priorities, and schedules. 

Also include your agency’s information dissemination product catalogs, directories, 

inventories, and any other management tools used to improve the dissemination of and 

access to your agency’s information by the public.
65

Agency responses to these questions are listed below.

Department of Commerce (DOC)

The Enterprise Architecture Transition Plan is located on the agency’s website at:

https://publish.doc.gov/s/groups/public/@doc/@os/@ocio/@oitpp/documents/content/prod01_00

8939.pdf

The Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan is located on the agency’s website 

at:http://ocio.os.doc.gov/s/groups/public/@doc/@os/@ocio/@oitpp/documents/content/prod01_0

08860.pdf

The Commerce Enterprise Architecture program, following the guidance from OMB, has linked 

all investments to segment architectures and is beginning to utilize these linkages to better plan 

investments geared towards achieving the business goals of the Department.

The Enterprise Architecture Program is linked to the capital planning and investment review 

process through the strategic IT plans and the Exhibit 300s that form the basis of budget 

initiatives, investment reviews, and operational IT plans. The Commerce maturity model 

measures these linkages. Architectural compliance is included in criteria formally scored by the 

Commerce Investment Review Board (IRB) members when they evaluate IT investments. 

In an effort that supports the Enterprise Architecture, Commerce’s Consolidated Infrastructure 

Team (CIT) developed a single business case covering all DOC infrastructure investments. The 

CIT is a governing body sanctioned by the CIO Council and charged with facilitating efforts to 

consolidate, integrate, and coordinate the management of all Commerce IT infrastructure 

activities. The CIT is composed of representatives from across the Department. The CIT 

developed an IT Infrastructure Management Framework, principles governing the management 

of Commerce’s IT infrastructure, which is consistent with the Federal Enterprise Architecture 

and the Department’s Enterprise Architecture, and the Federal Cloud Computing Initiative. 

DOC aligned all of its investments on the Exhibit 53 with segment architectures. Additionally, 

for those segments that have been identified as “standard” segments, DOC identified each 

investment with the appropriate segment coding to indicate inclusion and alignment with the 

standard segments.

DOC continues to refine its segment architectures, as OMB further defines them, and the 

interaction between the Enterprise Architecture and the Capital Planning and Investment Control 

functions of the agency.

The Commerce Web Publication Schedule (http://ocio.os.doc.gov/ITPolicyandPrograms/EGovernment/PROD01_002000) describes the information dissemination, product catalogs, 

directories, inventories, and any other management tools used to improve the dissemination of 

and access to Commerce information by the public.
66

Department of Defense (DOD)

The DoD Information Enterprise Strategic Plan and Roadmap (SP&R) defines the steps for 

achieving the DoD Information Enterprise envisioned by the National Military Strategy, 

Quadrennial Defense Review, DoD Information Enterprise Strategic Plan ̧ and the DoD 

Information Enterprise Architecture. The Strategic Plan and Roadmap provides a prioritization 

plan to guide the transformation of the Department from a stove-piped information approach to 

achieving the Department’s net-centric information sharing vision. It will foster alignment of the 

Department’s net-centric information sharing efforts by identifying, relating and measuring the 

development and implementation of specific policies, programs, and initiatives that enable the 

Department’s transition to more fully realizing net-centric effects. The plan also highlights how 

organizations are leveraging net-centric information sharing capabilities to improve the 

effectiveness and efficiency of processes across the Department. 

(https://www.intelink.gov/wiki/DoD_CIO/DoD_IESPR) 

At the Enterprise level, DoD’s Federated Enterprise Architecture is a set of architectures 

depicting segments of capability and function that provide guidance to decision makers 

regarding: 

• “What we must do” – a common set of principles, rules, constraints, and best practices 

that must be followed to meet enterprise goals. 

• “How we must operate” – the operational context of the aforementioned principles, rules, 

constraints, and best practices. 

• “When we will transition” – the SP&R roadmap is a transition plan with priorities and 

strategies for achieving them, as well as milestones, metrics, and resources needed to 

execute the strategies. 

The 2008-2009 DOD IRM Strategic Plan is located at the following link: cionii.defense.gov/docs/DoDCIO_Strat_Plan.pdf. The DoD Enterprise Architecture Transition 

Strategy, v2.0, is located at the following link: http://cionii.defense.gov/docs/EATransitionStrategy.pdf

The Department is using the DoD Enterprise Architecture (DoD EA) to guide investment 

portfolio strategies and decisions, define capability and interoperability requirements, establish 

and enforce standards, guide security and information assurance requirements across the 

Department, and provide a sound basis for transition from the existing environment to the future. 

The DoD EA is also used to guide solution architectures to clearly articulate requirements, 

influence design and implementation, and demonstrate interoperability. The DoD EA is also 

being used to review all IT investments, including those related to Network Security Services 

(NSS), for compliance with the DoD EA and applicable approved solution architectures. DoD 

EA is used to institutionalize consistent, effective use of architecture across the Department, to 

strengthen the use of architecture in the key decision making processes of the Department, 

including the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System, Defense Acquisition 

System, Business Capability Lifecycle, Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution, 

Capability Portfolio Management, and the Joint Concept Development and Experimentation, in a 

manner that enables better-informed decisions. 
67

As required by OMB Circulars A-11 and A-130, the Department maintains a target EA that is 

dynamic, changing, and expanding. Not a single, overarching artifact, but a federation of 

architectures that provides context and rules for accomplishing the mission of the Department. 

constituent architectures are developed and maintained at the Department, capability area, and 

component levels to collectively define the people, processes, and technology required in the 

current and target environment. Each of the “subsidiary” architectures also provides a roadmap 

for transitioning a given part of DoD to a new-and-improved, target operating environment. DoD 

is working toward improving the alignment of the Department’s portfolio of investments with 

the EA segment architectures. The Department governs architectures through formal processes 

consistent with the organizational and functional structure of the Department. Architectures will 

be registered and approved through the formal governance process. As part of the governance 

process, DoD will continue to sustain and apply standards for documenting architecture content 

to promote reuse, common vocabulary, and integration. DoD will also conduct periodic 

assessments of architecture management maturity and the contributions of architecture to 

mission effectiveness, efficiency, information sharing, and transparency. The Office of the DoD 

CIO is in the process of reorganizing the governance structure to better align with oversight 

functions. (https://www.intelink.gov/wiki/DoD_CIO/DoD_EA) 

DefenseLINK is now the Department's premier public information site for all current 

information on DoD. It is now called Defense.gov and is located at: http://www.defense.gov. 

Information on programs, directories, schedules and other functions that relate to the public's 

ability to obtain information that facilitates business or other interactions with DoD, can be 

found at the following links, all of which are displayed prominently on Defense.gov: 

• Major DoD Organizations: www.defense.gov/RegisteredSites/RegisteredSites.aspx

• Links to additional major DoD websites which provide information to the public, on the 

MILDEPs or DoD specialized functions such as medical support, can be found on the 

main DoD "Contact Us" page on Defense.gov: www.defense.gov/landing/Questions.aspx

• The public can also make extensive use of these DoD websites for information pertaining 

to contracting, logistical activities and the resale of DoD property: 

o Defense Contact Management Agency: www.dcma.mil

o Defense Logistics Agency: www.dla.mil

o Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service: http://www.drms.dla.mil

• For the public interested in doing business with DoD these links appear on Defense.gov: 

o Contracting with DoD: 

www.acq.osd.mil/osbp/doing_business/DoD_Contracting_Guide.htm

o General business information index: 

www.defense.gov/landing/contract_resources.aspx

o GSA for contractors and vendors: www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/home.do?tabId=8

o Advanced research and development: www.darpa.mil

• New and Emerging Media Sites: 

o Social Media Hub: socialmedia.defense.gov/

o Bloggers roundtable: www.dodlive.mil/index.php/category/bloggers-roundtable/

o DoDLive: www.dodlive.mil/

o Facebook: www.facebook.com/DeptofDefense?ref=mf

o Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/39955793@N07/
68

o Twitter: twitter.com/defensegov

o You Tube: www.youtube.com/thepentagonchannel

• For Members of the Media: 

o News: www.defense.gov/news/articles.aspx

o Photos: www.defense.gov/photos/

o Press Resources: www.defense.gov/news/news.aspx

• Information About the Activities and Processes of the Military Services: 

o Army: www.army.mil

o Navy: www.navy.mil

o Marines: www.marines.mil

o Air Force: www.af.mil

• Members of the Public Interested in Joining the U.S. Military: 

o Join the Army: www.goarmy.com

o Join the Navy: www.navy.com

o Join the Marines: www.marines.com

o Join the Air Force: http://www.airforce.com

• Alphabetized search tool to find directories and listings on Defense.gov: 

www.defense.gov/sitemap.html

• For the public to subscribe to news or request information, Defense.gov offers these 

services: 

o E-mail: www.defenselink.mil/news/dodnews.aspx

o DoD news reader feeds (RSS): www.defense.gov/news/rss/

o Podcasts: www.pentagonchannel.mil/podcast.shtml

o Publications: www.defense.gov/pubs/

• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests: www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/dfoipo/

• The American Forces Press Service and DoD Photography widgets (these widgets allow 

websites to carry a steady stream of the latest official news, images and information 

about DoD): http://www.defense.gov/home/features/widgets/

www.defense.gov/home/features/widgets

Department of Education (Education)

The Department’s IRM Strategic Plan is posted on ED.gov: 

http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/ocio/irmstratplan.doc

The Department’s EA Transition Plan is posted on ED.gov: 

http://www.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/ocio/ea-plan.doc.

The Department’s segment architecture activity is managed using an IT governance process that 

fully integrates Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Capital Planning and Investment Control

(CPIC). The Department’s IT portfolio is composed of 13 segment architectures representing 

agency lines of business. Each segment has its own performance goals, objectives and measures. 

These segment performance plans are consolidated into the Enterprise Transition Plan, which 

describes the overall plan for the Department to achieve its target, or “To-Be” future state, vision 

in three to five years. The ETP links proposed ED investments to the target architecture and is 

used to track investment performance through clearly defined milestones and associated 

performance metrics. The ETP is aligned with the IRM Strategic Plan, which is the Department’s 
69

five-year technology modernization roadmap; it identifies the common enabling services that are 

to be shared across segment architectures.

Both EA and CPIC activities are supported using the business segment framework. EA and CPIC 

liaisons are assigned to one or more of the Department’s 13 business segments. Liaisons work 

directly with segment owners and project managers within the segment to conduct EA and CPIC 

activities. EA and CPIC hold joint briefings and training sessions with segment owners, project 

managers, and with the first-line review board (the Department’s Planning and Investment 

Working Group). In September 2009, a single acquisition began to support both the EA and 

CPIC activities. All activities performed by EA and CPIC are coordinated, with cross-cutting 

reviews of all artifacts produced. The principal CPIC and EA staff meet weekly and work from a 

single task list of activities with specific integration activities highlighted as a separate task area.

The Department is committed to providing its full range of information to the public. A primary 

vehicle for doing so is the Department’s main website, ED.gov (www.ed.gov). ED.gov offers 

regularly updated information on the administration’s priorities as well as Department grants and 

contracts, Federal student financial aid, education research and statistics, and agency policy and 

programs (please see www.ed.gov). The Department developed an inventory of website content, 

www.ed.gov/notices/egovinventory.html, as required by Section 207(f)(2) of the E-Government 

Act of 2002. The Department also offers a one-stop system for ordering its publications 

(edpubs.ed.gov), an array of e-newsletters (www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/index.html), and an 

RSS feed (www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/rssnewsfeed.html).

Department of Energy (DOE)

DOE’s IRM Strategic Plan is posted to: 

• www.cio.energy.gov/documents/Microsoft_Word_-

_FINAL_DOE_IRM_Strategic_Plan_2009-2011_090808(1).pdf

DOE’s EA Transition Plan is posted to:

• www.cio.energy.gov/enterprise-architecture.htm

In December 2008, the DOE OCIO revised DOE Order 200.1A: Information Technology 

Management. The Order provides guidance for implementing a Department-wide Enterprise 

Architecture (EA) that supports mission needs and provides business value through collaboration 

among Departmental elements. The Order defines the objectives, components and 

responsibilities for integrating EA and CPIC processes across the Department to ensure the 

effective management of information and information systems. 

The Department’s EA governance process embraces the architect, invest, implement approach to 

program and performance improvement. Through the Federal Segment Architecture 

Methodology and EA Segment Reports, DOE has aligned its entire IT portfolio to segment 

architectures. This has assisted with integrating investment performance into segment 

performance. 

The Department has also utilized the segment architecture work in the investment review 

process. DOE reviewed its data to ensure architecture and CPIC processes aligned investments in 
70

the same way. Through the CPIC process, DOE reviewed investments to ensure the primary 

business function that the segment aligns to was represented through the segment architecture 

work.

In addition, the entire IT portfolio is represented in the Department’s EA Transition Plan. This 

plan incorporates the investments and funding amounts required to transition the as-is 

architecture to the target architecture.

Through the EA governance processes, the Department has identified the segments that represent 

all of DOE’s business areas. The OCIO has created a baseline segment architecture for nine 

segments and has developed more in-depth segments for five of the nine segments. In addition, 

the OCIO has developed a plan to move forward with maturing the remaining segments. As part 

of the maturation process, DOE is reassessing, based on new Departmental mandates and 

strategic direction, segments that should be matured to move towards achieving DOE’s strategic 

goals. Upon completing the segment prioritization process, the Department will continue to 

mature its segments. 

The Agency’s information dissemination materials and other management tools are posted to:

• www.energy.gov/webpolicies.htm

• cio.energy.gov/publications/web.htm

• cio.energy.gov/policy-guidance/Federal_regulations.htm

• cio.energy.gov/policy-guidance/guidance.htm

• cio.energy.gov/policy-guidance/omb_requirements.htm

• www.osti.gov

• management.energy.gov/foia_pa.htm

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The DHS Strategic Plan is available at: www.dhs.gov/xabout/strategicplan. 

The Enterprise Architecture Transition Plan is available at: dhsonline.dhs.gov/portal/jhtml/dc 

/sf.jhtml?doid=107156. 

The Capital Planning and Investment Control team works closely with the EA team to share 

information and align investments to the Department segment architectures. EA is part of every 

Exhibit 300 capital asset plan and Exhibit 53 IT portfolio report. All IT investments are mapped 

to the Department’s segment architectures and efforts are underway to map them to the Federal 

segment architectures. All data that is provided to OMB through data exchange files are also 

provided to the EA team to populate the Department’s EA database. 

The Department of Homeland Security has identified functional areas that define the segments 

for DHS at a high level. These functional areas/segments have been adopted by the DHS Office 

of Strategic Plans to serve as the underlying structure and neutral lens for planning, 

programming, budgeting, executing, and assessing performance of DHS resources and capital 

investments. These areas are supported by one or more segment architectures. Figure 1 below 

represents the DHS segments. 
71

Throughout 2009 DHS actively worked on the following segment architectures: 

• Enterprise Business Service → Human Capital 

• Enterprise IT Services → Identity and Access Management 

• Screening 

• Information Sharing Environment (ISE) 

In 2010 DHS plans to develop segment architectures for: 

• Law Enforcement 

• Domain Awareness 

• Securing → Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources Protection

To assist in Segment Architecture development, DHS has tailored the Federal Segment 

Architecture Methodology to provide a standardized, repeatable methodology to segment 

architecture development that is integrated with existing DHS processes. This methodology will 

ensure that DHS Segments are integrated with the Enterprise Architecture and are appropriately 

governed through the DHS governance mechanisms. 

Determinations, priorities, and timeline information for each E-Gov Initiative can be found in the 

agency’s report at: http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/compliance/.
72

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The IRM Strategic Plan is located at: 

http://www.hhs.gov/ocio/ea/documents/hhs_irm_strategic_plan_2007_2012.pdf

The EA Transition Plan is located at: www.hhs.gov/ocio/ea/documents/hhs_ent_trans_2009.pdf

The HHS EA Program is closely aligned with the HHS CPIC Program, both in terms of 

collecting and modeling information associated with major and tactical investments in the HHS 

IT portfolio, and in using the EA as a basis for supporting key CPIC processes. The details of 

most CPIC program activities are described in the HHS OCIO Policy for IT Capital Planning and 

Investment Control and the CPIC Procedures (www.hhs.gov/ocio/policy/index.html). Both 

documents are developed and maintained by the HHS CPIC Program. The CPIC Program also 

oversees the implementation of the HHS Enterprise Performance Life Cycle (EPLC),

(www.hhs.gov/ocio/eplc/index.html) and fulfills specific roles and responsibilities within the 

context of the EPLC phases. The EPLC includes a major role for enterprise architects during 

project stage gate reviews.

For the HHS EA Program the primary areas of interaction with CPIC at the departmental level 

are:

• Information sharing and integration between the HHS portfolio management tool 

maintained by the CPIC Program and the HHS EA repository maintained by the HHS EA 

program.

• Architectural analysis of IT project business cases through participation in the EPLC 

Critical Partner Stage Gate Reviews.

• Preparation, maintenance, and update of information for the HHS EA investment for use 

in both the HHS EA repository and the HHS portfolio management tool.

EA roles and responsibilities for Capital Planning and Investment Control activities include:

• The HHS EA Program staff, in consultation with the HHS Chief Enterprise 

Architect and the HHS CPIC Program Manager, is responsible for integrating the 

HHS EA repository and the portfolio management tool to support both CPIC and 

EA program requirements.

• The HHS EA program team participates in EA EPLC Stage Gate Critical Partner 

Reviews of IT projects. These reviews focus on assessing the architectural fit with 

the HHS Enterprise Transition Plan and the appropriate segment transition plans, 

and with pertinent strategic IT and business goals and objectives.

• The HHS EA program staff is responsible for ensuring that Department-owned or 

managed IT investments captured in the portfolio management tool are reflected

in the HHS EA with the appropriate level of detail as specified in the HHS EA 

Modeling Guide.

• Operating Division Chief Enterprise Architects and their EA programs are 

responsible for ensuring that IT investments they own or manage are captured in 

the portfolio management tool and reflected in the HHS EA with the appropriate 

level of detail as specified in the HHS EA Modeling Guide.
73

• The HHS Lead Architect is responsible for ensuring the timely update of 

information related to the HHS EA initiative (a supporting investment) in the 

portfolio management tool.

The HHS EA Critical Partner Review Guide demonstrates participation of the EA Review Board 

members in a comprehensive EA alignment review for IT investments in the Department's IT 

Investment Portfolio. All investments were reviewed within the Department's CPIC Critical 

Partner Review cycle to assure alignment with strategic goals, IT objectives and overall business 

needs. IT investments describe the alignment of the associated projects with identified business 

needs. During 2007 HHS began the integration of the HHS EA repository with the portfolio 

management tool. This integration allows for architectural information to be stored in the EA 

repository and portfolio information in the portfolio management tool. The communication 

between the two tools improves information consolidation, quality, sharing, and collaboration 

between EA and CPIC. In the next phase of the HHS EA repository migration, the EA repository 

will offer integrated reports by collecting data not only from the CPIC but also from security and 

records management. Documentation of this and other EA/CPIC integration is evidenced in such 

documents as:

• HHS IT EA Policy (http://www.hhs.gov/ocio/ea/index.html)

• EA Critical Partner Review Guidance for FY2011 Investments

• EPLC Stage gate Reviews Practice Guide

• HHS OCIO Policy for Information Technology Investment 

• HHS Enterprise Architecture Governance Plan

• Performance Baseline Management

Significant information overlaps between the data collected and maintained by the EA and CPIC 

programs provide areas of opportunity for ongoing integration involving the two programs. The 

HHS portfolio management tool is the Department’s system of record for IT investments 

constituting the HHS IT Portfolio. The HHS EA repository contains additional data beyond the 

scope of data maintained in the Performance Measurement Tool, but with respect to investments, 

the HHS EA repository is the system of record only for EA information related to investments, 

which includes linkages to HHS systems and system inventory information.

The modernization roadmap; status; milestones for 2009, 2010, 2011; and major programs, are 

detailed in the EA Enterprise Transition Strategy, Section 3.1 Transition Priorities. The 

alignment with shared target architectures is described in Sections 3.3 – 3.5, and Appendices B 

and C, of the same document. The document is located at: 

http://www.hhs.gov/ocio/ea/documents/hhs_ent_trans_2009.pdf
74

E-Gov 

Initiative Current Status

Milestones

2009 2010 2011

Recovery Act 

Program

Implementation Plans 

published

Execute program 

implementation plans; 

meet Reporting 

requirements for 

Recovery.gov

Execute program 

implementation plans; 

meet reporting 

requirements for 

Recovery.gov

Transition ARRA 

impacted programs off 

of Recovery Act funding

IRM Priorities IRM priorities discussed 

at HHS-wide strategic 

planning session in 

October 2008

Complete segment 

Architecture iterations for 

all high-priority segments

Re-assess priorities in 

light of Recovery Act 

and adjust Investments 

accordingly; revise IRM 

Strategic Plan

Execute strategic plan; 

initiate major initiatives 

corresponding to IRM 

priorities

Performance 

Measurement 

Tool

Program Performance 

Tracking System (PPTS) 

put into production in 

January 2009; 

performance measures 

being populated for all 

programs

Capture performance 

milestones for all HHS 

program

Integrate performance 

measures from IT 

investment portfolio and 

other sources to PPTS to 

provide a consolidated 

view of performance 

measures and results

Expand performance 

reporting capabilities 

beyond strategic 

alignment; incorporate 

performance 

measurements in 

governance processes

IT Infrastructure IT Infrastructure 

consolidated Ex. 300 

reflects all OPDIVs; key 

security and network 

initiatives (TIC, IPv6, 

FDCC, Networx) 

incorporated in ITI

Produce consolidated Ex. 

300 incorporating relevant 

initiatives

Execute consolidation of 

Internet connections 

under TIC; implement 

IPv6-enabled network 

services

Incorporate new services 

and IT Infrastructure 

provisioning models as 

appropriate, including 

cloud computing

Business 

Intelligence 

Solution

Integrated platform 

aggregates data from EA, 

CPIC, and Security 

primary systems

Continue report 

development; Evaluate 

additional data sources

Expand data sources to 

Performance measures; 

increase use of analytics 

capabilities

Implement service 

offering for stakeholder 

requested report creation 

and development

Security Maintaining core 

Department level security 

services including 

incident response; HHS 

CSIRC operational; began 

using ISS LoB SCC for 

Training

Conduct security 

architecture analysis for 

OPDIVs; evaluate FISMA 

reporting tool alternatives 

including SSC

Enhance enterprise 

security awareness 

leveraging Operational 

capabilities and 

Information gathered 

through the HHS CSIRC

Better integrate 

information security and 

physical security, and 

align both with 

budgetary planning 

process

HHSIdentity Contract awarded for 

solution implementation 

after successful pilot

Continue phased roll-out 

of federated identity 

management, enrolling 

OPDIVs

Integrate physical and 

logical security 

including HSPD-12; 

evaluate other related 

functional areas such as 

HR for dependencies

Evaluate opportunities 

to leverage cross-agency 

identity management 

capabilities

Enterprise Data 

Management

HHS Data Strategy 

published

Evaluating potential 

creation of health domain 

within NIEM

Standardize information 

Exchange requirements 

from health IT 

specifications

Promulgate data 

standards, including 

EHR as mandated in 

Recovery Act

Enterprise 

Performance Life 

Cycle

HHS CPIC EPLC Policy 

published and in effect, 

and applied to two 

projects.

Newly initiated IT 

projects to follow EPLC

Revise/refine EPLC to 

reflect changes in Ex. 

300

Standardize process and 

roles for stage gate 

reviews for all projects

Health IT Successfully completed 

NHIN Trial 

Implementations; NHIN 

Connect released as open 

source

Move HIEs into 

production with NHIN; 

publish health IT 

standards as required in 

the Recovery Act

Incorporate health IT 

standards, data formats, 

and services in HER 

standard produced by 

the government

Enforce use of health IT 

standards for external 

and internal information 

exchanges
75

HHS information dissemination materials and other management tools are posted to:

• Web Communication & New Media (www.hhs.gov/web/index.html)

• HHS Web Policies (http://www.hhs.gov/web/policies/webpolicies/index.html)

• HHS Agency Newsrooms (www.hhs.gov/aspa/newsrooms/index.html)

• Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation Policy Information Center 

(http://aspe.hhs.gov/pic/)

• Recovery Act (http://www.hhs.gov/recovery/)

• HHS Agency Financial Reports (www.hhs.gov/afr/)

• FY 2010 President's Budget for HHS (www.hhs.gov/asrt/ob/docbudget/index.html)

• Regulations (www.hhs.gov/policies/index.html)

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

HUD’s IRM Strategic Plan is available at:

• www.hud.gov/offices/cio/documents/itstratplan3.pdf

HUD’s EA Transition Plan is available at:

• www.hud.gov/offices/cio/ea/newea/resources/eatpv2.pdf

HUD ‘s progress is demonstrated by the EA and IT investment management integration and 

coordination Quality of Service initiative to improve overall service and strive for excellence 

within HUD. The planned results include, a strategic focus on mission performance, opportunity 

to improve program performance, reduction of duplication/redundancy of data calls sent to 

program areas, and prioritized IT spending. The specific initiatives include: 

• Segment Architecture Prioritization Process. The strategic planning process for 

prioritizing the business investments to better support the mission and business 

operations of the Department by strengthening the quality of investments within the 

agency portfolio as reflected in critical attributes such HUD Mission, Performance, Risk, 

Financial Management OMB/GAO mandate and compliance. This initiative is in 

progress. 

• Align IT investment portfolio with EA and EA Transition Plan and all major investments 

(including non-major investments with Development/Modernization/Enhancement

(DME)) to provide performance improvement integration and validate DME spending. 

This initiative is on-going. 

• Coordinate and collaborate on the alignment of the performance indicators/measures 

identified in the HUD Strategic Plan, the Annual Performance Plan, the Management 

Plan, The Performance Accountability Report, the Performance Reference Model , the 

OMB Exhibit 300, and the Performance Architecture. The framework development phase 

for the Performance Management initiative is 100% complete. The implementation phase 

is in planning. 

• Coordinate and combine the major data calls sent to programs such as the IT master 

schedule and monthly project plan reporting. This initiative is to be complete in FY 2010.

The status and maturity of HUD’s modernization roadmap is provided / demonstrated in the 

following:

• EA Transition Plan V3.0 (http://www.hud.gov/offices/cio/ea/newea/resources/eatpv2.pdf)
76

• Business and IT Modernization Plan Development Guidance/Work Product and Decision 

Templates Volume 1 of 1 (www.hud.gov/offices/cio/ea/newea/resources/segment.pdf)

• HUD Segment Architecture Codes (please refer to Attachment A: HUD Segment 

Architecture Codes – November 2009)

HUD.gov was developed as the information clearinghouse for the public and HUD’s business 

partners. Consequently, HUD's E-Gov initiatives already provide the most commonly requested 

information under the Freedom of Information Act and through email and telephone contacts. 

However, to ensure requested information is available HUD staff routinely respond to customer 

questions, provide feedback on any frequently requested information that is not already available 

on HUD's website. HUD has identified the inventory of information priorities and schedules 

available www.hud.gov/about/inventory.cfm.

This web publication schedule page also provides a link to HUD's Web Manager mailbox and 

solicits public comments and suggestions. As new information becomes available at HUD that is 

important to the public, the Department is committed to putting it on HUD's Homes and 

Community website. HUD’s information dissemination products, catalogs, directories, 

inventories and other management tools are found on HUD.gov Resources, Contact Us, and 

HUD User web pages.

Department of the Interior (DOI)

The Department’s Enterprise Architecture and Information Resource Management plans can be 

found at: http://www.doi.gov/ocio/strategic_plan.html and 

http://www.doi.gov/ocio/architecture/guidance/dearpol.htm.

The DOI Enterprise Architecture and CPIC programs are increasing alignment and integration 

through a number of actions. The Chief Enterprise Architect for DOI is leading two of the four 

evaluation areas for the selection of DOI’s Budget Year 2012 IT portfolio. These two areas focus 

on the business value elements including the alignment of investments with Interior’s Enterprise 

Architecture and Strategic Plan. The criteria for business value IT investment selection will form 

the basis for prioritization of strategic information management sequencing identified in the DOI 

Enterprise Transition Plan. This will help reinforce the OMB Architect-Invest-Implement 

performance cycle. The Chief of the Portfolio Management Division and the Chief of the EA and 

IT Strategic Planning Division routinely collaborate on information management functions and 

initiatives. The DOI Chief Enterprise Architect is undertaking an initiative to align milestones 

associated with measuring segment architecture implementation progress with the milestones 

identified in IT investment business cases. The Enterprise Architecture Division is evaluating the 

use of The DOI Enterprise Architecture Repository and examining opportunities for improved 

linkages with the CPIC, project management, asset management, and information assurance 

communities and management systems. 

Final determinations, priorities, and schedules: www.doi.gov/notices/soc.html.

Information dissemination product catalogs, directories, inventories, and management tools: 

www.doi.gov/ocio/egov/products.html.
77

Department of Justice (DOJ)

The Department's Information Technology Strategic Plan for FY 2010 - 2015 is posted on the 

agency’s website at http://www.justice.gov/jmd/ocio/it-strategic-plan.htm. The Department 

Transition Strategy and Sequencing Plan was updated in June 2009 and is available upon 

request. 

The Department has been very successful at integrating its Enterprise Architecture (EA) with the 

DOJ IT Investment Management (ITIM) processes and policies. EA involvement in ITIM 

activities has grown from simple compliance-oriented architecture to integration with all stages 

of the Capital Planning process and Investment Oversight. The DOJ CIO EA Program 

Management Office (EAPMO) works closely with the DOJ OCIO Policy and Planning Staff 

(PPS) on many areas where both EA and ITIM requirements overlap, including data gathering on 

investments from components, investment review and analysis, and reporting to OMB. This 

integration between the EA and the ITIM process has been cataloged in both the Program 

Manager User Guide and the IT Governance Guide. 

Reporting is one of the largest areas where there is overlap between the EA and ITIM 

requirements. The annual ITIM reporting response to OMB requires input from both the ITIM 

group and the EAPMO. The EAPMO and PPS coordinate their data calls, combining them when 

possible, to reduce the reporting burden on components and programs. EA provides specific 

guidance for these data calls and support to the components as they complete them. The EAPMO 

and PPS then work together to review the information before it is submitted to OMB.

The DOJ EA program's involvement with the ITIM process was originally limited to guidance 

on EA sections of the Exhibit 53 and Exhibit 300. It has since grown to include EA reviews 

within the Department’s Investment Review Board, joint EA/ITIM data calls, architectural 

reviews of large projects, the development of the Department Architectural Advisory Board, and 

integration of EA into the IT Governance Guide. The integration between EA and ITIM is a 

process that will continue to evolve. 

The Department's segment architectures describe discrete portions of the overall EA and include 

the systems, investments, drivers, and activities within each Segment. Currently, the Department 

has completed five of its fourteen segment architectures including Information Sharing, IT 

Infrastructure, Financial Management, and the Justice Information Services Segment. DOJ 

submitted these segments to OMB in June 2009 as part of its Completion Submission for 

Enterprise Architecture. The Department developed a segment prioritization process that 

identified these segments as having the highest impact and value. Additionally, the Segment 

Prioritization Document provides a methodology for identifying future Segments for 

development. These segment architectures directly affect many of the major programs in DOJ 

and represent a majority of the development, modernization, and enhancement spending of the 

Department.

The Department's Segment Architecture is directly related to the activities of its major programs 

and the target architecture of its components. The following sections provide information on the

maturity of the Department's completed segments and the major programs and investments that 
78

are represented in each segment. Additional information about each segment can be found in the 

completed segment architectures already submitted to OMB on MAX. 

Information Sharing Segment Architecture

The Information Sharing Segment Architecture (ISSA) is the best documented segment within 

DOJ. It describes the Department’s approach to information sharing, identifies opportunities to 

develop new exchanges, and promotes reusable infrastructure and common standards. It provides 

descriptions and guidance for implementing the three techniques for sharing information 

(application access, data publication, and federated queries).The ISSA catalogs all the ways that 

programs are sharing information and provides a target view for the future. The ISSA provides 

an overview of the systems within the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement 

Agency (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), US Marshals 

Service, Bureau of Prisons, and US Attorneys that share information. It also provides specific 

examples of how the following major programs are sharing information; FBI Law Enforcement 

Online, FBI Criminal Justice Information Service Systems, FBI eGuardian, FBI Violent Criminal 

Apprehension Program, DEA National Drug Pointer Index, ATF Bomb Arson Tracking System,

and ATF eTrace. The information sharing strategies, policies, and methodology in the ISSA are 

applicable to all investments within the Department. It provides a guide to system owners and 

architects to more easily share information both within DOJ and externally.

IT Infrastructure Segment Architecture

The Department completed its first iteration of the IT Infrastructure Segment Architecture 

(ITISA) in FY 2009. DOJ’s infrastructure consists of both component-based and 

Departmental/Enterprise-based infrastructure and infrastructure services. This version of the 

ITISA focuses on those parts of the infrastructure that are provided by the Justice Management 

Division and OCIO and which provide enterprise-wide services. The planned evolution of this 

segment is to accommodate additional IT infrastructure components and sub-segments needed to 

define the services and technologies used for a wide range of DOJ mission needs. The ITISA 

currently describes a supporting infrastructure and does not include application functionality. 

DOJ applications must use this infrastructure segment architecture as an operational IT 

foundation, while programs and projects must define specific application architectures relevant 

to their initiatives.

As mentioned previously, the current iteration of the ITISA focuses on JMD/OCIO Infrastructure 

that provides Enterprise wide services. The ITISA provides detailed information on the 

following programs; Justice Unified Telecommunications Network, Washington Area Switch 

Program, Justice Data Centers, Metropolitan Area Network, Justice Consolidated Office 

Network, Justice On-line Information Network, Justice Consolidated Office Network Next, 

Justice Secure Remote Access, and the Classified Information Technology Program. It also 

covers the Department's implementation of major initiatives including IPv6, Federal Desktop 

Core Configuration, Electronic Stewardship Program, Identity Management – HSPD-12, and 

Trusted Internet Connection. 

Financial Management Segment Architecture 

The Financial Management Segment Architecture (FMSA) summarizes the performance drivers, 

business processes, and information technology (IT) systems that support financial management 
79

at the Department. The core of DOJ’s target architecture for financial management is found in 

the DOJ Unified Financial Management System (UFMS). This FMSA document summarizes the 

business, data, and solution architectures developed for UFMS. While the FMSA mainly focuses 

on the implementation of UFMS, it also identifies various other component operated financial 

management systems that are part of the financial management target architecture for the 

Department. 

Justice Information Services Segment Architecture 

The Justice Information Services (JIS) Segment focuses on the creation, aggregation and 

dissemination of information to assist Federal, State, Local, and Tribal law enforcement 

authorities with information pertaining to background checks, identification services, and 

criminal statistics. This segment has been developed to help establish a vision for providing 

major automated services to the criminal justice community across the nation. The Justice 

Information Services are executed and delivered organizationally by the Criminal Justice 

Information Services (CJIS) Division within the FBI as well as other DOJ components such as 

the ATF, DEA, and Office of Justice Programs. The JIS Segment Architecture primarily hinges 

around the architecture documents developed by FBI CJIS systems, but as the Department 

develops future iterations of this Segment it will expand the scope to include more systems 

outside of FBI CJIS.

In FY 2009, the Department continued its support of the solutions and/or services offered by the 

OMB-sponsored E-Government Initiatives and Lines of Business. DOJ adopted the common 

solutions offered by the following E-Gov initiatives: 

Consolidated Health Informatics, Disaster Management, E-Clearance, E-Payroll, E-Training, 

Recruitment One-Stop, SAFECOM, USA Services, Business Gateway, E-Rulemaking, ERecords Management, Federal Asset Sales, Grants.gov, GovBenefits, Integrated Acquisition 

Environment, and the IT Security Line of Business.

Ongoing DOJ efforts to implement the following E-Gov Initiatives and LOBs: 

• Enterprise Human Resources Initiative - DOJ will work towards migrating to electronic 

Official Personnel Files and back file conversion of personnel files by 2013. 

• E-Travel - DOJ will continue to work with GSA and the E-Travel Solution vendor to 

ensure that Departmental and government-wide information security requirements are 

included in ETS2 solution. The Department will continue to share with both GSA and 

OMB, recommendations for ensuring these government-wide requirements are addressed 

in the next generation E-travel solution.

• Lines of Business – DOJ will continue to participate and support the OMB-sponsored 

Lines of Business (LOB) to leverage government-wide IT business practices and policies. 

These include: adopting the Financial Management LOB’s enterprise architecture based 

principles and best practices to implement the Unified Financial Management System 

(UFMS); collaborating and implementing the Human Resources LOB Multi-Agency 

Executive Strategy Committee guidance; continuing discussions with the Grants 

Management LOB lead about adding the Community Partnership Grants Management 

System as a consortium provider; and remaining abreast of the Geospatial LOB activities 

as the Federal Geospatial Data Committee works on drafting supplemental guidance to 

A-16, Coordination of Geographic Information, and Related Spatial Data Activities. 
80

The schedule and priorities of information to be published on the DOJ website over the next year 

is found at http://www.justice.gov/jmd/ocio/egovschedule.htm.

Department of Labor (DOL)

DOL’s Information Resources Management Plan, FY 2005-2009, is published at the following 

link:

• http://www.dol.gov/cio/programs/ITStrategicPlan2006/IT-Strategic-Plan.htm

DOL’s Enterprise Architecture Transition Plan is published at the following link:

• www.dol.gov/cio/programs/DOL-Transition-Strategy-Plan.pdf

Department of Labor has made significant progress towards integrating Enterprise Architecture 

and CPIC processes and policies. DOL continues to refine its IT Investment Management 

Framework (IMF). This framework helps the Department and its Agencies manage investments 

through the integration of several different functional areas. The main components of the IMF 

are Capital Planning and Investment Control, the Software Development Lifecycle, Security 

Compliance, Enterprise Architecture, and other functional areas within the Office of the CIO

(OCIO). The IMF provides policies and procedures to ensure proper integration of EA and CPIC. 

As part of the IMF process, DOL also has standing, cross functional governance committees that 

include CPIC and EA. Furthermore, the CPIC process includes EA as part of the control view 

process. 

The Department’s Investment Management Framework identifies the lifecycle phases and maps 

them to corresponding IT Capital Planning, Security, and Enterprise Architecture phases, thereby 

ensuring a comprehensive, integrated approach to investment management. Process reviews by 

Agency, OCIO, and the Technical Review Board (TRB) are conducted and recommendations / 

approvals are given addressing risk, complexity, cost and budget coverage. The products of these 

components, and more importantly, the integration of them, help facilitate investment success. 

In addition, DOL has three standing governance sub-committees. The committees are IT 

Architecture, Capital Planning, and Enterprise Architecture. These committees are integrated, 

cross functional teams that include representation from OCIO, EA, CPIC, Security, as well as 

staff from the various agencies. This structure promotes increased communication and 

collaboration between EA and CPIC functions as well as between the department and the 

numerous agencies. These committees report directly to the TRB. 

Through this integrated IT Investment Management Framework and DOL’s cross functional 

committee structure, enterprise architecture insights and knowledge is incorporated in Capital 

planning decisions. 

Department of Labor has a mature segment architecture roadmap and has identified 68 different 

segments across the enterprise covering different business, enterprise, and core mission areas. 

Approximately 25% of the segment architectures have been completed. All major programs align 

to segment architectures through the Department of Labor Enterprise Architecture Management 

System. In addition, all segment architectures include a segment transition or modernization 
81

plan. The seven enterprise service segments represent shared targets for use by the entire 

enterprise.

DOL Segment by Classification

Core, 41

Business, 20

Enterprise Service, 7

Status of DOL Segments

Completed

25%

In-Progress

16%

Notional

7%

Under Evaluation

52%

In accordance with Section 207(f)(2) of the E-Government Act of 2002, DOL posts its web 

content publication schedule at the following link: www.dol.gov/dol/aboutdol/content.htm. 

Additional publication resources are listed under the “Research, Reports & Publications” at 

www.dol.gov/dol/foia/readroom.htm. 

Department of Transportation (DOT)

DOT’s IRM Strategic Plan is available at: 

cio.ost.dot.gov/DOT/OST/Documents/files/irmplan20072012.html

DOT’s EA Transition Plan is can be found at:

http://www.dot.gov/webpoliciesnotices/doteaplan.htm

The OCIO is currently working on an integration effort that will provide project planning and 

management services to DOT Operating Administrations (OAs) from initial concept and 

identification of a business need to final disposition. This effort will include the performance 

improvement lifecycle concept of “architect, invest, and implement” to further the integrity of 

Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) integration 

and implementation. OCIO is working on strategic and tactical efforts to address the governance, 

policies, guides, templates, tools and training DOT will offer to the OAs. DOT is laying out a 
82

streamlined process for customers, and building integration points with the budget, security, 

procurement and strategic planning functions.

DOT has made significant and steady progress towards business transformation over the last 

year. The following DOT activities were accomplished during fiscal years (FY) 2008 and 2009:

• Finalized creation and definition of all 22 DOT segments, including validation of DOT 

investment mappings (all major and non-major), working directly with stakeholders;

• Kicked-off the Financial Management Business Transformation effort as part of the 

Financial Management Segment, which seeks to improve financial management reporting 

and information sharing by developing a standardized reporting strategy and adopting a 

streamlined and efficient way of sharing financial information across the Department;

• Initiated the Hazardous Intelligence Portal which pinpoints the locations of hazardous 

materials around the country. The portal, involving collaboration between DOT and other 

agencies that oversee hazardous materials, draws from 26 different sources and provides 

a central hub where information from all agencies can be viewed; and

• Developed the DOT Segment Prioritization Methodology to identify high priority 

segments for potential transformation and/or modernization within the Department and to 

facilitate enterprise IT planning.

Grants Segment

The Grants Segment is currently going through two concurrent activity streams:

• Analyzing DOT’s grants environment and recommending the removal and consolidation 

of systems in order to improve all grants processes and standardize grants-related data 

and; 

• Migrating select DOT grants services to the Department of Health and Human Services 

(HHS) – Administration for Children and Families (ACF) Common Operating 

Environment (COE).

In January 2009, the eGrants Integrated Project Team (IPT) worked with HHS-ACF’s COE to 

conduct a fit-gap analyses on the three largest DOT grant-making systems; the Federal Aviation 

Administration’s SOAR system, the Federal Highway Administration’s FMIS system, and the 

Federal Transit Administration’s TEAM-WEB system, to determine if the COE can support their 

grant services. It was determined that the HHS-ACF’s COE is not capable of supporting the 

larger grants programs’ functional needs; however it may serve the needs of some DOT grant 

programs such as the Federal Railway Administration’s (FRA) grant program. As a pilot 

program, FRA migrated all of its grants services to HHS’s COE. OAs which do not need highly 

functional grants systems are interested in HHS COE, but a decision to let them migrate to the 

COE has not yet been made. Instead, the scope of the IPT will be altered to focus on a more 

system-centric approach as opposed to adopting an inter-agency solution.

The Grants Segment is composed of four major investments, and its initial planning phase is 

complete. With funding yet to be established, DOT would be able to transition DOT OAs to use 

the HHS/ACF “Grants Solution” system. The segment supports DOT’s goals for organizational

excellence.
83

Air Traffic Control Segment

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Control Sub-segment Architecture 

shows the programs planned to sustain the existing National Airspace System (NAS) and to 

continue the transition to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

The Air Traffic Control Sub-segment Architecture includes programs to deploy foundational 

technologies and infrastructure such as: Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast, Data 

Communications, NextGen Network Enabled Weather, NAS Voice Switch and System Wide 

Information Management. These are core technologies for the introduction of new capabilities 

promised for NextGen. They provide the communication, navigation and surveillance technology 

supported by the more sophisticated information flows that will allow better use of airspace 

capacity.

The Air Traffic Control Sub-segment Architecture also includes programs to implement the 

NextGen solution sets (e.g. trajectory-based operations, high density arrivals and departures, etc). 

In some cases these projects will develop and buy new equipment; in other cases the programs 

will create demonstrations to prove the new technology is accurate and reliable enough to use 

operationally.

NextGen is not a copy of the current air traffic control system; it embodies a whole new concept 

for handling air traffic. Individual flight paths will be assigned and controllers will seldom have 

to intervene when aircraft fly their assigned trajectory and hit the assigned waypoints at the 

assigned times. Real time information on weather and traffic conditions will be available to all 

users, and solutions to any conflicts will be worked out collaboratively.

The Traffic Control Segment is composed of 22 major and 37 non-major investments. The 

segment’s status is complete, and supports DOT’s strategic goals for reduced congestions and 

safety.

Financial Management Segment

The Financial Management team has taken a comprehensive approach toward managing the 

segment and placed a strong emphasis on appropriate planning, governance, and stakeholder 

involvement prior to conceptualizing a solution. Specifically, they have established a project 

management office, established a team to address planning from the business perspective, 

created governance bodies and work groups that include various functional areas, brought in 

experts in various areas (including EA) to implement activities as required, and are using a 

phased approach to encourage stakeholders to present requirements and identify problems prior 

to determining the direction for a solution.

The Financial Management Segment is composed of two major and 14 non-major investments. 

The segment’s status is “in-progress,” and supports DOT’s strategic goal for organizational 

excellence. The next steps include determining participants, develop the strategic intent and 

scope, and launch the project.
84

Hazardous Materials Management Segment

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) developed the Hazmat 

Intelligence Portal (HIP), a web-based hazardous materials intelligence fusion center that 

provides OAs and the U.S. Coast Guard centralized access to vital data and information to 

support risk management, transparency, and decision support objectives to improve safety 

performance and reduce risk in the safe, secure, and reliable transport of HazMat. The HIP 

integrates inspection, incident, regulation, penalty, and other data collected. The HIP provides 

the following benefits:

• Allows DOT to increase safety performance through risk-based enforcement – use data to 

identify high risk shippers and carriers most likely to be involved in an incident;

• Maximizes limited resources and limits duplicate inspections by prioritizing inspection 

activities to focus on the greatest risk – inspectors are focused on shippers and carriers 

with complaints, serious incidents, and failed inspections; 

• Strengthens cross-modal, state, and local collaboration by sharing information such as 

inspection results, enforcement actions, and last inspection date, which can be critical in 

identifying potential high risk shippers and carriers. If a carrier skimps on safety in the air 

operations it is likely the same is true for their road, rail, and/or water operations; and,

• Increases the effectiveness of outreach, training, and emergency preparedness by using 

the data to focus efforts on areas that had the most issues, such as commodities involved 

in the most incidents, packaging containers or materials with the most failures, etc.

The Hazardous Materials Management Segment is composed of two major and three non-major 

investments. The segment’s status is “in-progress,” and supports DOT’s strategic goals for 

safety, environmental stewardship, security, and preparedness/response.

Link to DOT’s priorities and schedules:

• www.dot.gov/webpublishing.htm. 

Department of the Treasury (Treasury)

Treasury Department’s IRM Strategic Plan: http://www.treas.gov/offices/cio/egov.

The Department is currently revising the IRM plan for FY 2010 and will post the revised plan to 

the public website (see above) upon finalizing it.

The Department’s EA Transition Plan contains pre-decisional information and is not available on 

its public website.

The Department is in the initial stages of reviewing its governance model and formulating a 

strategy to integrate EA and CPIC functions and policies within the Department. The CIO, 

working with the Treasury CIO Council, plans to create a seamless IT investment analysis 

process that informs decision makers through an integrated portfolio analysis process that better 

aligns technology investments with the Department’s business and strategic objectives. 

Additionally, results of this integrated program and underlying processes will result in an 

improved articulation of Departmental IT goals and assurance that IT investments are selected, 

monitored continually and evaluated against established performance metrics. 
85

In the Treasury Department’s modernization roadmap, there are twenty identified segments: 

eleven core mission segments, eight business service segments, and one enterprise service 

segment. The Department has completed five of its eleven identified core mission segments. Of 

the fifteen remaining segments that are not complete, the Treasury Department has two in 

progress, Identity and Access Management and IT Infrastructure, with the remaining thirteen 

segments planned but not initiated. The Treasury segment architecture development process is 

mature. It is based on the Federal Segment Architecture Methodology, which Treasury was a 

contributing agency, and supported by a uniform Departmental approach. 

The Department identifies the EA, while the bureaus are responsible for the development of 

segments within their business areas. For example, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is 

responsible for the core mission segment, Taxation Management. While the Department 

describes the segments at an enterprise level, the IRS Enterprise Architecture Transition Plan

contains detailed documentation and includes the strategies for sub-segments within the Taxation 

Management Segment. The IRS project plans incorporate these strategies and oversees the 

implementation of the milestones defined in the segment architecture roadmap. Financial 

Management Service uses the Treasury Department enterprise architecture in a similar manner in 

their Debt Collection and Central Fiscal Operations Management segment architectures. 

However, they differ from the IRS in that they use the Treasury Department Segment 

Architecture Lifecycle Framework to develop and implement their segment architecture 

roadmaps.

The Department examines citizen feedback through emails. The Department analyzes the 

responses to its customer satisfaction survey questions to determine what information, if any, is 

missing from the public website. In addition, a regular review of the search engine metrics takes 

place to determine frequently searched words and phrases. The result of these analysis leads to 

adjustments in the provided information. The schedule for posting of web content and a 

comment form are available on the Department’s principal public website at 

www.treas.gov/offices/cio/web-inventory.shtml. 

The Department replaced the hosted public facing search engine with an industry standard search 

engine, a Google search appliance. The website displays search results in order of relevancy, and 

response times are equivalent to industry best practices. In August 2008, the Brookings report 

titled “State and Federal Electronic Government in the United States, 2008” scored Treas.gov as 

the ninth best out of 48 Federal websites evaluated in the study. The study evaluated the presence 

of a number of different features, such as online publications, online databases, and disability 

access. 

The website, Treas.gov, also enables customers to subscribe to receive email alerts upon site 

updates (GovDelivery). After customers subscribe to receive information on Treas.gov, the 

Department presents subscribers with information from Treasury Department bureaus to which 

they can also subscribe. Press Releases and several other types of information are also available 

via RSS feeds.
86

Department of State (DOS)

The link to the Department’s IT Strategic Plan, 2006-2010 is: 

http://www.state.gov/m/irm/rls/c13461.htm. 

The link to the Department’s EA Transition Strategy is: www.state.gov/m/irm/rls/110469.htm

The Enterprise Architecture and Capital Planning and Investment Control divisions are 

supporting the CIO’s initiative to strengthen the Department’s governance and management of 

the IT portfolio. As the Department’s new Strategic Planning Office becomes official in the 

coming months, there will be a tighter coupling of EA’s architectural analysis with capital 

planning processes. This action will assist senior managers in making better decisions for the 

Department’s IT portfolio, ensuring high priority investments are identified and funded based 

upon the Department’s mission and business requirements. 

The Department has identified 16 segment architectures, which align DOS’s IT Investments to 

the Department’s Strategic Goals. The specific details are included in the EA Transition 

Strategy.

The Department of State’s FOIA website provides a number of public information access 

services at the following links:

• A list of the Department of State’s major information systems at 

http://www.state.gov/m/irm/exhibit300s/

• A description of the Office of eDiplomacy’s programs at 

www.state.gov/m/irm/ediplomacy

• A list of Department of State collections that contain Privacy Impact Assessments at 

http://www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c24223.htm

• A list of information products with Privacy Act Issuances at 

http://foia.state.gov/issuances/priviss.asp

• The GPO Access / Government Information Locator Service Records (GILS) at 

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/databases.html

• The Department’s records disposition schedules at

www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c32527.htm (for domestic records disposition schedules) and

www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c32530.htm (for foreign records disposition schedules)

The Department of State also maintains an internal records management website that employees 

can use to answer records management questions. An informed staff improves DOS’s ability to 

disseminate information to the public.

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The IT Strategic Plan is currently under development to directly support the forthcoming VA 

Strategic Plan for FY 2010-2014. In April 2009, VA began visualizing IT and organization 

capabilities to transform VA into the 21st century with a focus on maximizing employee 

productivity with the right skills, processes, and tools to meet rapidly changing client 

expectations and new legislative mandates. The result is a new IT mission statement: Provide 

and protect information necessary to enable excellence through client and customer service, and 

initiatives to assist in positioning VA to support robust requirements for data driven decision 
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making, consistent services to clients and customers, collaboration with DoD, renewed fiscal 

accountability, and disciplined and rigorous planning and execution processes.

The VA Enterprise Architecture (EA) Transition Plan and supporting documentation are located 

at: Brief-OneVA Enterprise Transition Plan

(http://vaww.eas.vaco.va.gov/OneVAEA/extdocs/Brief_OneVA_Enterprise_Transition_Plan.doc

) and Enterprise Transition Plan (ETP)

(http://vaww.eas.vaco.va.gov/OneVAEA/extdocs/etp/VA_ETP_Predecisional_Draft_06-04-

09.pdf) 

VA’s Enterprise Architecture policies and processes are fully integrated with those of Capital 

Planning and Investment Control as evidenced by the guidance that was developed by the EA 

team and used across VA to complete OMB Budget Year (BY) 2011 Exhibits. The guidance 

specifically addresses:

• OMB 300, Part I, Section D (Performance Information) 

• OMB 300, Part I, Section F (Enterprise Architecture)

• OMB Exhibit 53

VA’s status and maturity of its modernization roadmap is addressed via various segment 

architecture artifacts which are referenced or addressed in the Target Architecture Description 

(TAD) and the Enterprise Architecture Segment Reports. VA is ensuring alignment to the TAD 

via the Department of Veterans Affairs Program Management Accountability System (PMAS) 

reviews which was recently mandated for all VA programs.

Supporting Documentation:

• Brief-OneVA Target Architecture Description;

• Target Architecture Description;

• EA Guide; and

• EASRs (Health, Benefits, Cemeteries, Material Management, Financial Management, 

Human Resources Management, Cyber Security and Privacy, Information Technology 

Management and Corporate Management).

The electronic version of VA’s final determinations, priorities, schedules, and information 

dissemination product catalogs, directories, and inventories is available at 

www1.va.gov/webinventory. Public comments can be made via VA’s on-line Inquiry Routing 

and Information System (IRIS) (iris.va.gov). VA’s IRIS provides a link by which the public can 

communicate electronically with VA. Incoming inquiries are routed to the appropriate VA office 

and that office is responsible for providing accurate and timely information. The Veterans 

Benefits Administration (VBA) provides a direct link to a query system in order to allow public 

access to resource materials relative to VBA. This site is available at 

www.warms.vba.va.gov/vbahome3bk.htm.
88

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

EPA’s IRM Strategic Plan can be found at:

http://www.epa.gov/oei/IRMstrategicplan.pdf

EPA’s EA Transition Plan can be found at:

http://www.epa.gov/oei/EPAEnterpriseTransitionPlanFY2009v1.4.pdf

The Enterprise Transition Plan (ETP) describes EPA’s overarching strategy for modernizing the 

Agency’s infrastructure and change processes in support of the business, as well as the specific 

IT projects and approach EPA will use to achieve its target architecture. The ETP provides EPA 

stakeholders with the information needed to identify the line of sight between the Agency’s 

business, performance, data, application/service, and technology projects; the investments that 

fund these projects; the segments they support and the processes necessary to facilitate change.

This framework allows Agency decision-makers and senior executives to plan strategically from 

a holistic, enterprise perspective. 

EPA has made significant progress in integrating Enterprise Architecture (EA) and Capital 

Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) processes.

• As EPA adopts the architecture processes recommended in the Federal Segment 

Architecture Methodology, and continues to evaluate its investments through a federated 

governance model, EA and CPIC processes and policies remain well-integrated.

• The Enterprise Architecture Planning Analysis and Reuse Tool (IMPART) will integrate 

CPIC information sets with enterprise architecture information. With IMPART’s segment 

architecture modeling capabilities, EPA can define and manage transition plans in 

alignment with OMB guidance. EPA is also evaluating IMPART’s XML submission 

capabilities for importing and exporting OMB Exhibit 300 XML data to meet the 

reporting requirements for the IT Dashboard. 

• Another example of EA and CPIC integration is EPA’s efforts to comply with Exhibit 53 

reporting requirements. When the Enterprise Architecture Segment Report was released 

in 2009, outlining changes to the segment architecture, the EA and CPIC teams worked in 

tandem to ensure accurate policies were developed, applied, and reported via the Exhibit 

53. Additionally, EA and CPIC processes have worked concertedly on Exhibit 300 

reporting to ensure Service Reference Model, Technical Reference Model, and Segment 

Architecture information is accurate and consistent. 

EPA has been pursuing a standardized approach for developing segment architectures. In 

FY2009, the Agency held a week-long training/workshop on the Federal Segment Architecture 

Methodology to explore how to best apply it at EPA. EPA will continue to train its segment 

architects and other analysts and managers in 2010. In addition, EPA continues to maintain and 

improve upon a suite of centrally-provided IT tools and services. IMPART will enable fully 

integrated, evidence-based strategic planning, performance budgeting, and performance 

assessment of agency segment and target information.
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General Services Administration (GSA)

GSA assesses its current baseline enterprise architecture (EA) and updates the target architecture 

to address new business needs and improvement opportunities on an annual basis. The EA 

program then prepares an enterprise transition plan (ETP) that describes how it intends to 

migrate from the current state to the target state architecture. The ETP further describes the target 

state, summarizes key accomplishments to date, and identifies ongoing and planned IT 

investments that will help resolve gaps between the current and target states. GSA focuses on 

addressing its high-priority gaps, deficiencies, and opportunities. The segments most affected by 

the identified gaps, deficiencies, and opportunities have the highest priorities within the ETP. 

GSA has provided its EA Transition Plan for FY2010-2011. It can be found at the following site: 

ea.gsa.gov/index_documents.html.

GSA’s EA Program is working with Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) and the 

Office of Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) to evaluate and integrate the EA, CPIC, and 

Performance Management processes. GSA has been making incremental effort to integrate the 

processes to benefit each level of GSA, from policy, to the service organizations, to each 

business line. Specific CPIC/Budget/EA alignment actions include: 

• Completed an integrated portfolio management task that developed a target process for 

assimilating these processes. 

• Updated governance of the processes, including roles and responsibilities. 

• Integrating and automating tools to promote more effective collaboration and line of sight 

through the processes.

• Conducting coordinated independent verification and validation on all major IT 

investments. 

GSA has six business domains that contain 32 individual architecture segments that constitute 

the span of the GSA enterprise. Of the 32 segments, 27 are aligned with OMB’s Standard 

Segments, six are completed, 20 are in progress, three are planned, and three are notional. The IT 

Executive Council prioritizes segments for GSA’s architecture efforts based on business 

priorities coupled with external mandates. Current prioritized segments include Identity 

Credential and Access Management, Financial Management, Acquisition, and Human 

Resources. For FY2010, the EA Program’s goal is to promote seventy-five percent of GSA’s 

planned architectural work. All GSA major and non-major Exhibit 53 investments are aligned 

with the target architecture. Major investments within the portfolio that are influenced by the 

prioritized architectural efforts are Pegasys and NEAR (Billing and Accounts Receivable), and 

Human Capital Information Technology Services. 

E-Gov Travel System (ETS)

Twenty four agencies are in various stages of their respective ETS deployments. Eighteen 

agencies (DOE, DoEd, DOI, DOL, DOT, EPA, HUD, NARA, NASA, NRC, NSF, GSA, OPM, 

SSA, Treas, USAID, USDA, VA) are fully deployed and using ETS for their end-to-end travel 

services. An additional five agencies (DHS, DOC, DOS, HHS, SBA) are continuing their ETS 

deployments and are partially deployed using the end-to-end ETS solution for their travel. The 

remaining agency (DOJ) is scheduled to begin their ETS deployment in FY2010. Of the 23 

agencies that have completed or begun their ETS deployments, voucher production for FY2009 

constituted approximately sixty-two percent of the total potential voucher population.
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Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE)

For FY2010, IAE’s major goal is the implementation of an aggregation strategy begun in FY 

2008. The key to this implementation is the award of the Architecture and Operations Contract 

Support contract in the second quarter of FY2010. The IAE initiative currently consists of nine 

systems. Providing shared acquisition services across the Federal Government has been cost 

effective, and IAE has enjoyed strong support from customer agencies. Aggregating and 

leveraging common services such as architecture development, help desk support, and hosting 

will simplify the IT infrastructure.

Program goals for FY 2010 are: 

• Implement website enhancements to the portal allowing for easier navigation for property 

and applying user-friendly technologies, 

• Conduct a study on the effectiveness of the sales center operations as compared to the 

private sector; and 

• Continue outreach efforts via trade shows, internal/external brochures, marketing, 

advertising and promotional campaigns to increase awareness of the website.

USA.gov priorities are:

• Award five USA Contact contract vehicle task orders

• Achieve over 136 million citizen touchpoints 

• Establish and run a citizen dialog (discussion) on USA.gov 

• Improve USA.gov search engine 

• Introduce Citizen Engagement Platform with Open Source social media tools for Federal 

agencies such as blogs, wikis, dialogs and other citizen engagement applications. 

Information dissemination product catalogs, directories, inventories, and any other management 

tools used to improve the dissemination of and access to your agency’s information by the 

public:

• www.usa.gov/webcontent/

• www.usa.gov

• www.gobiernoUSA.gov

• www.USAservices.gov

• www.pueblo.gsa.gov

• www.consumeraction.gov

• consumidor.gov

• kids.gov

• mymoney.gov

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Information from the NASA Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan is posted 

online at: www.nasa.gov/offices/ocio/home/index.html. Updated in April 2009, the plan reflects 

the strategies, goals, and objectives required for the strategic management of information and IT 

directly contributing to mission success for the Agency.
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NASA’s Enterprise Transition Plan is posted online at:

www.nasa.gov/offices/ocio/home/index.html. Version 3.2 was most recently updated in

May 2009, and includes updates to reflect changes in the Agency EA program. The Plan reflects 

segment architectures associated with NASA’s Lines of Business (LoBs) and mission support 

cross-cutting segments within the agency.

NASA is using its EA program to ensure integration with its portfolio management, business 

management, and CPIC processes. The results are helping NASA better manage its investment 

portfolio and ensure that its investments and services are enabling the achievement of the 

Agency’s strategic goals. When all IT investments are consolidated into the Agency’s portfolio, 

the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) can ensure that all systems support NASA’s

mission and goals, and work in concert with each when appropriate, including systems under 

development, systems currently in use, and systems scheduled for retirement and or replacement.

The Agency is currently in the process of developing an EA Transition Plan for its Mission 

Support Segment. This transition plan documents NASA’s major investments across its LoBs 

and mission support offices. A primary output from the EA Transition Plan is an investment 

approach whereby the entire investment portfolio can be traced back to a business-approved 

architecture portfolio. Once the transition plan is approved, it will be provided to the NASA 

CPIC function for guidance.

One additional activity that is ensuring the integration of EA and CPIC processes is the inclusion 

of the Enterprise Service Catalog (ESC) in the Summary Investment Business Case (SIBC) 

reporting template. The ESC was created by the EA team at NASA to identify and manage all 

services currently being provided at NASA. The goal of the ESC is to provide NASA service 

consumers with a tool that provides an easy way to search and locate services offered at NASA. 

The ESC was integrated into the SIBC reporting template to provide a mechanism to identify 

redundant IT services at the investment level and to provide visibility into each service being 

provided by major NASA investments. This also validates that each investment is in alignment 

with NASA Strategic Goals and EA technical architectures.

NASA’s enterprise architecture has five segments, one for each Line of Business (LoB) and one 

for its mission support cross-cutting segment. The LoB’s are Core segments, while the Mission 

Support enterprise segment provides institutional cross-cutting support services to each Mission 

Directorate. The LoB’s are:

• Exploration Systems Mission Directorate

• Space Operations Mission Directorate

• Science Mission Directorate

• Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Currently the LoB segments are in a notional stage, while the Mission Support Service Segment 

is in the process of being developed. The Mission Support Segment Architecture comprises a 

series of baseline architectures, target architectures, and transition strategies for cross-cutting 

segments of the NASA enterprise. They describe the common or shared services that support 

NASA’s core mission areas and business services, and they are driven by business management 

to deliver products that improve the delivery of services and solutions to the Agency. The 
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Mission Support Segment aggregates individual enterprise service segments (e.g., CIO, CFO, 

procurement) into one combined segment.

Multiple NASA programs have utilized the Mission Support Segment Architecture. The 

Integrated Enterprise Management Program has leveraged architectural assessments of some of 

their major project investments, including the Human Capital Information Environment, Contract 

Management Module, the Labor Pricing Module, the NASA Budget System Upgrade, and the 

IEM SAP Version Update.

NASA’s Chief Enterprise Architect (CEA) is currently engaged in discussions with each LoB 

segment enterprise architect to ensure the Mission Support Segment is in alignment with each 

LoB’s segment architecture. These discussions include verifying that the Mission Support 

Segment is meeting the requirements of each LoB so that NASA can efficiently meet its 

Strategic Goals. Also, NASA is currently engaged in discussions about how to better enable its 

IT strategy, design, projects, and operations by integrating Information Technology 

Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and EA practices. The ITIL and EA alignment is geared towards 

providing a service infrastructure that enables NASA to efficiently provide services to help each 

core mission segment achieve its goals.

NASA’s investment in Enterprise IT is managed under the OCIO’s “Information Technology

Infrastructure Integration Program (I3P).” Formerly known as the NASA Integrated Information

Infrastructure Environment, this effort aims to consolidate the Agency’s IT and data services.

NASA intends to procure these IT infrastructure services through several component contracts. 

These contracts will include the Agency Consolidated End User Services Contract, the NASA 

Integrated Communications Services contract, the NASA Enterprise Data Center contract, the 

Web Enterprise Service Technologies contract, and the Enterprise Applications Service 

Technologies contract.

The I3P service consolidation and EA efforts have been closely integrated to ensure that services 

being offered via these contracts are in alignment with the Agency’s Enterprise Service Catalog 

(ESC). The ESC was created to identify and manage all services currently being provided at 

NASA. Also, the Collaboration and Content Management Architecture Team gathered service 

requirements and provided them to the contract tTeams.

NASA provides a link for the public to access final determinations, priorities, and schedules on 

its main webpage (www.nasa.gov), pages accessible to the public with URL’s that end in 

nasa.gov, and each of the NASA Center’s web pages. The link is called “NASA InformationDissemination Product Inventories, Priorities and Schedules” and takes viewers to 

www.nasa.gov/about/contact/information_inventories_schedules.html. This link has been 

propagated throughout most of NASA’s public web pages. Members of the public can provide 

input into how NASA disseminates information through the Web portal by using the 

“comments” link on the Contact NASA page (www.nasa.gov/about/contact/index.html).

NASA’s Office of Public Affairs determines which Government information is made available 

and accessible to the public through the NASA Web Portal, www.nasa.gov. The Office of Public 
93

Affairs releases information based on its news value and interest to the media and public. Final 

determination of which material will be released is based on the judgment and professional 

expertise of the Director of the Multimedia Division, the NASA News Chief and the Internet 

Services Manager. As the release of this information is timed to its news value and is highly 

variable in content, the Agency does not maintain a fixed schedule or list of priorities. In terms 

of final determinations, priorities, and schedules available for public notice and comment, the 

public and the news media provide feedback to the News and Multimedia Division on a daily 

basis via telephone and e-mail, making a formal comment period unnecessary.

The NASA Web Portal is NASA’s primary means of communicating online to the Agency’s 

public audiences. It focuses on providing information for general audiences, including students, 

educators, children, the news media and the general public. As such, the portal’s priority for 

publication is material for those audiences. The inventory of information available through the 

NASA Web Portal includes:

• Agency news releases and other materials for the news media.

• Feature stories on agency activities

• Agency organizational information

• Agency reports and plans

• Curricula and other educations resources for educators

• Educational and other material for students

• Games and other material for children

• Images, video and interactive media

Information for students and teachers is generally updated weekly. Information for the media and 

general public is updated as events warrant, usually several times each business day. The 

inventory of information available through the Web Portal is comprised of the portal archives, 

which users can search through the search box at the top of this page.

NASA is committed to not only sharing information with the public, but also ensuring the quality 

of the information. NASA has several on-going processes for ensuring information quality, 

including but not limited to editorial reviews, compliance reviews, content reviews, and peer 

reviews. NASA has also established administrative mechanisms by which affected persons can 

obtain, where appropriate, timely correction of information maintained and disseminated by 

NASA if the information does not comply with NASA’s quality standards. Information about 

NASA’s commitment to quality of scientific and technical information, including the relevant 

processes can be found at www.sti.nasa.gov/nasaonly/qualinfo.html, “NASA Guidelines for 

Quality of Information.”

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

NRC’s Enterprise Transition Plan (ETP) reflects the NRC's current and planned modernization 

initiatives and is currently in draft format, and therefore unavailable for public consumption at 

this time. The agency is updating the ETP to reflect the following:

• Updates on the NRC modernization initiatives

• Segment adjustments which the NRC will be submitting to OMB in Q2 FY2010 (see the 

response to Section II Question 6)
94

• Alignment to applicable OMB Shared/Standard Segments, such as the Federal Identity, 

Credential and Access Management (FICAM) segment

• Other relevant OMB E-Gov priorities identified from the FY2011 Budget Passback

The NRC’s Information Technology/Information Management (IT/IM) Strategic Plan represents 

the foundation for directing and assessing the performance and results of the NRC’s IT/IM 

program over a 5-year period. The IT/IM strategic plan for fiscal years 2008-2013 is available on 

the Agency’s public website at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/staff/sr1614/v4/sr1614v4.pdf

The NRC uses a formal Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) process. The EA 

subject matter experts (SME) review all submissions for EA compliance and alignment. SME 

reviews are discussed at a project management review session and incorporated into standard 

conditions to be addressed for the project. The Information Technology Business Council 

(ITBC) and the Information Technology Senior Advisory Council are NRC’s IT governance 

boards. The ITBC recommends selection of the agency’s IT capital investment portfolio based 

on reviewing merits of the business case, core alignment with Agency’s goal and mission, and 

SME review input. The ITBC portfolio review includes alignment of investments with the NRC 

IT Roadmap. In addition, the ITBC reviews project control and status updates, which include 

progress on any open standard conditions. 

The EA Team is revising its segment definitions to better reflect the agency's program offices 

and business functions; the spreadsheet notes these changes in the "NRC Status" column. To 

summarize, the "Rulemaking" and "Regulatory Oversight" segments will be collapsed into one 

"Regulatory Activities" segment; "Information Sharing" will be collapsed into a new "IT 

Infrastructure" segment; "Management Oversight" will be added as a new segment; and the 

"Enterprise Content Management" segment will be renamed to "Information Management" to 

better align to the OMB Standard Segment.

Additionally, the spreadsheet reflects the progress being made maturing agency segment 

architectures. Several of the NRC segments have substantial architecture analysis; however, due 

to the new Enterprise Architecture Assessment Framework reporting requirements, they are 

reported as Notional or Planned. Plans currently exist to mature five of these segments 

(specifically, Information Management, Financial Management, Information and Technology 

Management, Project Management, and Security).

• Get Copies of Document www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/copies-docs.html

• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Guide www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foiarequest.htmls 

• NUREG/BR-0010, Rev. 4, “Citizen’s Guide to U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

Information,” http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/brochures/br0010/index.html

• Government Information Locator Service www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/gils/index.html
95

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Pursuant to OMB Memorandum M-06-02, “Improving Public Access to and Dissemination of 

Government Information and Using the Federal Enterprise Architecture Data Reference Model,” 

NSF’s Information Resource Management (IRM) Strategic Plan is available on the public NSF 

website.

NSF’s IRM Plan describes the NSF information dissemination program and provides a review of 

the program’s performance and results. The IRM Plan also defines the agency’s strategic IT 

vision and strategy in the context of the agency’s mission, goals, and objectives. In this way the 

Plan serves as a vision for future use of IT at NSF and a description of how current and near term 

IRM activities help to accomplish the Foundation’s mission. Finally, the Plan provides a 

framework for creation and maintenance of the NSF Enterprise Architecture (EA) transition 

strategy, and establishes the course for achieving specific agency goals via the EA. NSF’s IRM 

Plan, which includes the EA Transition Plan, is currently under revision. The last approved 

revision (updated September 2008) is available at: www.nsf.gov/oirm/dis/irmplan0908.pdf

NSF’s EA and Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) activities are well integrated. 

NSF utilizes EA as the foundation for IT modernization, driving both investment in and 

implementation of systems and technologies to transform NSF’s business. The EA provides a 

line-of-sight into the complex relationships that exist among the different perspectives (e.g., 

business, data, technology, etc.) described in the modernization blueprint. Additionally, the EA 

provides traceability from NSF’s organizational goals through people, lines of business, services 

and technological components. This traceability allows NSF to ensure its programs are directly 

supported by IT investments. 

NSF’s executive IT governance groups review and approve IT investments in the context of the 

agency EA. As part of the investment review process, NSF’s Information Technology Resource 

Board (ITRB) and supporting CPIC Working Groups are provided with a business view of 

NSF’s target architecture and business processes, and to review and recommend proposed IT 

investments. The ITRB and CPIC Working Group only approve investments that are needed to 

support NSF’s mission. This process ensures alignment with NSF’s strategic goals and 

supporting EA. Once the selection process is completed, NSF policy requires the agency’s IT 

investments to comply with Federal EA standards. 

NSF’s Enterprise Architecture is a business-driven blueprint that describes NSF’s current state, 

future vision, and modernization roadmap in terms of strategy and performance, business, 

applications and services, technology, data, and security from a two-to-five year planning 

horizon. 

NSF's EA is a consolidated representation of NSF’s six segment architectures. Three segment 

architectures have been completed, Grant Management, IT Management, and IT Infrastructure. 

NSF’s Financial Management segment is underway, and the remaining two segments, Human 

Resources and Administrative Services, are in their conceptual stages.

Grant Management is NSF’s sole “Core Mission” segment. Completion of this segment 

architecture reflects its importance to NSF’s mission and to cross-agency initiatives. For 
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example, the Grant Management Segment Architecture describes how NSF co-manages the 

Grants Management Line of Business (GMLoB) and fully complies with Grants.gov. It describes 

successful implementation of E-Authentication for the Research.gov portal and FastLane system, 

and communicates current and planned services in Research.gov that are being reused or will be 

available for reuse by other Federal agencies. 

Similarly, NSF’s IT Infrastructure Segment Architecture identifies relevant cross-agency 

initiatives, such as NSF’s successful implementation of the Office of Personnel Management’s 

(OPM’s) government-wide Security Awareness Training module and the Department of Justice’s 

(DoJ’s) government-wide Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) reporting 

tool. NSF continuously pursues opportunities for sharing, such as joining the InCommon 

Federation, to provide NSF's research and education community with simpler and easier access 

to online services. 

The Financial Management Segment Architecture outlines plans for NSF’s iTRAK investment, 

the Foundation-wide strategic initiative to transition NSF from aging financial and property 

management systems to a fully integrated, Financial Systems Integration Office (FSIO)-certified 

financial management, business, and property shared services solution. iTRAK will facilitate 

standardization and increase the automation of NSF financial transactions, business processes, 

and operating procedures, while enabling us to address government-wide requirements such as 

Common Government-Wide Accounting Classification standards, Tax Increase Prevention and 

Reconciliation Act of 2005 requirements, and OMB Circular A-127 policies. iTRAK is also in 

line with the Financial Management Line of Business initiative; systems modernization efforts 

will enable NSF to achieve process efficiencies and economies of scale in financial management 

operations as well as enable the provision of timely and accurate data for decision-making. 

Milestones from NSF’s segment architectures are included in the agency’s Enterprise Transition 

Plan, which is NSF’s modernization roadmap. This roadmap demonstrates a clear line-of-sight 

from NSF’s performance goals to IT investments, providing details on specific milestones, 

schedules, and activities associated with NSF’s modernization efforts. NSF’s Enterprise 

Architecture has been recognized repeatedly by OMB in terms of maturity, use and results, 

including being characterized as “Best in class (small agencies)” in June 2008. 

As required by Section 207 of the E-Government Act of 2002, NSF has produced an inventory of 

website content, priorities, and schedules. NSF’s inventory includes information products that 

are published on the NSF website, classified and organized according to the type of content they 

include and/or their intended audience: the research and education community that competes for 

NSF research awards; the public, including K-12 educators; public information/media 

professionals; and those who use NSF statistical information on science and engineering. 

NSF’s E-Gov content inventory is located on NSF’s website at the following location: 

www.nsf.gov/policies/egov_inventory.jsp
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In addition to the inventory of NSF information dissemination products referenced above, NSF 

provides other types of resources to the public via the NSF website. These include: 

• Discoveries from NSF research: Brief stories highlighting research results, focusing on 

some of the important discoveries and innovations that began with NSF-supported 

research. (www.nsf.gov/discoveries/) 

• Overviews of NSF research: Pages that identify the “big questions” in each field of 

science, engineering and education research supported by NSF and show how NSFfunded researchers are addressing them. (www.nsf.gov/news/overviews/) 

• NSF Award Search: Information on NSF-awarded research; site visitors can browse a 

complete list of recent agency awards or search specific data fields, including awardees’

name or organization, program, and field of application, etc. (www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/) 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

OPM’s IT Strategic Plan can be found at: 

www.opm.gov/About_opm/reports/OPM_IT_Strategic_Plan_Version_5.pdf

OPM is currently updating its IT Strategic Plan to reflect the new draft OPM Strategic Plan 

(2010-2015) that can be found at http://www.opm.gov/strategicplan/UserFeedback/Index.aspx

The Enterprise Architecture (EA) program routinely reviews the investment requests coming out 

of the program offices and works closely with the CPIC program in reviewing and evaluating the 

business cases for these investments. The EA program reviews the OMB Exhibit 300’s for 

accuracy and compliance with the OPM EA approved products and standards. The segment 

architectures for multiple program areas provide the necessary target architectures and transition 

plans that can drive the downstream investment planning activities. Currently the EA and CPIC 

programs are jointly participating in a review of the EA, CPIC, cost estimation, Earned Value 

Management, acquisition, budgeting, and project management processes to develop an integrated 

IT portfolio management process in FY2010.

OPM has completed segment architectures for major program areas including the Retirement 

Systems Modernization, Consolidated Business Information System, Enterprise Human 

Resource Integration, and IT Infrastructure. OPM has also completed segment architectures for 

fingerprint transmission and image processing sub-functions of the background investigations 

processes. OPM is currently developing segment architecture to enable and enhance information 

sharing across the enterprise.

OPM utilizes several resources to effectively disseminate the agency’s information. The 

following information is applicable to all E-Gov projects managed by OPM:

• OPM’s website offers an array of information to the public (www.opm.gov/). 

• OPM's Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room is located at 

www.opm.gov/efoia/html/reading.asp and provides access to various Agency resources

• OPM's Publications Database: (apps.opm.gov/publications/index.asp)

• Federal Register notices: (www.opm.gov/fedregis/index.asp)

• Federal Employment Statistics: (www.opm.gov/feddata/index.asp).

• Visitors can also use OPM's Subject Index (www.opm.gov/topics.asp) to browse OPM's 

website.
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• Web Content Inventory: (www.opm.gov/about_opm/WebContentInventory-OMB.asp)

• Privacy Impact Assessments: (www.opm.gov/privacy/pia.asp)

• Spotlight Archive: (www.opm.gov/spotlights/),

• Other Important Links: (www.opm.gov/about_opm/guidelines/).

OPM provides an almost daily RSS feed called "What's New at OPM," which can also be viewed 

directly on OPM's home page. The home page likewise provides easy access to featured sites and 

to sites of interest to specific audiences (job seekers, Federal employees, retirees and their 

families, and human resources practitioners or agencies).

Small Business Administration (SBA)

The URL for IRM: www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/OCIO/sba_ocio_2007_2011.html

The URL for the EA Transition Plan: 

www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_program_office/ocio_ea_it_transition_plan.pdf

SBA’s integration of EA into the CPIC process is just one of three facets addressed in SBA’s 

new EA Concept-of-Operations (CONOPS). SBA’s EA participation in the CPIC process assures 

SBA’s potentially new and existing investments align with the SBA’s architecture as part of the 

agency’s strategic planning process, and is executed through EA’s interjection at various points 

in the CPIC process. As such, potential or actual investments are outputs from the overall EA 

program and originate from the efforts in completing and maintaining the segment architectures 

and associated transition plans; thus, assuring that SBA’s EA program provides a business value 

to the agency. In addition, it focuses on capturing and monitoring select performance measures 

for each segment and all associated investments within each segment. Accordingly, various EA 

related activities inserted in SBA’s CPIC process during the pre-select, select, and evaluate 

phases are detailed extensively in SBA EA CONOPS document. There are additional EA 

performance measurements and control activities residing independent of the CPIC process too, 

but ultimately support the CPIC process in an indirect manner. SBA’s EA is integrated into the 

CPIC process and as planned the maturity of this integration is increasing rapidly. 

The EA program continues to mature with additions to the modernization blueprint. Following a 

recent reorganization of the segments, three segments are in “complete” status, and four are “in 

progress.” The financial management segment, currently one of the four in progress, will be 

completed at the end of January 2010. Each major and non-major investment has been aligned 

with a segment, with completed segments showing how investments fit into the EA transition 

plan.

SBA has 26 IT investments–thirteen are classified as major and non-major respectively. All 

information about SBA’s investment data is available at:

www.sba.gov/aboutsba/budgetsplans/BUDGET_ADD_REPORT_PLAN.html

Social Security Administration (SSA)

The SSA Information Resources Management (IRM) Strategic Plan can be accessed at 

www.ssa.gov/irm/. Currently the IRM plan is being updated to reflect the changes made to the 

Agency Strategic Plan. The SSA Enterprise Architecture Transition Plan for 2009 through 2013 

(Version 4.0) has been submitted to OMB via the quarterly reporting requirements.
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The Social security Administration’s Fiscal Year 2010 Information Technology Capital Planning 

and Investment Control Process (CPIC) has been submitted to OMB. It describes the three 

phases of the CPIC process: the Selection Phase, the Control Phase, and the Evaluation Phase.

The SSA IT CPIC process ensures broad Agency involvement in IT investment selection, control 

and evaluation through a CIO-chaired IT Advisor Board (ITAB) made up of senior executives 

through independent CIO-directed review and oversight. The IT CPIC process addresses all 

Agency IT investments through the Agency’s IT planning, budgeting, cost and schedule 

oversight, and the system development life cycle (SDLC) management processes.

The CIO reviews and approves the annual IT budget in total and at the special expense item 

level. The IT budget includes IT hardware, software and services acquired outside the Agency as 

well as internal IT staff. The Agency EA plan is closely integrated with these processes and is an 

integral part of the IT investment evaluation and compliance process.

During budget execution, the CIO oversees the execution of the IT capital plan, provides senior 

executives and their staffs with real-time budget execution status via an intranet link, and 

determines whether proposed new items should be included in the IT budget. CIO approval is 

required for reprogramming requests within the approved budget. Major IT investments receive 

additional oversight through Earned Value Management Systems (EVMS) project status 

reporting, monthly Office of Systems project reviews, and quarterly reporting at the ITAB where 

the investment profiles are shared and available for discussion.

The SSA IT modernization roadmap, The EA Segment Architecture Report (EASR v1.3) has 

been submitted to OMB via the quarterly EA submissions using MAX. It details all the 

segments, their related milestones, and status.

SSA has provided and continues to provide and disseminate information using multiple channels. 

These include the internet, press releases, paper publications, mailings, briefings, and face-toface meetings. The processes and channels used to disseminate this information are carried out in 

accordance with tactical plans managed by the SSA Office of Communications. 

The primary link is www.socialsecurity.gov/. This focuses on providing access to general 

Agency Program and Benefit information and services along with other non-Agency related 

links. It also contains a link to the website’s Policies & Other Important Information page at 

www.socialsecurity.gov/websitepolicies.htm. This page describes the policies and linking 

guidelines and includes links to the Web Content Inventory page. The Web Content Inventory 

page, www.socialsecurity.gov/webcontent/, describes the priorities and publishing schedules for 

all information on the website. Also the www.socialsecurity.gov/ links to an online Forms and 

Publications page, www.socialsecurity.gov/pgm/formspubs.htm, a Press Release page 

www.socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/pressrel.htm, and the Office of the Actuary page 

www.socialsecurity.gov/OACT/. The Forms and Publication page provides the public with 

online access to Agency services and online forms. The Press Release page includes links to 

useful Press Releases and a Facts and Figures page. The Office of the Actuary page provides the 
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public access to Actuarial Publications, Solvency Estimates, Cost of Living Adjustments, 

Benefits Calculator, and Beneficiary and Trustee information.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

USAID’s Information Technology Strategic Plan (ITSP) for 2009-2015 is undergoing a revision

is not currently available for public consumption.

The Agency’s new EA Transition Plan is also currently under development and is not available 

for public consumption. Completion of the Plan is expected in FY2010. 

EA and CPIC integration is in the planning phase of developing and integrating processes 

beyond providing FEA mapping guidance and feedback on EA questions in the PIDs. 

USAID recently established a Technology Architecture Working Group, tasked with the 

identification of segments and target architecture development. USAID is in the planning phase 

of developing a modernization roadmap to be completed in FY2010.

Information dissemination product catalogues, directories, inventories, priorities, schedules, and 

management tools used to improve the dissemination of and access to USAID’s information by 

the public are available at: www.usaid.gov/policy/egov/inventory.html

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

The Information Technology Strategic Plan outlines the USDA’s commitment to appropriately 

gathering, protecting, and disseminating information is available at 

www.ocio.usda.gov/n_USDA_IT_Strategic_Plan.pdf. This vehicle serves as a framework for the 

planning and communication which facilitates the partnerships between the IT and business 

communities at USDA, and which promotes more effective decision-making and dissemination 

of information to the public.

The USDA Enterprise Architecture (EA) Transition Plan is a comprehensive address of all 

USDA’s organizational units and business operations. It prescribes a high-level roadmap for 

USDA to modernize its operations and computer systems. The USDA EA Transition Plan is 

available at: www.ocio.usda.gov/e_arch/doc/USDA_EATP_Version1_5_20070327.pdf.

USDA’s Integrated Governance Program integrates Enterprise Architecture and the Capital 

Planning and Investment Control process to provide full line-of-sight for IT investments, from 

their conceptual development through their implementation and eventual retirement. The 

governance program utilizes an Architect-Invest-Implement cycle that ensures investments are 

planned and executed in a logical sequence. Enterprise Architecture is utilized in scanning the 

current internal and external environments to identify current and future needs and requirements. 

The to-be architecture is reviewed at the agency and enterprise level to develop an annual 

Enterprise Transition Plan (ETP) that prioritizes investment and segment architecture planning 

for the Capital Planning process. The agency business cases are developed according to the 

priorities established by the ETP and reviewed by both Capital Planning and Enterprise 

Architecture to ensure that they correctly align with the established set of segments and 

identified priorities.
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The USDA Office of the CIO (OCIO) has implemented a comprehensive and robust program 

management and oversight process to ensure that all major IT investments are managed so as to 

reduce and mitigate risks and ensure successful implementation. Departmental staff offices, 

including OCIO, the Office of Budget and Program Analysis, and Office of the Chief Financial 

Officer, and agencies have assumed oversight responsibilities related to IT Modernization 

initiatives. Departmental oversight helps to coordinate modernization initiatives through IT 

governance, portfolio planning, capital planning and investment control processes, and budget 

formulation and execution. These initiatives include: Optimized Computing Environment (OCE), 

Financial Management Modernization Initiative, Web Based Supply Chain Management, and 

segment architecture for Geographic Information Systems.

USDA’s segment architecture roadmap identifies 35 unique segments classified as enterprise 

services, business services, or core missions. Each segment is identified as being notional, 

planned, in progress, or completed depending on its maturity. Currently, USDA has seven 

segments identified as high-priority that are beyond the notional stage. Three segments are in the 

planned stage: Industry Sector Income Stabilization, Enterprise Human Capital Management, 

and Utility Computing in the Cloud. Four segments are identified as in progress: Core Finance 

and Accounting, Geographic Information Systems, Enterprise 2.0, and Security and Privacy. One 

segment is at the completed maturity level: Supply Chain Management Non-Agricultural 

Commodities. The remaining 27 segments are notional.

The OCE is a well-planned 5-year initiative to revitalize the IT infrastructure for the USDA 

county-based Service Center Agencies (SCA). This effort will restore the SCAs ability to 

reliably deliver their programs at reduced costs and improved IT service levels. Additionally, the 

initiative will help the SCA become more streamlined and efficient in customer service delivery. 

This effort is driven by more stringent data security requirements and the evolving needs of the 

overall USDA computing environment.

The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Modernize and Innovate the Delivery of Agricultural 

Services (MIDAS) initiative is the key component of one of USDA’s in-progress segments. 

MIDAS is a program designed to transform FSA’s delivery of Farm Program Benefits into a 21st 

century business model that will provide the capability to meet rising demand for customer selfservice, reduce the risk of hardware failure, reengineer business processes to be more efficient 

and reduce duplication, and accomplish increased compliance with modern internal control 

structures and security standards. USDA OCIO and OCFO have worked closely with FSA to 

ensure compliance with all technical and financial management standards on this initiative.

The Financial Management Modernization Initiative (FMMI) is currently being implemented to 

modernize the USDA financial system. MIDAS will utilize FMMI functionality to leverage the 

progress already being made and to make payments and reconcile obligations.

The Web Based Supply Chain Management (WBSCM) initiative is an inter-agency effort to 

replace the current Processed Commodity Inventory Management system. The new solution will 

improve the ability of USDA agencies to carry out their missions and enhance interactions with 

customers, suppliers, and business partners. In addition, WBSCM will streamline the flow of 
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commodities and promote greater information sharing between the Agricultural Marketing 

Service, Food and Nutrition Service, and the Farm Service Agency.

In accordance with Section 207(f) (2) of the E-Government Act of 2002, USDA published a 

priorities and schedules document for posting Web content on USDA.gov. This document 

provides guidance for identifying content to be published on the website and the priority in 

which it should be posted. The priorities for posting content on USDA.gov, as well as agency 

and staff office websites, can be found at w3.usda.gov/comments/contentinventory.html. With 

regard to publishing schedules, USDA’s policy is to make available to the public all content that 

is deemed cleared for public domain as soon as it is released. Standard publishing times are 

10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Eastern Time, but USDA is not found by those times. USDA will publish 

on demand any time of the day if necessary.

USDA organizes and categorizes information intended for public access by making it searchable 

across agencies through a simple “Browse by Audience” search located on www.usda.gov. This 

allows the public to search for information about USDA without first knowing which agency is 

responsible for the information.

As a further means to improve the dissemination of and access to information, USDA integrated 

the Google search appliance into its enterprise Internet infrastructure, thus permitting searches of 

all files intended for public use on the website. This mechanism also conveniently displays 

prioritized search results in order of relevancy. Response times, equivalent to industry best 

practices, are included with the results. Twenty-four agency websites were using Google as of 

October 2008. Google is also being used for USDA intranet sites.

D. Compliance with FOIA, Section 508, Agencies’ Research and Development 

Activities, Formal Agency Agreements, and NARA Record Schedules

To demonstrate compliance with these laws and regulations, agencies were asked to answer the 

following questions:

1. Provide your agency’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) handbook, the link of your 

agency’s primary FOIA website, and the website link where frequent requests for records 

are made available to the public; 

2. Describe in brief your agency efforts to comply with Section 508 in regards to 

information management;

3. Provide a list of your agency’s public websites disseminating research and development 

(R&D) information to the public, and whether or not each website provides the public 

information about federally funded R&D activities and/or provides the results of Federal 

research;

4. Provide an inventory of formal agency agreements (e.g., contracts, memorandum of 

understanding, partnerships) with external entities (e.g., partnerships with State and local 

governments, public libraries, industry and commercial search engines) complementing 

your agency’s information dissemination program, with a brief explanation of how each 

agreement improves the access to and dissemination of government information to the 

public; and
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5. Provide an inventory that describes your agency’s NARA-approved records schedules(s) 

or the link to the publicly-posted records schedules(s), and a brief explanation of your 

agency’s progress to implement NARA Bulletin 2006-02. For the brief explanation 

please report the number of systems for which a record schedule was submitted to NARA 

in FY 2008 and the number of systems still requiring records schedules.

Department of Commerce (DOC)

The Commerce Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Reference Guide

(http://www.osec.doc.gov/omo/FOIA/foiarequest.htm) informs the public how to submit FOIA 

requests and explains the process. It is posted on the Commerce FOIA website

(http://www.osec.doc.gov/omo/FOIA/FOIAWEBSITE.htm), which also provides a facility for 

filing a FOIA request electronically. Records that are frequently requested are posted on the 

Electronic Reading Room website (http://www.osec.doc.gov/omo/FOIA/ereadingroom.htm). 

Commerce maintains an Electronic and IT Accessibility website

(http://ocio.os.doc.gov/ITPolicyandPrograms/IT_Accessibility/index.htm) that provides the 

public and Commerce employees with information about their rights under Section 508 and 

Commerce policies and procedures to ensure that Commerce information is accessible. The 

Commerce Section 508 Coordinator maintains a network of Section 508 coordinators throughout 

the Commerce operating units to communicate Commerce accessibility policy and share best 

practices. Commerce ensures that all of the information on its websites is fully accessible to 

individuals with disabilities through its web certification program. 

Commerce has maintained for several years, a Memorandum of Understanding with the 

Department of Defense’s Computer Electronics/Accommodation Program which provides, at 

low cost, assistive technologies to the Commerce community of individuals with disabilities. 

Through the Office of the CIO, a text-messaging and TTY replacement service provides 

assistance to the hard of hearing community in the Commerce headquarters building. Commerce 

is committed to the intent and spirit of the Section 508 legislation. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology (NIST) are the two principal Commerce operating units that perform 

R&D work and make this information available to the public. Much of this work is federally 

funded. The Commerce Research and Development (R&D) website

(http://ocio.os.doc.gov/ITPolicyandPrograms/E-Government/PROD01_003924) is used to 

disseminate R&D information to the public. It is being updated to provide the public information 

about federally funded R&D activities and/or provides the results of Federal research.

The website www.ocio.os.doc.gov provides the public with the agreements (e.g., contracts, 

memoranda of understanding, and partnerships) with external entities (e.g., partnerships with 

state and local governments, public libraries, industry, and commercial search engines) that 

complement Commerce’s information dissemination program. 

Current approved records schedules for Commerce and its operating units are posted on the 

Commerce Records Management website

(http://ocio.os.doc.gov/ITPolicyandPrograms/Records_Management/index.htm), along with 
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Commerce policies, training aids, links to National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) website, and other helpful information resources. In response to NARA Bulletin 2006-

02, Commerce reported to OMB that there are a total of 311 Commerce e-records systems or 

series, of which 212 have been scheduled or for which schedules were developed and/or 

submitted to NARA for review at the end of FY 2009. Commerce continues to vigorously review 

its record schedules and develop new ones. As the result of increased emphasis and close 

coordination with NARA, Commerce has reduced the number of unscheduled e-records from 99 

at the end of FY 2009 to 35 at present.

Department of Defense (DOD)

The Freedom of Information (FOIA) handbook for the Department is available at: 

www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/dfoipo/docs/FOIAhandbook.pdf. The Defense Freedom of Information 

Policy Office maintains the primary FOIA website for the Department at: 

www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/dfoipo/. This website also contains links to the FOIA websites for the 

Department’s Components. Documents that are frequently requested by the public under the 

FOIA from the Office of the Secretary of Defense/Joint Staff are located at: 

www.dod.mil/pubs/foi/rdroom.html. 

The Department issued a Joint Memorandum to all DoD Components providing guidance on 

ensuring the accessibility of electronic and information technologies procured by DoD 

organizations.

The Department included guidance in DoD Directive, DoDD 8000.01, "Management of the 

Department of Defense Information Enterprise," dated February 10, 2009, which mandates the 

implementation of 29 U.S.C. §794d (Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended). 

DoDD 8000.01 is located at: www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/800001p.pdf. 

Currently, the Department is developing a DoD Manual to provide guidance and procedures for 

ensuring the accessibility of electronic and information technology procured by the Department. 

This DoD Issuance will supplement DoDD 8000.01 and provide additional guidance to the 

Department’s Section 508 Coordinators. The manual will address uniform procedures for 

managing Section 508 programs and provide administrative information to managers regarding 

the law, identify roles and responsibilities within the Department, and identify training 

requirements and training opportunities for DoD Section 508 Teams. The manual is scheduled to 

be issued in the second quarter of FY 2010. 

The Director, Defense Research & Engineering (DDR&E), works closely with the DoD 

Comptroller to ensure that consistent, accurate information on R&D activities is available to the 

public. Funding information associated with individual Program Elements is located under the 

Detailed Budget Documents section. The link to the Comptroller's website is: 

comptroller.defense.gov/. 

In addition to the Comptroller-verified data on all Research, Development, Test and Evaluation 

programs, the Department also provides information at the transaction level on all grants to 

OMB's USAspending.gov website This includes a record for each obligating action with an 

OMB-specified set of elements. It adds specific data elements required by the Transparency Act 
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to a larger set of data elements and can be found online through the Federal Assistance Award 

Data System (FAADS) at: www.census.gov/govs/www/faadsmain.html. 

DDR&E also provides funding data on all R&D activities relevant to the crosscutting categories 

in the OMB Schedule C annual data call which is available to the public at: max.omb.gov. 

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs has established a community relations web 

presence that links to the Heroes program, Pentagon tour program, the military asset support 

program and highlights the Homefront groups made up of citizens, businesses and organizations 

that are supporting the men and women serving in our military. The community relations website 

is located at: http://socialmedia.defense.gov/.

In support of the 2009 National Infrastructure Protection Plan, published by the Department of 

Homeland Security under the requirements of HSPD-7, Critical Infrastructure Identification, 

Prioritization, and Protection, DoD is actively engaged with private sector owners and operators 

in sharing of information about cyber threats, vulnerabilities, incidents, and best practices. 

Additionally, DoD, as the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Sector Specific Agency, is initiating a 

collaborative cyber threat sharing program to share cyber threat information with the DIB private 

sector which will allow DoD to comply with the national cyber security direction and achieve a 

viable Government-private sector reporting partnership. The Defense Industrial Base Critical 

Infrastructure and Key Resources Sector-Specific Plan is located at: 

www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/nipp-ssp-defense-industrial-base.pdf

The Department continues to strive to effectively manage records (including electronic records) 

consistent with 44 U.S.C. ch. 31, 44 U.S.C. §3506, 36 CFR ch. XII, Subchapter B, Records 

Management, and OMB Circular A-130, par. 8a1(j) and (k) and 8(a)(4). The Department, the 

Office of the Secretary of Defense Headquarters staff, and all of the Armed Services have 

worked with NARA to implement the guidance/instructions in NARA Bulletin 2006-02, NARA 

Guidance for Implementing Section 207(e) of the E-Gov Act. DoD representatives remain 

engaged with the latest NARA updates by participating in the bi-monthly Federal Records 

Council meetings at Archives. 

The principal policy document used by the Department is DoD Directive DoDD 5015.2, "DoD 

Records Management Program," March 6, 2000, located at: 

www.defenselink.mil/webmasters/policy/dodd50152p.pdf, which establishes responsibility for 

the DoD Records Management Program, in accordance with reference 36 CFR ch. XII, "National 

Archives and Records Administration," Subchapter B, "Records Management." It sets forth 

responsibilities for life-cycle management (creation, maintenance and use, and disposition) of 

information as records in all media, including electronic. DoD continues to manage records, 

including electronic records, consistent with DoDD 5015.2. This Directive is in the process of 

revision and will be re-published in January 2010. 

As of October 1, 2009, the Department has the following number of information systems 

scheduled with NARA in compliance with the Bulletin: 

• Army: 900 out of possible 1800 

• Air Force: 83 out of 241 
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• Navy: 282 out of 1650 

• Marine Corps: 15 out of 208 

• OSD: 100 out of 187 

The Department continues to work with NARA to schedule the remaining information systems.

Department of Education (Education)

The Department’s primary FOIA website is: 

(http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foiatoc.html). 

The Department provides a link from its primary FOIA website to the DOJ FOIA Guide 

publication: www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/foiatoc.html. 

The Department provides information to assist requesters to "make a FOIA request." The Web 

address for "How to Make a Request" is: http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/request.html. 

The Department’s "frequently requested records" Web page is: 

www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/foia/readingroom_2.html.

The Department of Education has made a commitment to support its obligation under Sections 

504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, to ensure the accessibility of its 

programs and activities to individuals with disabilities. The Assistive Technology Program 

provides assistive technology solutions to disabled employees at the Department and also ensures 

that the agency’s electronic and information systems are accessible to employees and members 

of the public with disabilities. 

The Department adheres to Requirements for Accessible Electronic and Information Technology 

Design (www.ed.gov/fund/contract/apply/clibrary/software.html), which address the 

accessibility needs that must be considered when designing and developing IT solutions for the 

Department, and the guide Testing for Web Accessibility Compliance under Section 508 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which provides concrete instructions for implementing the 

accessibility requirements.

The Department’s primary website, ED.gov, hosts a portal page that serves as the starting point 

to ED research and statistics information (www.ed.gov/rschstat/landing.jhtml). The main ED 

organization that supports ED research and statistics is the Institute of Education Sciences 

(http://ies.ed.gov/).

Besides www.ed.gov, ies.ed.gov, studentaid.ed.gov/, the agency’s main sources of information 

for the public, the Department has contracted for the following to complement its information 

dissemination program: 

• EDPubs, edpubs.ed.gov/webstore/Content/search.asp, and FSAPubs, www.fsapubs.gov/,

are intended to help customers identify and order Department of Education products. All 

publications are provided at no cost to the general public by the Department of 

Education. 
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• Education Resources Information Center, eric.ed.gov/, provides free access to more than 

1.2 million bibliographic records of journal articles and other education-related materials 

and, if available, includes links to full text.

• What Works Clearinghouse, ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/, provides educators, policymakers, 

researchers, and the public with a central and trusted source of scientific evidence of what 

works in education.

• Doing What Works, dww.ed.gov/, provides effective teaching practices and examples of 

possible ways to implement them. These practices have been found to be effective by the 

Department’s Institute of Education Sciences and similar organizations. 

• College.gov, www.college.gov/, aims to motivate students with inspirational stories and 

information about planning, preparing and paying for college. 

The Department has the following cooperative agreements:

• Students.gov, www.students.gov/STUGOVWebApp/Public, is an official U.S. 

government website designed for college students and their families. Its mission is to 

provide students and their families with easy access to information and resources from 

the U.S. Government – all the info they need, in one place, from all parts of the 

government.

• Federal Resources for Educational Excellence, free.ed.gov, makes it easier to find 

teaching and learning resources from the Federal Government. More than 1,500 federally 

supported teaching and learning resources are included from dozens of Federal agencies. 

New sites are added regularly. 

• Opportunity.gov, federalstudentaid.ed.gov/opportunity/questions.html, is a partnership 

with the Department of Labor to highlight education and training opportunities for 

unemployed Americans.

The Department’s Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule is available at: 

www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fra/index.html. 

All of the Department’s electronic information systems are currently covered by applicable 

records retention schedules, as required by NARA Bulletin 2006-02.

Department of Energy (DOE)

The Agency’s information dissemination materials and other management tools are posted to:

• management.energy.gov/foia_pa.htm

• management.energy.gov/FOIA/freq_req_docs.htm

The Office of the CIO is responsible for promoting and providing IT services DOE-wide to 

persons regardless of disability, and providing Section 508 compliance assistance and guidance 

where appropriate. 

To date, the OCIO has established a designated Agency Overall Section 508 Coordinator 

responsible for providing a lead role in responding to ad hoc Section 508 requests and in 

establishing overall 508 Program implementation strategy. Recent efforts to bringfield sites and 

headquarters under one DOE IT umbrella will enhance efforts to fully comply with Section 508. 

Though DOE has experienced success, there have been challenges including enhancing current 
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policy, establishing DOE specific 508 guidance, and establishing agreed and necessary funding. 

In an effort to meet this requirement, DOE must work closely with the established Section 508 

Charter Working Group responsible for working with headquarters and field site IT management 

in meeting what is anticipated to be a larger scale effort necessary in ensuring full compliance.

A list of the Agency’s public websites disseminating R&D information to the public is posted to:

• www.osti.gov: Provides links to several resources containing the results of Federal 

research as well as information about R&D projects.

• www.scienceaccelerator.gov: A single-query portal to a range of DOE R&D databases that 

OSTI maintains.

An inventory describing formal agency agreements with external entities is posted to:

• www.osti.gov/alliances

An inventory describing the Agency’s records schedules is posted to:

• www.cio.energy.gov/records-management/disposition.htm

DOE has implemented NARA Bulletin 2006-02 completely, and NARA has approved records 

schedules for all but two DOE electronic information systems. DOE has submitted schedules to 

NARA for those two systems, and NARA's approval is pending. DOE did not submit any 

schedules for electronic systems to NARA in FY 2008. 

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

• DHS’ FOIA handbook is available at: 

www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/foia/privacy_foia_improvement-plan_r.pdf

• DHS’ primary FOIA Web site is: www.dhs.gov/xfoia/editorial_0579.shtm

• DHS’ FOIA 2008 annual report is available at: 

www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/foia/privacy_rpt_foia_2008.pdf

The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and the DHS CIO continue to collaborate to fully 

implement and enforce the provisions of Section 508 throughout the Department. The two 

offices work in concert to establish a Department-wide Section 508 program run by the Office on 

Accessible Systems & Technology (OAST). OAST continues to be a catalyst for great progress 

in the Section 508 compliance area, performing periodic scanning of Department systems. OAST 

operations and services include: 

• Accessibility Helpdesk – a single point of contact for employees with accessibility 

needs or questions regarding 508 compliance 

• Training – OAST offers an extensive selection of hands-on, online and customized 

training opportunities 

• Document accessibility – OAST personnel provide assistance to all DHS 

components, as well as various external audiences, in reviewing and remediating 

electronic department files, including forms, memorandums, informational 

pamphlets, flyers and various reports 

• Governance – OAST governance and compliance activities include assessing 

performance of IT programs and organizations as well as managing accessibility risks 

through detailed process controls 
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• Application accessibility assessments – OAST provides accessibility assessments, 

reviews, and evaluations of commercial and government applications, including Web 

applications, for Section 508 compliance 

Examples of additional efforts throughout DHS include the IT Acquisition Review, EA Center of 

Excellence, and Paperwork Reduction Act Program Management, in which Section 508

compliance is built into the IT governance and compliance process.

From an E-Gov perspective, SAFECOM is a communications program of the Department of 

Homeland Security. SAFECOM provides research, development, testing and evaluation, 

guidance, tools, and templates on interoperable communications-related issues to local, tribal, 

state, and Federal emergency response agencies. The Office for Interoperability and 

Compatibility which supports SAFECOM-related research, development, testing, evaluation, and 

standards is managed by the Science and Technology Directorate. The SAFECOM website is 

www.safecomprogram.gov. 1

As reflected in the Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO)/Records Management scorecard for the last 

quarter of FY 2009, the number of total systems and systems for which schedules have been 

submitted are provided below.

The following systems are either scheduled with NARA, at NARA pending registration, or are 

General Record Schedule (GRS) systems. 

All have been identified and schedules drafted: 

 1 For additional information about the use of IT to support crisis management, please see the section on Use of IT To 

Enhance Crisis Management (starting on page 14) in OMB’s FY 2008 Report to Congress on Implementation of The 

E-Government Act of 2002, available on OMB’s website at 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/reports/2008_egov_report.pdf.
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111

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The HHS FOIA handbook is available at:

• www.hhs.gov/about/infoguid.html

The agency’s primary FOIA website is:

• www.hhs.gov/foia/

Frequent requests for records are made available to the public www.hhs.gov/foia/ filed under the 

Frequently Requested Materials section.

HHS released a policy and guidelines on Section 508 in 2005. These procedures were developed 

by HHS’s Section 508 program team. There are Section 508 Officials, Coordinators, and other 

technical experts available for each HHS component (www.hhs.gov/od/508coordinators), to field 

technical assistance questions and share Section 508 information within HHS and across 

operating divisions and the Office of the Secretary. The HHS Tools website 

(www.hhs.gov/web/tools/index.html) includes contact information for the Accenture Digital 

Diagnostics compliance monitor that may be used to check a website’s conformance for Section 

508 technical standards. 

HHS has created mandatory training for all managers and other Section 508 affected employees. 

The HHS Office on Disability is responsible for coordinating HHS activity regarding Section 

508, and to provide technical assistance in implementation planning and activities.

The Department established a five-year Section 508 Compliance and Remediation Plan calling 1) 

for all content posted to the Department's Websites to be accessible and 2) for all legacy content 

to be made accessible within the five-year framework. The Department's Web Communications 

Division manages and supports this plan. The Department has made a significant investment in 

the acquisition and implementation across the Department of a policy testing web crawler that 

crawls the entire 150 million+ page web inventory on a monthly basis checking, among other 

issues, Section 508 compliance. The Division has written standards, produced and delivered 

numerous training modules to assist entities in creating 508-compliant files and sites, and 

contracted for technical assistance and remediation support. The provision of 508-complaint 

materials is required to be written into all Departmental contracts providing web content and/or 

any outreach materials (on the valid assumption that all outreach materials will end up on the 

web) and has added language to senior manager's performance plans requiring adherence to 

Section 508 Compliance and Remediation Plan goals and timeline.
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HHS has established an IT project framework known as the Enterprise Performance Life Cycle. 

The framework includes a set of critical partners that conduct stage gate reviews of IT projects. 

HHS IT projects must pass stage gate requirements before moving to the next life cycle phase. 

Section 508 compliance is included in the stage gate reviews 

(www.hhs.gov/ocio/eplc/index.html).

The National Institutes of Health’s (NIH's) RePORT website (report.nih.gov) provides access to 

reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities that advance the NIH mission, including 

information on NIH expenditures and the results of NIH-supported research.

The RePORT home page provides quick links to frequently requested information, and links to 

major sections of the site, including NIH strategic plans, reports on NIH funding, and reports on 

the organizations and people involved in NIH research and research training. There's also a 

section on special reports on recent issues of interest.

Reports, Data and Analyses of NIH Research Activities

To provide NIH stakeholders with quick and easy access to basic information on NIH programs, 

the NIH has created a single repository of reports, data, and analyses, along with several tools for 

searching this database. A common classification scheme based on the traditional NIH budget 

categories is used to group similar reports. Several different filters can be applied to find 

information specific to a particular NIH Institute or Center, funding mechanism, or topic of 

interest.

The Reports page provides access to a searchable database of reports. Each report has been 

categorized by topic, IC, the portfolio being reported on, the budget mechanisms and activities 

through which the programs included in the report are funded, and the years covered by the 

report.

NIH Data Book

The NIH Data Book provides basic summary statistics on extramural grants and contract awards, 

grant applications, the organizations that NIH supports, the scientific workforce, and trainees and 

fellows supported through NIH programs.

Biennial Report of the Director

The NIH Biennial Report, mandated by the NIH Reform Act of 2006, provides an assessment of 

the state of biomedical and behavioral research, a portrait of NIH research activities (integrated 

across all 27 Institutes and Centers), some key research approaches and resources used in NIH 

research, and a review of those NIH Centers of Excellence that have been established by 

statutory mandate.

When Congress passed, and President Bush subsequently signed into law, the National Institutes 

of Health Reform Act of 2006, it amended Section 403 of the Public Health Service Act to 

require the Director of NIH to submit, on a biennial basis, a report to Congress. In addition to 

capturing a remarkable array of important NIH research activities compiled through the work of 

many NIH staff members, the online version of the report provides hyperlinks to related NIH and 

IC websites, publications, supporting data and reports, and published research articles.
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Estimates of Funding for Various Research, Condition, and Disease Categories (RCDC)

The NIH recognizes the importance of keeping the American people informed about how their 

tax dollars are spent to support medical research. In 2009, the NIH unveiled the Research, 

Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) system. RCDC will provide consistent and 

transparent information to the public about NIH research. With this new computer-based tool, 

the public will see NIH's research activities broken down into 215 categories each fiscal year.

Some of the research funding amounts that the RCDC system reports may differ from NIH 

reports issued in the past. That is because RCDC will categorize research using a new method. 

For the first time, this new method will apply the same definition for grants, contracts, and 

research conducted within NIH's own laboratories and clinics (intramural research) for each 

category across all of NIH. Despite the change in categorizing NIH research, the way NIH 

budgets and spends tax dollars will stay the same.

Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) 

For many years, one of the most common ways for the public to find information on NIH 

research programs was to search for projects in the NIH CRISP (Computer Retrieval of 

Information on Scientific Projects) system. With a new legislative mandate, included in the NIH 

Reform Act of 2006, to provide access to publications and patents resulting from NIH 

expenditures, and the additional requirement to provide an electronic system for consistently 

classifying NIH research projects into categorical areas of research, the CRISP system has 

undergone a major overhaul. The new system is called the RePORT Expenditures and Results 

module or RePORTER. RePORTER retains all of the search capabilities of the CRISP system it 

replaces, while providing additional query fields, hit lists that can be sorted and downloaded to 

Excel, NIH funding for each project (expenditures), and the publications and patents that have 

acknowledged support from each project (results). 

RePORTER also provides links to PubMed Central, PubMed, and the U.S. Patent & Trademark 

Office Patent Full Text and Image Database for more information on research results. The HHS 

Reference Collections website (www.hhs.gov/reference/) complements HHS information 

dissemination as it provides links to health-related dictionaries and glossaries; catalogs and 

indices of health information; and various other health resources, such as consumer health 

libraries, clinical trials databases, published medical articles, and medical encyclopedias. The 

website provides links to health, human services, and general statistics and links to HHS 

Secretary reports, HHS performance and accountability reports, and HHS health publications and 

reports. 

MEDLINE® (www.nlm.nih.gov/databases/databases_medline.html) is the National Library of 

Medicine's (NLM’s) bibliographic database that contains over 16 million references to journal 

articles in life sciences with a concentration on biomedicine. The majority of journals selected 

for MEDLINE® are based on the recommendation of the Literature Selection Technical Review 

Committee, an NIH-chartered advisory committee of external experts similar to the committees 

that review NIH grant applications. Some additional journals and newsletters are selected based 

on NLM-initiated reviews, e.g., history of medicine, health services research, AIDS, toxicology 

and environmental health, molecular biology, and complementary medicine, that are special 
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priorities for NLM or other NIH components. These reviews generally also involve consultation 

with an array of NIH and outside experts or, in some cases, external organizations with which 

NLM has special collaborative arrangements. 

MedlinePlus (medlineplus.gov/) is the National Library of Medicine's website for consumer 

health information. MedlinePlus includes extensive information on health topics with links to 

health information from NIH and other authoritative sources. It includes a medical encyclopedia, 

interactive health tutorials, information on drugs, supplements, and herbal information, current 

health news, health dictionaries and local health care professional directories. 

The HHS Data Council Gateway to Data and Statistics (www.hhs-stat.net/) is a web-based tool 

that brings together key health and human services data and statistics. It is designed to 

complement other government resources such as FirstGov and FedStats and covers Federal, state 

and local government sponsored information.

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) consists of 11 Operating 

Divisions and 19 Staff Divisions (offices that report to the Secretary). As of September 30, 2009, 

a total of 97% of HHS electronic systems that contain Federal records were either approved by 

NARA or are still pending NARA disposition approval. The Department identified a total of 

1,469 electronic systems that contain Federal records. Out of this total, 815 electronic systems 

have a NARA-approved disposition authority. The Department submitted an additional 610 

electronic systems on records schedules to NARA and these are pending disposition approval. 

HHS has 44 electronic systems that were not submitted to NARA on records schedules by the 

September 30, 2009 deadline; however, project plans for completion of this initiative were 

submitted to NARA. The HHS Operating Divisions and the Offices of the Secretary are 

individually in the process of posting NARA-approved electronic systems records schedules to 

publicly-accessible websites.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

• HUD’s FOIA Handbook is available at: 

(www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/handbooks/ogch/13271/index.cfm)

• HUD’s FOIA Website is: (http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/foia/index.cfm)

• HUD’s Frequent Requests for Records website is:

(www.hud.gov/offices/adm/foia/frequentrequestedmaterials.cfm)

HUD has integrated Section 508 standards into its procurement and system development 

standards. All contracts for the procurement of electronic information processing equipment, 

commercial off the shelf software and information processing services have a clause stating that 

all appropriate deliverables must be Section 508 compliant. The Department has conducted 

training for procurement officials, project managers and information technology professionals to 

assure a complete understanding of the letter and intent of Section 508.

The Section 508 roles and responsibilities of involved personnel have been stressed in instructorled classes and all class material is available on the Department’s intranet site to ensure clear 

guidance for each key procurement process area (HUD Requiring Officials, the Procurement 
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Office, the Section 508 Coordinator, the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and the

Assistive Technology Program).

Additionally, the website http://www.hud.gov/assist/webpolicies.cfm states the following:

HUD’s websites, including all online applications and work processes, must comply with Section 

508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, making content accessible to people with disabilities.

HUD does not fund research and development (R&D) activities.

Historically, HUD has successfully carried out its mission through relationships with other 

Federal agencies and various business partners, including nonprofit organizations, state and local 

governments, housing agencies, authorities, and tribes; community and faith-based 

organizations, various housing industry groups including lenders, brokers, appraisers, and 

multifamily developers and owners, health care facilities providers, small businesses; fair 

housing organizations; and investors. These partnerships have allowed the development of 

various communication vehicles and channels that increase HUD’s ability to deliver information 

to its customers. Efforts that are resulting in effective communications include:

• College of Experts Technical Assistance Program: Through HUD’s College of Experts 

contract, grantees may request training or direct technical assistance on Federal grant 

requirements such as environmental review, Davis-Bacon applicability and compliance, 

and the use of OMB Circulars and cost principles. Grantees may only request assistance 

for eligible projects that already have an investment of HOME funds, or have an 

executed, legally binding agreement (i.e., a ‘commitment’ as defined in the HOME 

regulations at 24 CFR Part 92), with a HOME Participating Jurisdiction (PJ) to receive 

HOME funds.

• HUD/DOT/EPA Interagency Partnership on Promoting Sustainable Communities: This 

partnership is intended to create affordable, sustainable communities, help American 

families gain better access to affordable housing, more transportation options, and lower 

transportation costs while protecting the environment in communities nationwide. This 

partnership has established six livability principles that will act as a foundation for 

interagency coordination:

1) Provide more transportation choices.

2) Promote equitable, affordable housing.

3) Enhance economic competitiveness.

4) Support existing communities.

5) Coordinate policies and leverage investment.

6) Value communities and neighborhoods.

• MakingHomeAffordable.gov: The U.S. Department of the Treasury and HUD launched 

the MakingHomeAffordable.gov website for consumers seeking information about the 

Obama Administration's Making Home Affordable loan modification and refinancing 

program. MakingHomeAffordable.gov offers features including interactive selfassessment tools that will empower borrowers to determine if they're eligible to 

participate and calculate the monthly mortgage payment reductions they could stand to 

realize under the Making Home Affordable program. Additionally, borrowers are 

provided resources for finding free, HUD-approved counseling services.
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• Housing Counseling 

(http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/i_want_to/talk_to_a_housing_counselor): 

HUD is authorized to provide or contract with organizations to provide counseling and 

advice to tenants and homeowners with respect to property maintenance, financial 

management and such other matters as may be appropriate to assist them in improving 

their housing conditions and in meeting the responsibilities of homeownership.

• Homelessness Resource Exchange (HRE) (http://www.hudhre.info/): HUD's 

Homelessness Resource Exchange (HRE) is an electronic source of both HUD-sponsored 

and outside information on homelessness. HRE users will find program guidance and 

regulations, technical assistance and training resources, as well as research and 

publications. The data provided is of interest to Federal agencies, state and local 

government agencies, organizations involved in fighting homelessness, and nearhomeless or homeless individuals. HRE resources available include information on 

homeless prevention, accessing housing and services, project development, grant 

administration, program measurement and design, and homeless subpopulations. One 

example of the resources available from the HRE is a set of guides for collecting data 

about the sheltered and unsheltered homeless. The HRE also offers a map to help 

homeless providers find their local technical assistance organizations, a newsletter, and 

regular updates on homelessness and available resources.

• Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST (http://www.fairhousingfirst.org/index.asp): Fair 

Housing Accessibility FIRST is an initiative designed to promote compliance with the 

Fair Housing Act design and construction requirements. The program offers 

comprehensive and detailed instruction programs, useful online web resources, and a tollfree information line for technical guidance and support. Fair Housing Accessibility 

FIRST has been contracted by HUD to provide information, materials, and technical 

assistance to all relevant stakeholders about the accessibility design and construction 

requirements of the Fair Housing Act as amended in 1988.

HUD NARA-approved Records Schedule can be found in HUD Handbook 2225.6 or on 

HUDCLIPS at:

www.hud.gov/offices/adm/hudclips/handbooks/admh/2225.6/index.cfm.

HUD’s progress in implementing NARA Bulletin 2006-02:

• Of the 33 “Mission Critical” systems, 82% (or 27) preliminary electronic record 

schedules have been submitted. Of these, 12 are included in Flexible Schedule #21 (in FY 

08, HUD submitted flexible Schedule 21 based on NARA guidance (please refer to 

www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/bulletins/2008/2008-04.html), which covers the 

Department’s financial electronic systems); and 14 represent individual electronic record 

schedules that have also been approved by NARA. 18% (or 6) systems remain, for which 

information is still being gathered in order to submit their electronic record schedule. Of 

the 76 “Major” systems 91% (or 69) preliminary electronic record schedules have been 

submitted. Of these, 54 are included in Flexible Schedule #21; and 15 represent 

individual electronic record Schedules that have also been approved by NARA. 0.09% 

(or 7) Systems remain for which information is still being gathered in order to submit 

their electronic record schedule.
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• HUD continues to work with appropriate system sponsors to complete electronic record 

schedules for all active systems.

Department of the Interior (DOI)

• DOI’s FOIA Handbook is available at: www.doi.gov/foia/handbook_2004.pdf

• DOI’s primary FOIA Website is: http://www.doi.gov/foia

• Frequently Requested FOIA Records are available at: www.doi.gov/foia/frrindex.html

DOI is actively following policies and procedures pertaining to Section 508 of the U.S. 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973. In addition, whenever shortfalls are discovered or reported, prompt 

remediation is undertaken by the appropriate personnel to achieve compliance.

Web pages that address various DOI initiatives are developed in compliance with Section 508 

requirements, as well as the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other web maintenance 

standards.

A list of websites disseminating R&D information to the public can be reviewed at 

http://www.doi.gov/ocio/egov/research.html.

An inventory of formal agency agreements with external entities that complement DOI’s 

information dissemination program can be viewed at www.doi.gov/ocio/egov/inventory.html.

Inventory of NARA-approved records schedule(s): http://www.doi.gov/ocio/egov/index.html

Department of Justice (DOJ)

The DOJ's Office of Information Policy home page www.usdoj.gov/oip/index.html provides 

comprehensive guidance on the use and implementation of the FOIA. This page provides links to 

President Obama's Memoranda concerning FOIA, Transparency and Open Government, as well 

as Attorney General Holder's Memorandum on the FOIA. This page includes links to FOIA 

training materials, annual FOIA reports, Exemption 3 statutes, and information and reference 

materials including the 2009 Edition of the DOJ Guide to the FOIA, FOIA Post and DOJ's FOIA 

Reference Guide. This page also links to other information including access to proactive 

disclosures made by DOJ components and FOIA websites and contact information at other 

Federal departments and agencies.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, requires agencies to ensure that the 

development, procurement, and use of electronic and information technology provides access to 

government information and data to the disabled. To comply with Section 508, DOJ procurement 

policies require that organizations purchasing IT solutions certify that solutions acquired comply 

with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act or describe why the solution is exempt from the 508 

requirement, or the accommodations being made to meet some or all Section 508 accessibility 

requirements.

Additionally, the DOJ Office of the CIO (OCIO) developed a set of criteria for evaluating 

solutions for compliance with Section 508, as well as a checklist of activities that must be 

performed to determine Section 508 applicability and steps for evaluating software compliance 

with Section 508 requirements.
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DOJ public websites disseminating research and development (R&D) information to the public 

are: 

• www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/

• www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/

• www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/

• www.it.ojp.gov

• www.dna.gov

Those providing information on the results of Federal research are:

• ojp.usdoj.gov

• ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/

• ojp.usdoj.gov/bja/

• ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/

• ojjdp.ncjrs.gov

• ojp.usdoj.gov/ccdo/

• ojp.usdoj.gov/ovc/

• www.ncjrs.gov/

• www.dna.gov

• www.ojp.gov/smart/

An inventory describing agreements with external entities (e.g., partnerships with State and local 

governments, public libraries, industry and commercial search engines) complementing DOJ’s 

information dissemination program can be found attached to the Department’s report at 

http://www.justice.gov/jmd/ocio/egovactreport2009.pdf.

To facilitate records access by the public as mandated by the E-Government Act, DOJ’s Office 

of Records Management Policy continued the efforts to build a modern records management 

program in the Department. This office collaborated with the Department’s Office of the CIO, 

heads of components, DOJ records community, and NARA to submit records retention schedules 

for all existing systems (operational prior to December 17, 2005) that contain Federal records. 

Activities included:

• Updating inventories for electronic information systems

• Determining which unscheduled systems contain Federal records

• Determining which of these records are covered by the General Records Schedules

• Developing records retention schedules for those unscheduled systems that contain 

records

On September 25, 2009, DOJ provided NARA the following inventory of DOJ E-Systems: Total 

E-Systems or Series, 824; Total E-Systems or Series with Approved Records Schedules, 657; 

Total E-Systems or Series with Records Schedules submitted to NARA and pending approval, 

98; and Total Remaining Unscheduled E-Systems or Series, 69. NARA has been notified when 

the remaining unscheduled E-Systems or Series will be scheduled.

www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/bulletins/2006/2006-02.html
119

Department of Labor (DOL)

• DOL’s FOIA Handbook is available at: www.dol.gov/dol/foia/guide6.htm

• DOL’s primary FOIA Website is: www.dol.gov/dol/foia/

• DOL’s frequently requested records are available at: www.dol.gov/dol/foia/

DOL’s Compliance with Section 508

The Department of Labor maintains an internal policy as part of it comprehensive Manual Series 

titled, IT Accessibility Management (Department of Labor Manual Series, Chapter 9 - 600). This 

chapter establishes policies and procedures within DOL to implement Section 508 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d). This policy is applicable to all DOL 

electronic and information technology, including information contained on DOL external and 

internal websites. This policy also applies to office equipment such as computers, printers, fax 

machines, copiers, and other electronic resources such as software applications and telephones. 

Thispolicy requires all DOL procurement vehicles to include requirements addressing Section 

508 compliance, IT systems are tested to ensure compatibility with assistive technologies, and all 

forms and other materials posted on DOL's web pages are reviewed to ensure that they are 

Section 508-compliant. In addition, DOL has also established within the Office of the Assistant 

Secretary for Administration and Management/Civil Rights Center, an office that tests IT 

applications for Section 508 compliance. Further, DOL has designated a staff position for the 

role of Departmental Section 508 Coordinator who provides an internal advocacy for Section 

508, provides enterprise level management of DOL's Section 508 program, and provides an 

internal oversight for issues pertaining to Section 508 compliance. 

DOL’s Public Websites that Disseminate Research and Development (R&D) Information

ETA and OSHA publish Research & Development grants on their websites.

The Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA’s) website, www.doleta.gov/, provides 

information on Community-Based Job Training Grants. These grants are employer-focused and 

support the President's High Growth Job Training Initiative (http://www.doleta.gov/business), a 

national model for demand-driven workforce development implemented by strategic partnerships 

between the workforce investment system, employers, community colleges, and other training 

providers. The website includes information about previous grant solicitations, a searchable

database of current grantees, fact sheets, solicitation information, and speeches discussing the 

grants initiative.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) website, 

www.osha.gov/dcsp/ote/sharwood.html, provides information about the Susan Harwood 

Training Grant Program which is designed to provide training and education programs for 

employers and employees on the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of safety and health 

hazards in their workplaces. The website includes information on the solicitation / application 

process, previous grant recipients, as well as information produced by past grant recipients.

DOL’s inventory of formal agency agreements with external entities that complement its own

information dissemination programs are as listed in the following table.
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Initiating Agency MOU Partner Description

Office of the Chief Financial 

Officer

George Mason University Co-Sponsorship of Federal Enterprise Risk Management 

Summit held October 28, 2008 at the Crystal Gateway 

Marriott. 

Office of Disability 

Employment Policy

UCLA Anderson School of 

Management Office of 

Executive Education Programs

Form an alliance to provide Executive Education 

Programs (EEP) participates with information, guidance, 

and access to resources that will help advance employment 

opportunities for workers with disabilities.

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration

American Society of Pension 

Professionals and Actuaries

Co-sponsorship of an educational conference held April 

29-30, 2009 in Washington, D.C.

Office of the Assistant Secretary 

for Administration and 

Management

U.S. Department of Army, 

Warrior in Transition Program

The Warrior in Transition Program is a voluntary program 

of the DoD designed to meet the interests of the service 

member by partnering with Federal agencies to receive 

career training in support of his/her recovery.

Employee Benefits Security 

Administration

American Institute of Public 

Certified Public Accountants

Co-sponsorship of website to aid retirement planning by 

approximately 1,200 small business owners for 

employees. Effective through March 1, 2011.

Bureau of International Labor 

Affairs

U.S. Department of State, 

Office of the U.S. Global Aids 

Coordinator

To support efforts to meet the HIV/AIDS prevention, care, 

and treatment goals set for in the U.S. Leadership Act and 

the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

Office of Disability 

Employment Policy

U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Centers for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services

Provide funding to increase and support existing 

employment initiatives that ensure that individuals with 

disabilities who want to obtain, maintain and advance in 

jobs do so with the same access to the employment 

process and supports available to all workers.

Office of Disability 

Employment Policy

U.S. Department of 

Agriculture, Graduate School

Co-sponsorship of "Perspectives on Employment of 

Persons with Disabilities Conference" December, 2009. 

This is an OPM-recognized government-wide training 

event for Federal managers and specialists who have job 

duties related to the employment of people with 

disabilities in the Federal Government.

Office of Disability 

Employment Policy

U.S. Department of 

Transportation

To collaborate in developing seamless, comprehensive, 

and accessible transportation options for individuals with 

disabilities seeking or maintaining employment.

Employment and Training 

Administration

Bureau of Labor Statistics The Mass Layoff Statistics Program is a Federal-state 

cooperative statistical effort which uses a standardized, 

automated approach to identify, describe, and track the 

effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each State's 

unemployment insurance (UI) database. 

DOL’s Inventory of NARA-Approved Records Schedules

DOL has a total of 130 approved records schedules covering the retention and disposition of 

DOL agency records. In FY 2009, in accordance with Section 207(e) of the E Government Act 

of 2002 [44 U.S.C. 3601] and NARA Bulletins 2008 03, Scheduling Existing Electronic 

Records, and 2006 02, NARA Guidance for Implementing Section 207(e) of the E Government 

Act of 2002, DOL submitted record schedules for eighteen electronic systems, databases and 

applications to NARA for review, appraisal, and approval. Of the 117 systems, databases, and 

applications inventoried, 95 of the electronic systems and applications were identified as covered 

by an existing NARA approved records schedule. DOL is currently awaiting NARA approval of 

seven records schedules covering electronic systems, databases and applications submitted in 

previous fiscal years. Using DOL Exhibit 300s for FY 2010 budget year and data collected 

through DOL records management community surveys, an inventory of 28 unscheduled 

electronic systems, databases and applications have been identified. Records schedules will be 
121

submitted to NARA for these e-systems in accordance with the Section 207(e) of the EGovernment Act of 2002. DOL has one component agency, Bureau of Labor Statistics, currently 

participating in NARA’s Electronic Records Archives system pilot. Another component agency, 

Women’s’ Bureau, will participate in NARA’s second phase Pilot in FY 2010. Below is the table 

of all DOL records schedules approved by NARA:

DOL Agency Job # Schedule Description

ASP N1-174-01-1 OSEC - OASP - Internet Customer Satisfaction Survey 

ASP N1-174-86-1 Asst. Sec. For Policy, Evaluation and Research, Arizona 

Employment and Unemployment Data Set 1957-1972, and 

Pennsylvania Continuous Wage and Benefit History 1966-1970

ASP N1-174-94-1 OASP - Regulatory Tracking System / Secretarial Goals & 

Objective Database

ASP N1-174-95-2 Secretary of Labor's Chief Clerk Files, 1913-1933, and Secretary 

of Labor's Correspondence Index, 1934-1981; News Releases/ 

Secretary Releases/ Press Releases; Secretary 

Speeches/Addresses/Testimonies; Department of Labor Agency 

Administrative Histories; Transcripts; Photographs; Audio Tapes, 

etc.

BLS N1-257-00-1 Division of Human Resources and Organization Management 

(DHROM)-Examining and Certification Records

BLS N1-257-00-2 International Price Program (IPP) Records

BLS N1-257-01-1 Office of Employment Projections-Occupational Outlook 

Technical Memoranda Record Copy Files

BLS N1-257-03-1 Office of Safety, Health, and Working Conditions-Occupational 

Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) Special One-Time Surveys

BLS N1-257-06-1 Chartbooks and Speeches

BLS N1-257-06-2 DAS Small Administrative Electronic Systems

BLS N1-257-86-3 Office of Wage and Industrial Relations

BLS N1-257-87-1 Office of Survey Processing

BLS N1-257-88-1 Offices of the Commissioner, Field Operations, Productivity and 

Technology, Survey Processing, Administration, Technology and 

Operations Review, Publications, Research and Evaluation

BLS N1-257-88-2 Office of Wages and Industrial Relations-Basic Steel Industry 

Materials

BLS N1-257-88-3 Office of Productivity and Tech.-Technical Aid Participant 

Personnel Files

BLS N1-257-88-4 Office of Wages and Industrial Relations-Strike Index Card Files; 

Union Wage Agreement Files

BLS N1-257-88-5 Office of Commissioner-Central Correspondence File of the 

Commissioner's Office; Record Sets of BLS Issuances and 

Publications; Miscellaneous Historical Studies, etc.

BLS N1-257-88-6 Office of Producer Prices and Price Index-Wholesale Price Index 

Cell Folders 1948-1967; Wholesale Price Index Transfer Posting 

Cards 1960-1970; Miscellaneous Printouts From the WIT 

Program 1970-1975

BLS N1-257-88-7 Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics-Printouts of 

BLS Program and Other Employment Statistics Programs, etc.

BLS N1-257-89-1 Record of the Consumer Expenditure Survey Program and 

Predecessor Programs 1928-1971
122

DOL Agency Job # Schedule Description

BLS N1-257-89-2 Office of Productivity and Tech.-Longshore Study 1963-1966; 

New Jersey Engineers Operating Study 1966

BLS N1-257-89-3 Office of Survey Processing-Miscellaneous Records of the Office 

of Survey Processing and Predecessor Organizations

BLS N1-257-90-1 Office of Productivity and Tech.-Multi-Family Housing 

Construction Labor Requirements 1971-1972

BLS N1-257-90-3 Division of Administrative Services-Bureau of Labor Statistics 

1934-1972

BLS N1-257-91-3 Office of Compensation and Working Conditions-Division of 

Occupational and Working Levels-PATC WCCS Test Project 1

BLS N1-257-92-2 Office of Prices and Living Conditions-Consumer Price Index

BLS N1-257-93-1 Directorate of Technology and Computing Services-Division of 

System Design

BLS N1-257-93-2 Office of Publications and Special Studies-Survey of Employer 

Provided Training Program

BLS N1-257-93-3 Office of Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Program 

Records

BLS N1-257-94-1 Office of Wages and Industrial Wages-Collective Bargaining 

Agreements and Union Wage Agreements

BLS N1-257-98-1 Office of Employment and Unemployment Services-Time Use 

Diary Survey Records 2/87-8/97

BLS N1-257-99-1 Office of Safety, Health, and Working Conditions-Survey of 

Occupational Injuries and Illnesses

BLS NC1-257-84-1 Division of National Wage and Salary Income

BLS NC1-257-85-2 Office of Wage and Industrial Relations - Basic Steel Industry 

Materials

BLS NC-257-88-1 Records Pertaining to the Office of the Commissioner, Field 

Operations, Productivity and Technology, Survey Processing, 

Administration, Technology and Operations Review, 

Publications and Research and Evaluation

BLS N1-257-09-2 BLS Survey Methods Records

BRB N1-174-08-1 Benefits Review Board Records

EBSA N1-317-02-1 Comprehensive Records Schedule

EBSA (PWBA) N1-317-01-1 Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) Filing 

Acceptance System (EFAST)

EBSA (PWBA) N1-317-02-2 Advisory Opinion Letters and Significant Information Letters 

(SILs); Technical Assistance Case Files, etc.

EBSA (PWBA) N1-317-93-1 Exemption Petition File (OED)

EBSA (PWBA) N9-317-00-1 Advisory Council Committee records established under OPWBP 

Administrators 1968-1984; Records 1986 and forward-Assistant 

and Deputy Assistant Secretaries for Pension and Welfare 

Benefits

ESA N1-317-02-03 OLMS Division of Statutory Program Records.

ESA N1-155-90-1 Wage and Hour Division - Service Contracts Act of 1965; DavisBacon and Related Acts

ESA N1-155-90-2 The Wage and Hour Management Information System (WHMIS)
123

DOL Agency Job # Schedule Description

ESA N1-155-91-1 Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Division-Unscheduled 

Records assigned to RG 155

ESA N1-155-96-1 Wage and Hour Division - General Correspondence Files

ESA N9-155-00-01 Wage and Hour Division -E-mail and Word Processing Records

ESA NC1-155-84-1 Public Contract Minimum Wage Determination Hearing 

Records; Fair Labor Standards Act Hearing Records

ESA NN-168-43 Wage and Hour and Public Contracts Division-Investigation Case 

Files not selected for Retention at the National Archives

ESA N1-271-00-1 Office of Worker's Compensation Programs-Compensation Case 

Files Reporting Lost Time and/or Death; OWCP Automated 

System for Imaging Services (OASIS)

ESA N1-271-02-01 Office of Workers Comp. Programs-Administrative Subject File; 

Program Subject File; Claimants' Correspondence; Publications, 

etc.

ESA N1-271-95-1 Office of Worker's Compensation Programs-Division of 

Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation

ESA N1-271-95-1 Office of Worker's Compensation Programs-Division of 

Longshore and Harbor Worker's Compensation

ESA N9-271-00-01 OWCP Directives; Legislative and Legal Subject Files; Program 

Subject File; Claimant's Correspondence, etc.

ESA N1-317-89-1 OLMS - International Labor - Management Reports Files

ESA N1-317-95-1 OLMS-Labor Organization Special Reports

ESA N1-317-99-1 Labor Organization Reports

ESA N9-317-00-4 OLMS - Email and Word Processing Records in the Field and 

National Office

ESA N1-448-00-1 Asst. Secy. for ESA - Correspondence, Congressional Hearings, 

Meetings, etc

ESA N1-448-01-2 E-mail and Word Processing Records

ESA N1-448-01-3 Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

ESA N1-448-01-4 Office of the Assistant Secretary - Office of the American 

Workplace

ESA N1-448-02-01 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Employment StandardsAppointment Books

ESA N1-448-03-1 Office of Management, Administration and Planning-Executive 

Correspondence, OMAP Notices, etc.

ETA NN-174-002 History of the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training

ETA N1-183-03-1 Bureau of Employment Security-Record Group 183

ETA N1-369-00-1 JTPA Grant Records Disposition Schedule

ETA N1-369-04-1 ETA Publications

ETA N1-369-06-1 Office of Apprenticeship-National Guideline Standards Case 

Files; Bulletins and Circulars, etc.

ETA N1-369-94-1 Unemployment Insurance Required Reports (UIRR); UIRR 

Documentation

ETA N1-369-94-3 Unemployment Insurance Service-Unemployment Compensation

ETA N1-369-96-1 Alien Employment Certification Files

ETA N1-369-97-1 General Correspondence of the Assistant and Deputy Assistant 

Secy for ETA
124

DOL Agency Job # Schedule Description

ETA N1-369-99-1 Office of Work Base Learning - Office of Trade Adjustment and 

Assistant

ETA NC-369-76-1 Manpower Administration-Records Common to Most Offices; 

Non-Record Material; Reading or Chronological Files, etc.

ETA NC-369-76-2 Regional Manpower Administration-Office Administrative Files; 

Non-Record Material; Reading or Chronological Files, etc.

ETA (NSSB) N1-220-04-09 National Skills Standards Board

ILAB N1-174-02-04 Program Records created by The Bureau of International Labor 

Affairs, Dep. Undersecretary; Office of Foreign Relations; Office 

of International Economic Affairs; Office of International 

Organizations; Office of International Child Labor Program; 

National Administrative Office

ILAB N1-174-87-2 Office of International Economic Affairs-Division of Foreign 

Economic Research, etc.

ILAB NC1-174-82-1 Office of Management, Administration and Planning-Office of 

Foreign Economic Research; Less Developed Countries, etc

MSHA N1-433-00-1 Program Evaluation and Information Resources 

MSHA N1-433-94-1 Coal and Mental/Nonmetal Safety and Health Special 

Investigations

MSHA N1-433-94-2 Systems of Records covered by the Privacy Act

MSHA N1-433-98-1 Coal Mine Safety and Health Records

MSHA NC1-433-01-1 System of Records by Privacy Act

MSHA NC1-433-81-1 Denver Safety and Health Technology Center

MSHA NC1-433-85-1 Records Management Branch

OALJ N1-174-00-4 Office of the Secretary - Office of the Administrative Law 

Judges-Administrative Procedures Act; Case Files

OASAM N1-174-93-2 OASAM - DOL Directive System (DDS) Files

OASAM N1-174-96-4 OASAM - Immediate Office-Correspondence Chron Files; 

Assistant Secretary Briefing Books; Miscellaneous OASAM 

Publications Unrelated to Specific DOL Program Activities

OASAM N9-174-00-2 OASAM - DOL Directive System (DDS) Files

OASAM NC1-174-76-3 Directorate of Audit and Investigations-Audit Workpaper Files; 

Audit Report Fields; Investigative Files

OASAM NC-174-76-1 OASAM - Records Common to Most Agencies in DOL; NonRecord Material, etc.

OASAM NC-174-76-2 Directorate of Data Automation-DOL 4 year ADP Plan

OASP N1-174-06-1 Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy (OASP) Records

OIG N1-174-00-1 Office of Investigations-OIG Investigative Case Files

OIG N1-174-00-2 Analysis, Complaint and Evaluation (ACE) Files

OIG N1-174-99-1 OIG Audit Files-Audit Files, Audit Information Reporting 

System (AIRS)

OIG N9-174-99-2 Labor Racketeering Investigation Case Files

OIG N9-174-99-3 Semiannual Report to Congress

OLMS N1-317-09-1 OLMS Collective Bargaining Agreements

OPA N1-174-96-6 News Releases; OPA Publications, etc.

OPA N9-174-99-1 Office of Public Affairs News Releases-National and Regional 

News Releases, OPA Publications, etc.
125

DOL Agency Job # Schedule Description

OSEC N1-174-03-01 Office of Small Business Programs Publications; Speeches, 

Addresses, Comments, etc.

OSEC N1-174-93-3 OSEC - Exec. Sec. / Immediate Office of the Secy.

OSEC N1-174-94-3 OSEC - Exec. Sec. / Immediate Office of the Secy.-General 

Correspondence; Identical/Similar Documents, etc.

OSEC N1-174-95-1 DOL Briefing Books

OSEC N9-174-99-1 Office of Public Affairs News Releases-National and Regional 

News Releases, OPA Publications, etc.

OSEC NC1-174-83-2 Office of the Under Secretary- Benefits Review Board-Official 

Docket Case Files; Docket Sheets; General and Miscellaneous 

Files of the Board

OSEC/ARB N1-174-06-2 ARB General Adjudicative Files, Judges Working Files and 

Chron File Binders

OSEC/ECAB N9-386-00-1 Official Docket Files with Original Docket Sheet; General 

Administrative Files; Digest and Decisions of the Employee's 

Compensation Appeals Board; Annual Reports 1916-1941

OSEC/OPA NC1-174-82-3 Office of Information, Publication and Reports-Official Files of 

Richard Conn

OSHA NC-100-76-1 Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health

OSHA N1-100-08-1 OSHA Federal Safety and Health Councils Records

SOL N1-174-02-2 Comprehensive Records Schedule

SOL N1-174-96-5 Chronological Reading Files

SOL NC1-174-81-2 Division of Fair Labor Standards, General Legal Service 

Employment and Training Legal Services, etc.

SOL NC1-174-83-3 Records of Former Solicitors; Chronological Files of the Solicitor 

1968-1980; Subject Files of the Solicitor of Labor 1969-1975

SOL NN-174-045 Division of Manpower- Congressional Correspondence; 

Administration; Freedom of Information Act, etc.

SOL NN-174-086 Division of Employees' Benefits-Benefit and Workmen's 

Compensation Claims

SOL NN-174-087 Division of Labor - Management Laws-Budget, Litigation Case 

Files, Opinions, etc.

SOL NN-174-088 Division of Legislation and Legal Counsel-Hearings, Legislation 

Reports, Private Relief Bills, etc.

SOL NN-174-089 Division Occupational Safety & Health-Budget, Freedom of 

Information Act, Litigations, etc.

SOL NN-174-090 Division of Fair Labor Standards-Interpretations and Opinions, 

Litigations, Reports, etc.

SOL NN-174-091 Counsel for International Affairs-Foreign Labor Agreements, 

Correspondence, Press Releases, etc.

SOL NN-174-092 Counsel for Construction Wage Standards-Opinion and 

Interpretation Files, Litigation Case Files, etc.

SOL NN-174-093 Division of General Legal Service-Counsel for Enforcement and 

Regulations-copies of weekly significant activities reports; 

Freedom of Information Act, etc.

SOL NN-174-094 Division of Labor Relations and Civil Rights-Case Files

SOL NNA-1730 Central Office

VETS N1-174-90-2 Federal Contractor Annual Report
126

DOL Agency Job # Schedule Description

WB N1-86-90-1 Women's Bureau - Working Bureau Publications; Speeches, 

Addresses, Comments; Posters; Informational Releases; 

Women's Bureau Annual Reports; Organization and Directive 

Files

WB N1-86-95-1 Working Women Survey

Department of Transportation (DOT)

Information about DOT’s and its component organizations’ FOIA programs can be found at the 

following web sites:

• DOT Main Page: www.dot.gov/foia/

• DOT FOIA Handbook: http://www.dot.gov/foia/foiareferenceguide.htm

• Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST): www.dot.gov/foia/ostefoiaweb.html

• Office of the Inspector General (OIG): http://www.oig.dot.gov/FOIA

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA): www.faa.gov/foia/

• Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): www.fhwa.dot.gov/foia/guide.htm

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA): 

www.fmcsa.dot.gov/Foia/Index.htm

• Federal Transit Authority (FTA): www.fta.dot.gov/about/about_FTA_186.html

• Federal Railroad Administration (FRA): www.fra.dot.gov/us/foia

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): 

www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/menuitem.711d99d923a77be4ce83662ae0208a0c/

• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA): 

www.phmsa.dot.gov/about/foia.html

• Maritime Administration (MARAD): 

www.marad.dot.gov/about_us_landing_page/freedom_of_information_act/FOIA.htm

• Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA): 

http://www.rita.dot.gov/freedom_of_information_act/

• Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC): 

http://www.seaway.dot.gov/foia.html

DOT's Section 508 compliance program is comprised of several components. The following 

highlights two of the more significant activities. DOT performs website compliance assessments 

using an automated tool. The total number of pages scanned for the FY09 baseline was 691,979, 

of which 465,692 passed (67%). DOT provides technical assistance to any DOT office (and 

contractor) that requests it. Requests for service cover a very broad set of topics concerning 

information, information technology products, procurements, policies, testing methods, and 

requests for resources and referrals. The number of requests in FY 2009 was 269 (not including 

training) and is an increase of 32% over the number of requests in FY 2008. The increase is 

largely attributable to increased awareness of the requirements for making documents accessible, 

and to the addition of some websites such as the one for the "cash for clunkers” program.
127

The following table lists DOT’s research and development activities:

Operating 

Administra

tion

R&D Program

Links for where R&D information 

is posted

Type of information posted (Refer 

to codes below- including research 

results)

FAA AST Research Program www.faa.gov/about/office_org/he

adquarters_offices/ast/about/resea

rch_development/

F-AST R&D Plan

FAA Reusable Launch 

Vehicle Operations and 

Maintenance

www.faa.gov/about/office_org/he

adquarters_offices/ast/licenses_pe

rmits/media/RLV_OM_Guideline

s_revD_032905_final.pdf

F-AST Research Report

FAA Reusable Launch 

Vehicle Safety 

Validation and 

Verification Plan

www.faa.gov/about/office_org/he

adquarters_offices/ast/licenses_pe

rmits/media/VV_Guide_9-30-

03.pdf

F-AST Research Report

FAA Flight Safety Systems www.faa.gov/about/office_org/he

adquarters_offices/ast/licenses_pe

rmits/media/DO3_Report_final.p

df

F-AST Research Report

FAA FAA Research Program www.faa.gov/data_research/resea

rch/

F- R&D WEBSITE LINKS 

FHWA FHWA Turner Fairbank 

Highway Research 

Center (TFHRC) 

Program

www.tfhrc.gov/ B, F- RD&T' Performance Plan

FHWA Research Project Status 

Summary for TFHRC

www.tfhrc.gov/about/07049/inde

x.htm

A, B 

FHWA FHWA Research, 

Development and 

Technology Program

www.tfhrc.gov/rtnow/09mayrtno

w.htm

B, F – Specific R&T Program Informa 

FHWA Research Categories www.tfhrc.gov/research.htm B

FMCSA Analysis and 

Information (A&I) 

Online

www.data.gov/details/1142 B

FMCSA FMCSA Research 

Program

www.fmcsa.dot.gov/factsresearch/facts-research.htmA, B, C, E, 

F - R&T Strategic Plan, reports, brief 

FMCSA Commercial Vehicle 

Information Systems 

and Networks (CVISN)

www.fmcsa.dot.gov/factsresearch/cvisn/index.htm B, C,

F – reports, summaries, events calenda

FRA Five-Year Strategic 

Plan for Railroad 

Research, 

Development, and 

Demonstrations

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/225 A & B

FRA Research and 

Development Programs

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/226 A & B

FRA Hazardous Material 

Transportation

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/137 A, B, C, D, E, & Reports

FRA Human Factors www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/1910 A, B, C, D, E, & Reports

FRA Facilities & Test 

Equipment

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/230 A & B

FRA Railroad Systems 

Issues – Safety, 

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/231 A, B, C & Reports
128

Operating 

Administra

tion

R&D Program

Links for where R&D information 

is posted

Type of information posted (Refer 

to codes below- including research 

results)

Security and 

Environment

FRA Rolling Stock www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/2205 A, B, C & Reports

FRA Track and Train 

Interaction

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/233 A, B, C & Reports

FRA Track and Structures www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/234 A, B, C & Reports

FRA Train Occupant 

Protection 

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/236 A, B, C & Reports

FRA Grade Crossings www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/227 A & B

FRA Intelligent Railroad 

Systems

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/779 A & B

FRA Broad Agency 

Announcement 

www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/918 A, B, & D

FRA National Technical 

Information Service

www.ntis.gov/index.asp?loc=2-0-

0

A, B, C, D, E & Reports (Search on “R

FRA Research Results www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/917 A, B, C, D, & E

FRA Transportation 

Research Board

www.trb.org/ A, B, C, D, E & Review of Research P 

“Railroad”)

FTA FTA National Research 

and Technology 

Program

www.fta.dot.gov/documents/Strat

egicResearchPlan.doc

F-Strategic R&D Plan

FTA FTA National Research 

and Technology 

Program 

www.fta.dot.gov/research.html F – General information

FTA FTA National Research 

and Technology 

Program 

rip.trb.org/ A, B, C, D, E

FTA FTA Transit 

Cooperative Research 

Program

rip.trb.org/ A, B, C, D, E

PHMSA Hazardous Materials 

Cooperative Research 

Program

hazmat.dot.gov A, B, C, D, E

PHMSA Pipeline Safety 

Research & 

Development Program

primis.phmsa.dot.gov/matrix/ A, B, C, D, E

RITA University 

Transportation Centers 

Program

utc.dot.gov/ A, B, C, D

F - Program history, research results, 

brochure

RITA Volpe National 

Transportation Systems 

Center

www.volpe.dot.gov/ A, B, C,

F- research reports, strategic plans, SB 

information

NHTSA Enhanced Stability 

Control

www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov B

NHTSA Biomechanics www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov B, C

NHTSA Human Crash 

Simulation

www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov B

NHTSA Crash Injury Research 

and Engineering 

Network (CIREN)

www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/

menuitem.1c5bf5af32c6dfd24ec8

6e10dba046a0/

B
129

Type of information posted:

• Code A - the dates upon which the task or award is expected to start and end; 

• Code B - a brief summary describing the objective and the scientific and technical focus 

of the task or award; 

• Code C - the entity or institution performing the task or award and its contact 

information; 

• Code D - the total amount of Federal funds expected to be provided to the task or award 

over its lifetime and the amount of funds expected to be provided in each fiscal year in 

which the work of the task or award is ongoing; 

• Code E - any restrictions attached to the task or award that would prevent the sharing 

with the general public of any or all of the information required by this subsection, and 

the reasons for such restrictions; and 

• Code F – other information, please specify 

In addition to the information listed above, the Department’s Budget Office annually provides 

information to Science.gov.

• DOT has Memoranda of Agreement with the Small Business Administration for OA links 

to Business Gateway for small business compliance information at business.gov and with 

the Department of Labor for the Office of Small and Disadvantage Business Utilization 

to link to Gov Benefits for benefit and assistance programs at www.GovBenefits.gov. 

• FHWA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Interior for 

FHWA’s Byways Program that links to Recreation One Stop at www.recreation.gov.

• RITA has a Memorandum of Undersanding with the Transportation Research Board that 

enables the National Transportation Library to host the Transportation Research 

Information System Online and make the database available free to the public. The link 

to this database is: ntlsearch.bts.gov/tris/index.do. 

• The St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation has a Memoradum of 

Understanding with the Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation that 

allows for bi-national support of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway System binational website (www.greatlakes-seaway.com) that is linked to www.seaway.dot.gov. 

This site provides the general public with Seaway shipping news, port and terminal 

information, vessel tracking, cargo statistics and other useful resources. Since its launch 

in 2001, the site has experienced more than 10.6 million page hits from viewers in more 

than 150 countries.

Most DOT records retention schedules are not posted to publicly available websites. The 

exceptions are as follows:

FHWA: www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/directives/orders/m13241.htm

FMCSA: www.fhwafmcsa.dot.gov/legsregs/directives/orders/m13241.htmrulesregulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=r49CFR379AppendixA

FMCSA: http://www.maradfmcsamarad.dot.gov/documents/mao_250-003-0.pdfrulesregulations/administration/fmcsr/fmcsrruletext.aspx?reg=r49CFR379AppendixAp

df

MARAD: http://www.marad.dot.gov/documents/mao_250-003-0.pdf
130

Below is a summary of all the remaining agency specific records retention schedules. All 

agencies use the General Record Schedules (GRS) as appropriate. There are specific items on 

each schedule based on the type of records.

FRA: NC1-399-7 

FTA: NC1-408-80-1

NHTSA: N1-416-86-1

OST: N1-398-00-1

N1-398-75-1

N1-398-86-1

N1-398-88-2

N1-398-90-1

N1-398-94-1

N1-398-95-1

N1-398-97-1

PHMSA: N1-467-97-1

N1-467-00-2

N1-467-00-1

RITA: N1-570-04-23

N1-570-05-1

OIG: N1-398-00-1

NC1-398-82-1

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Bulletin 2006-02 required that by 

September 30, 2009, agencies must have NARA-approved records schedules for all records in 

existing electronic information systems. The bulletin was subsequently amended so that by 

September 30, 2009, agencies must have submitted to NARA record schedules for all records in 

existing electronic information systems. Below is a summary of the report that was submitted to 

NARA to comply with this bulletin.
131

Department of the Treasury (Treasury)

• Treasury Department’s FOIA handbook is available at: www.treas.gov/foia/readingroom/handbook.pdf

• Treasury Department’s primary FOIA website is: www.treas.gov/foia

• Treasury Department’s link to frequently requested records is: 

www.treas.gov/foia/reading-room/index.htm

The Department has implemented several efforts recently to ensure compliance with Section 

508. In January 2009, the Assistant Secretary of Management and Chief Financial Officer signed 

Treasury Directive 87-06, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility under Section 

508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The policy directive defines roles and responsibilities for Treasury 

Department bureaus and Departmental Offices regarding IT Accessibility. The directive clearly 

states the importance of procuring and developing accessible IT systems. To promulgate agency 

programmatic initiatives, the Department created a Section 508 Coordinator Working Group 

with representatives from each bureau including representatives from the Office of Civil Rights 

and Diversity, Office of the Procurement Executive, and Printing and Graphics Division. 

In September 2008, the Department acquired an enterprise-wide license for an accessibility tool 

that can programmatically scan web content for Section 508 compliance. In the first quarter of 

FY 2009, the Department began to scan all Treasury Department public websites, and remediate 
132

non-compliant websites, to ensure that information was accessible to individuals with 

disabilities. The tool was recently migrated internally to provide the added functionality of 

scanning agency intranet based web content and applications. A core driver for this initiative is 

to provide agency developers and content authors with a centralized set of minimum accessibility 

checkpoints, enabling the Department to benchmark Section 508 compliance. The Department 

produces a quarterly Website Accessibility Report & Scans that consists of accessibility scores 

on agency owned websites.

In FY 2009, the Department provided quarterly training for Section 508 Coordinators, 

procurement and acquisition officials, webmasters, and developers to ensure that the information 

disseminated to employees and the public was accessible to all, including standard Section 508 

language in statements of work. The Department also hosted its first IT Accessibility Conference 

for Treasury Department employees to increase awareness. The Department provides courses on 

Section 508 on the Treasury Learning Management System.

In October 2009, the Department created a blanket purchase agreement for PDF/HTML 

accessibility services. The contract vehicle gives Treasury Department bureaus and Departmental 

Offices access to a consolidated vehicle through the Government Printing Office from which to 

order PDF and HTML remediation services. This vehicle leverages the Treasury Department’s 

purchasing power to reduce costs associated with remediating electronic documents for 

accessibility. 

A number of Treasury Department bureaus have additional efforts in place to ensure Section 508 

compliance. For example, the IRS established the Information Resources Accessibility Program 

(IRAP) Office to provide expertise and oversight in support of the Agency's responsibility to 

comply with Section 508. The process structure adopted by the Agency places the project as the 

responsible agent for accomplishing required Section 508 compliancy, providing subject matter 

expertise in Section 508, and overseeing the projects guidance as they complete their Section 508 

documentation. IRAP is a stakeholder and signing authority in the Enterprise Lifecycle, requiring 

sufficient Section 508 documentation and testing throughout the system development lifecycle. 

Contracting officers and requiring officials document a Section 508 Determination for all 

requisitions including E&IT products and services. IRAP analysts validate this documentation. 

The IRS also includes a Section 508 subject matter expert on the Engineering Review Board, 

ensuring compliance as a consideration in software change requests. The IRS has developed an 

array of online training that provides information across the spectrum of Section 508 policy and 

processes. Additionally, in an effort to support projects through the development cycle, the IRS 

provides Section 508 Testing Methodologies and Techniques classroom training.

The Department does not fund R&D activities.

The Treasury Department has a number of means to disseminate government information to the 

public. Among these are:

• Computer Matching Agreements – The Treasury Data Integrity Board, formalized by the 

Computer Matching and Privacy Protection Act and Treasury Directive 25-06 approves 

matching agreements between the Treasury Bureaus and Offices and other Federal, State, 

Local, and Tribal governments to share taxpayer’s personal information to obtain a 
133

benefit or service or to collect a Federal debt. The Department’s largest match is the 

Disclosure of Information to Federal, State and Local Agencies and the IRS. Under this 

match, there is an agreement with each State (50) and three Federal entities. This match 

and other computer matching agreements are accessible at: 

http://www.treas.gov/offices/cio/informationmanagement/docs/ComputerMatchingAgreements.pdf

• Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) – The Community Development Financial 

Institutions (CDFI) fund has an MOA for the Bureau of the Public Debt to hosting the 

CDFI Fund website that provides public access to CDFI Fund organizational and award 

information.

• Contractual Services – CDFI has a contract with General Dynamics Information 

Technology (GDIT) to provide support for the update of the CDFIFund.gov public facing 

website that disseminates information to the public.

• Department of the Treasury Library – The Treasury Library has a partnership with the 

Library of Congress to digitize historical Treasury Department materials and make 

reports and documents publically available on the Internet. Materials include Secretary’s 

Annual Reports, Press Release Indexes, Treasury Bulletins, Exchange rate data, and other 

miscellaneous reports.

In FY 2009, the Department allocated considerable resources to bring the Department into 

compliance with NARA Bulletin 2006-02 initiatives. There were 1,167 major and minor 

electronic recordkeeping systems Treasury-wide at the close of the FY 2009. The Department 

has approved all systems for disposition or submitted schedules to the NARA for approval. 

While the Department does not have any unscheduled electronic systems, the Department 

continues to schedule newly identified new electronic systems on an ongoing basis. Upon 

identification, the Department evaluates and schedules these systems at the bureau-level. The 

Department developed an Electronic Records Retention schedule and consolidated disparate 

electronic systems lists into a centralized database utilized for tracking. The Department is 

presently in the early stages of providing public access to the information that identifies the 

disposition authorities for the 1,167 electronic systems.

2009 Electronic Records Systems Schedules

Bureau/ 

Dept/ 

Office 

Acronym

Total # 

of 

Systems

# of Scheduled 

Systems

# of Unscheduled 

Systems

% of Scheduled 

Systems

BEP 97 97 0 100%

BPD 84 84 0 100%

CDFI 9 9 0 100%

DO 16 16 0 100%

OFAC 12 12 0 100%

Finsen 10 10 0 100%

FMS 52 52 0 100%
134

Bureau/ 

Dept/ 

Office 

Acronym

Total # 

of 

Systems

# of Scheduled 

Systems

# of Unscheduled 

Systems

% of Scheduled 

Systems

IG 6 6 0 100%

IRS 508 508 0 100%

OCC 257 257 0 100%

OTS 80 80 0 100%

TIGTA 3 3 0 100%

TTB 17 17 0 100%

U.S Mint 16 16 0 100%

Total 1167 1167 0 100%

For the entire inventory of Treasury Department NARA-approved records schedules, see 

Appendix A: Listing of NARA Records Schedule Inventory.

Department of State (DOS)

• The link to the Department’s FOIA Reference Guide and Handbook is: 

www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c22737.htm

• The link to the Department’s primary FOIA website is: www.foia.state.gov

• The link to the Department’s Electronic Reading Room, where frequent requests for 

records are made available to the public is: http://www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c22790.htm

The IRM Program for Accessible Computer/Communication Technology (IMPACT) serves as 

the Department of State’s resource for achieving electronic information technology accessibility 

for all employees and customers, which includes providing assistance to all bureaus in their 

implementation of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 508 requires the Federal 

Government to make all IT procured, maintained, or used by Federal departments and agencies 

accessible to people with disabilities. To achieve the Department’s mission, the IMPACT 

program provides Section 508 compliance technical analyses of Department websites and 

applications and recommends solutions to bring these products into compliance with the Federal 

Government’s and Department’s accessibility requirements. IMPACT serves as an integral part 

of the Information Technology Change Control Board approval process for hardware/software 

use in the Department’s baseline and operations. Collaboration occurs with intra-Department 

entities such as the Office of Civil Rights, Foreign Service Institute, Office of the Inspector 

General, Bureau of Human Resources, Bureau of Consular Affairs, and the Enterprise 

SharePoint Change Control Board as part of the overseas inspection process. In addition to 

presenting educational briefings, technical demonstrations and training at the IMPACT Center 

and client venues, the IMPACT Intranet and Internet websites ensure that Section 508 

information is available anywhere, anytime. 

The Department of State does not perform research and development (R&D) activities.

• The Department, under an agreement with Accenture, uses website assessments of 

broken links and external links to inappropriate content, etc., to improve user experience.
135

• RightNow Technologies provides the Department with a webform-based Contact Us 

system to allow any visitor to state.gov to browse FAQs and submit unique questions, 

which are then responded to by both automated and personal replies.

• GovDelivery provides the Department with automated subscription services. Visitors to 

state.gov can choose from 45 different categories of information. When a new document 

is posted within that category, the subscriber receives an email that contains the newly 

posted information.

• Brightcove hosts video content for the Department of State, providing an alternative 

means for the public to access critical information.

• The Department of State has entered into a formal interagency agreement with the

Federal Consulting Group and the Department of Treasury to gather customer feedback 

on defined website components, such as content and site performance, through the 

American Customer Satisfaction Survey by ForeSee Results

• The Department of State successfully negotiated Terms of Service Agreements with 

Yahoo (Flickr), and Google (YouTube) to host content on their respective social media 

platforms, expanding the Department’s presence where an increasing percentage of the 

general public accesses information.

The following links provide publicly-posted Department of State records disposition schedules: 

• www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c32527.htm

• www.state.gov/m/a/ips/c32530.htm

The Department of State fulfilled the IT scheduling requirements of NARA Bulletin 2006-02. 

The Department developed and implemented a NARA approved comprehensive plan to schedule 

all non-scheduled program systems. The Department submitted records schedules to NARA for 

40 IT systems in FY 2009. 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

VA’s FOIA Handbook, Frequently Asked Questions, annual reports, FOIA regulations, FOIA 

frequent requests for records, FOIA/Privacy Act Officers, Electronic Reading Room, and the 

FOIA implementation improvement plan are currently available at: www.foia.va.gov/. VA is 

currently revising the FOIA Handbook to align with a revision to FOIA regulations, which is 

also underway. The updated guidance will provide FOIA offices with consistency in how the 

Department should process and release information to the public. VA has added a link to VA’s 

Office of Inspector General Frequently Requested Reports page, and is planning to implement 

the Public Access Link feature of the FOIA tracking system, which will allow public web-based 

access so that requesters can track the status of their FOIA requests. An open-format version of 

the FOIA annual report is also being posted to the website. 

VA has consolidated the development and deployment of electronic and information technology 

assets under the Office of Information and Technology. The Section 508 Program Office is 

located within this office under its Enterprise Development Software Engineering Standards and 

Compliance Service and is responsible for assessing 508 conformance of enterprise IT electronic 

information and software applications developed, procured, maintained or used by VA. 
136

During 2009, the program office significantly increased its efforts to meet the demand for 

product compliance reviews, the volume of electronic documentation, and the unmet need to 

actively engage authors and users to close the gaps in orientation, train on solutions techniques, 

and standardize the availability of accessibility tools to a far greater extent with increased 

resourcing. A business justification to enhance services in FY 2010 was approved. This will 

position VA to improve the self-awareness and self-sufficiency, of both authors and users, in the 

next calendar year in order to enhance and delegate a governance model for 508 compliance selfassessments, enterprise reporting, and leadership compliance with the objectives of 508 needs. 

Also during 2009, the program office collaborated with the human resources and staff 

development offices to ensure that all employees have equal or equivalent access to all training 

development content. In addition, the program office managed a high volume of assessments 

through a catalog of software product releases, website deployments, and electronic media 

releases, consistent with their charter.

The VA Office of Research and Development (R&D) aspires to discover knowledge, develop 

VA researchers and health care leaders, and create innovations that advance health care for our 

Veterans and the Nation. The electronic version of VA’s R&D information for public access is 

located at: www.research.va.gov/. The Center for Information Dissemination and Education 

Resources (CIDER) is a VA Health Services Research and Development Service national 

resource center. Established in June 2004, CIDER’s mission is to improve the health and care of 

veterans by disseminating important findings and information to policy makers, managers, 

clinicians, researchers throughout VA and the broader health care community, and to the general 

public. The CIDER website is available at: www.cider.research.va.gov/.

VA does not have a centralized inventory of its formal agency agreements. VA Administrations 

and Staff Offices maintain their respective agreements.

VA’s Enterprise Records Service within the Office of Information and Technology has oversight 

responsibilities for a decentralized Records Management Program in which each Administration 

and Staff Office maintains its own respective Records Control Schedule (RCS). The following 

schedules have been approved by NARA:

• Office of Information and Technology, RCS OI&T 005-1, available at: 

http://www.rms.oit.va.gov

• Veterans Health Administration, RCS 10-1, available at: 

http://www1.va.gov/vhapublications

• Veterans Benefits Administration, RCS VB-1, is not currently available on-line; website 

is being updated. 

• National Cemetery Administration RCS is available at: 

http://vaww.nca.va.gov/mgmt_supp/mgmt_recmgmt.asp

• Office of Budget and Finance’s RCS is contained in MP-4, Part X, and is available at: 

http://vaww4.va.gov/publ/direc/finance/finance/.htm

NARA Bulletin 2006-02 was disseminated to all VA organizations for implementation as 

applicable. To date, no additional systems requiring a NARA-approved RCS have been 

identified. If/when systems are identified; they will be scheduled and incorporated in one of the 

existing NARA-approved schedules.
137

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• The FOIA reference guide (handbook) can be found at: www.epa.gov/foia/guide.html.

• EPA's FOIA website is: www.epa.gov/foia/. 

• The website link to Frequently Requested Records can be found at: 

www.epa.gov/foia/frequent.html.

EPA has a Section 508 program which includes a Section 508 Coordinator and Assistant 

Coordinator for the Agency. The Coordinators provide assistance to EPA managers and staff on 

Section 508 issues in a variety of ways. Many of the resources and tools are available on-line at 

www.epa.gov/accessibility, including an optional procurement checklist for managers who need 

to sign off on any IT procurement that involves Section 508 requirements as well as a toolkit on 

making websites and Web-based applications accessible. The Coordinators also provide training 

and clarification of the Federal requirements and EPA’s policy on Section 508.

The following table lists agreements EPA has with other organizations:

Joint website Description

AgSTAR Program 

(www.epa.gov/agstar/index.html)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining agency expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

AIR NOW (www.airnow.gov/) This partnership site helps achieve EPA’s mission of 

disseminating air quality information. 

ASEE Summer School

(www.engin.umich.edu/~2002/)

Sponsor for the summer program.

Atmospheric Sciences Modeling 

Division (www.epa.gov/asmdnerl/)

The National Exposure Research Laboratory (NERL) has a 

joint website with NOAA. NOAA and EPA have an MOU. 

A division of NOAA and EPA employees are in NERL. 

Their division lead is a NOAA employee. 

Attack Asthma

(www.noattacks.org)

This website is part of the national childhood asthma 

campaign that EPA sponsors through a cooperative 

agreement with the Advertising Council. The Ad Council's 

mission is to provide timely and the best public service 

information to the media and the public. The Ad Council has 

a special focus on issues that adversely affect children and 

families. 

Best Workplaces for Commuters

(www.epa.gov/otaq/bwc.htm)

The Best Workplaces for Commuters site is collaboration 

with the Department of Transportation and will be solely 

hosted by OTAQ within the next year.

Binational.net

(binational.net/index.html)

Collaboration between the U.S. EPA and Environment 

Canada to provide a single window on joint Great Lakes 

programs.

Chesapeake Bay Program 

(www.chesapeakebay.net)

EPA is the lead Federal agency in the Federal-state 

Chesapeake Bay program. The program has a joint website 

that is supported by an EPA grantee, the Alliance for the 
138

Joint website Description

Chesapeake Bay, on behalf of at least a dozen Federal and 

state agencies. 

Coal bed Methane Outreach Program 

(CMOP) 

(www.epa.gov/cmop/index.html)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining EPA’s expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

eeBuildings (energy efficiency) 

(www.epa.gov/eebuildings)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining EPA’s expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

Electronic Product Environmental 

Assessment Tool -

EPEAT site (www.epeat.net)

Green Electronics Council. EPA provided funding via a 

three year cooperative agreement to the Green Electronics 

Council to create a registry of products meeting the EPEAT 

standard, a process for verifying that products in fact meet 

the standard, and marketing of the standard and the registry. 

Part of the marketing involved the development of a 

website: www.epeat.net. This site provides purchasers with 

easy access to the EPEAT Product Registry and 

manufacturers with a way to gain market advantage and 

recognition for greening their products. The three year 

cooperative agreement expired this year, and the Green 

Electronics Council is now financially sustainable in its own 

right, and continues to maintain the EPEAT website.

Endangered Species - Bulletins Live! 

(128.104.224.199/espp_front/view.jsp

) (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Site funded by grant or contractor in conjunction with the 

University of Wisconsin.

EnergyStar 

(www.energystar.gov)

Having an energystar.gov url helps people find the site, by 

remembering the simple url, or finding it in a search engine 

like Google.

Exchange Network

(www.exchangenetwork.net) and 

(www.ncai.org/EPA_Environmental_

Exchange_Net.208.0.html)

These Websites inform states, territories and tribes about the 

Exchange Network and its grant program. While EPA 

provides the funds under the cooperative agreements with 

the Environmental Council of States and the National 

Congress of American Indians (NCAI), respectively, the 

websites are maintained independently of EPA. Information 

for the websites comes from two sources, the Exchange 

Network governance and IESD (Information Exchange 

Strategies Division). 

Both of these websites provide access to general and 

technical information on the Exchange Network, such as 

links to the latest Exchange Network Solicitation Notice, 

news of user meetings (developed and managed by the 

grantees), and information on basic and the latest technical 

developments for developing nodes and data exchanges.
139

Joint website Description

Federal Remediation Technology 

Roundtable (FRTR) 

(www.frtr.gov)

Federal Remediation Technology Roundtable website which 

is used to share information on characterization and cleanup 

resulting from EPA partnering with other Federal 

organizations including DOD, DOE, DOI, and NASA.

Green Chemistry and Green 

Engineering in the Pharmaceutical 

Industry

(www.epa.gov/region02/p2/greenpharmaceutical.html)

Workshop in conjunction with FDA, industry and 

universities.

Green Supplier's Network in 

collaboration with the Dept. of 

Commerce 

(www.greensuppliers.gov)

Green Suppliers Network is a joint effort of the 

Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of 

Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 

Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program. 

Landfill Methane Outreach Program 

(LMOP) 

(www.epa.gov/lmop/index.htm)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining EPA’s expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

Legal Education Videotape Series

(www.epa.gov/region5/orc/aboutus/D

OJ.OLE.videotape.series.htm)

For a limited time, ORC is working with the Department of 

Justice Office of Legal Education by hosting videotaped 

continuing legal education presentations. EPA announces

the presentations on ORC's main page and at 

www.epa.gov/region5/orc/aboutus/DOJ.OLE.videotape.seri

es.htm. The actual registration for the presentations is done 

through DOJ's website at: 

www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/ole/video_info/vidpro.html. This 

continuing legal education videotape series ends in 

November.

Metabolic Engineering Working 

Group (MEWG) 

(www.metabolicengineering.gov)

EPA is one of 8 partners in the MEWG

Methane to Markets 

(www.methanetomarkets.org/)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining EPA’s expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

Midwest Natural Resources Group 

(www.mnrg.gov)

Over a dozen Federal agencies partner in this group to bring 

focus and excellence to Federal activities supporting the 

vitality and sustainability of natural resources and the 

environment.

Midwest Spatial Decision Support 

System Partnership

(www.epa.gov/waterspace/)

Partnership with universities and states to develop, promote, 

and disseminate web-based spatial decision support systems 

to help manage watersheds in the Midwest

NAFTA Technical Working Group on 

Pesticides 

(www.epa.gov/oppfead1/international/

EPA partnership with Canada and Mexico to increase 

bilateral efforts of regulatory harmonization of pesticides.
140

Joint website Description

naftatwg/)

National IPM Information Source

(schoolipm.ifas.ufl.edu/)

Site funded by grant or contractor to assist the University of 

Florida reduce the risk of pests and unnecessary pesticide 

use by promoting integrated pest management (IPM) in 

schools and providing support, resources and training.

National Pesticide Information Center 

(NPIC) 

(npic.orst.edu/)

Cooperative effort with Oregon State University.

National Pollution Prevention 

Roundtable(s) (NPPR) 

(www.p2.org/)

Project with DOE and various organizations that share the 

same goals of pollution prevention, research and education.

Natural Gas STAR Program 

(www.epa.gov/gasstar/index.htm)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining EPA’s expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

Northeast Diesel Collaborative 

(www.northeastdiesel.org/)

The Northeast Diesel Collaborative (NEDC) combines the 

expertise of public and private partners in a coordinated 

regional initiative to significantly reduce diesel emissions 

and improve public health in the eight northeastern states. 

Stakeholders include Region 1, Region 2, and external 

stakeholders.

Office of Pollution Prevention and 

Toxics

(www.epa.gov/oppt/)

Partnership with Canada, Mexico and the Center for Disease 

Control.

P2 Framework / Sustainable Futures

(www.epa.gov/oppt/sf)

The Agency has an ongoing Cooperative Agreement with 

Purdue University's Indiana Clean Manufacturing 

Technology and Safe Materials Institute

(http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/CMTI/)

Pesticide Environmental Stewardship 

Program (PESP) 

(www.epa.gov/pesp/)

Voluntary partnership program to reduce pesticide risk. List 

of partners can be found on the website. 

PFC (perfluorocompounds) 

Reduction/Climate Partnership for the 

Semiconductor Industry 

(www.epa.gov/highgwp/semiconducto

r-pfc/index.html)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining EPA’s expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

Puget Sound Georgia Basin 

(www.epa.gov/region10/psgb)

Partners with EPA: Environment Canada, BC Ministry of 

the Environment, Washington State Department of Ecology, 

Puget Sound Action Team

Regulations.gov 

(www.regulations.gov)

As a Federal-wide effort mandated by Section 206 of the 

2002 E-Gov Act, www.regulations.gov is outside of EPA's 

web domain; 
141

Joint website Description

Regulations.gov provides citizens with one-stop, Internet 

access to and the ability to comment on all Federal 

rulemaking and non-rulemaking actions promulgated by all 

Federal Departments and Agencies; 

The eRulemaking Program also operates a secure login site 

for Federal agencies, www.fdms.gov, which supports more 

than 7500 users from 37 Departments and Independent 

Agencies. The Departments and agencies collectively 

promulgate more than 90% of Federal rulemakings. 

Departments and Agencies should not operate websites that 

duplicate www.regulations.gov nor those that duplicate the 

secure login site for Federal Agencies, www.fdms.gov, as 

mandated by OMB, the Clinger-Cohen Act, and the eGov 

Act.

Remediation Technology 

Development Forum (RTDF)

(www.rtdf.org)

Remediation Technology Development Forum website for 

an EPA partnership with members of industry.

SF6 (sulfur hexafluoride) Emission 

Reduction Partnership for Electric 

Power Systems 

(www.epa.gov/highgwp/electricpower

-sf6/index.htm)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining EPA’s expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

SF6 Emission Reduction Partnership 

for the Magnesium Industry 

(www.epa.gov/highgwp/magnesiumsf6/index.html)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining EPA’s expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

Smog City 2 

(www.smogcity2.org/)

This partnership site helps achieve our mission of 

disseminating air quality information. 

State Coalition for Remediation of 

Drycleaners (SCRD)

(www.drycleancoalition.org)

State Coalition for Remediation of Drycleaners whose 

coalition members are states with mandated programs and 

funding for drycleaner site remediation. Current members 

are Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, 

Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, South 

Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.

Strategic Agricultural Initiative (SAI) 

Toolbox

(www.aftresearch.org/sai/)

In conjunction with American Farmland Trust, the SAI is 

EPA's outreach program to demonstrate and facilitate the 

adoption of farm pest management practices that will enable 

growers to transition away from the use of high-risk 

pesticides.

Suppliers' Partnership for the 

Environment 

(www.supplierspartnership.org)

A partnership with the automobile sector.
142

Joint website Description

Triad Resource Center 

(www.triadcentral.org)

Triad related information as a result of a partnership with 

USACE, ANL and other Triad Practitioners.

U.S. Regulatory Agencies Unified 

Biotechnology Website 

(USBIOTECHREG) 

(usbiotechreg.nbii.gov)

EPA, USDA, FDA are partners, with USGS hosting the site

Voluntary Aluminum Industrial 

Partnership (VAIP) 

(www.epa.gov/highgwp/aluminumpfc/index.html)

Each agreement improves the access to and dissemination of 

government information to the public in order to help 

achieve EPA’s mission by combining EPA’s expertise with 

that of partners to reach additional audiences.

West Coast Diesel Collaborative 

(www.westcoastdiesel.org/)

Partners: www.westcoastdiesel.org/partners.htm

EPA’s records schedules are posted on the internet at: 

www.epa.gov/records/policy/schedule/index.htm

In response to NARA Bulletin 2006-02, EPA continues to review systems identified in its list of 

unscheduled systems submitted to NARA on October 31, 2006. EPA’s CIO issued a March 13, 

2008 memorandum reminding EPA staff of their responsibilities for scheduling electronic 

records and transferring permanent records to the National Archives. 

(www.epa.gov/records/policy/mo207e_memo.htm) On May 23, 2008, a data call on unscheduled 

systems was issued to all headquarters program and regional offices. 

(www.epa.gov/records/policy/battinmemo.pdf) 

EPA’s Agency Records Officer also contacted records custodians of systems previously 

approved as permanent to verify records schedule information and to remind them of their 

responsibility to transfer their systems to the National Archives. A list of 464 unscheduled 

systems was submitted to NARA. Since that time, EPA has made the following progress: 

FY 2008

• 240 systems added to existing records schedules,

• Seven system records schedules submitted to NARA in FY 2008, 

• 10 system records schedules currently undergoing agency review, and

• 207 remain to be scheduled.

FY 2009

• 171 systems added to existing records schedules,

• Nine system records schedules submitted to NARA, 

• 10 system records schedules currently being revised, and

• 17 systems required no schedule due to duplication or mischaracterization.
143

General Services Administration (GSA)

GSA’s main FOIA website is:

• insite.gsa.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/c0/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3j3QHcfT3M

PIwMLv0BTAyPTYFdPE2NDAyMjQ_2CbEdFALj1T_Y!/

GSA’s FOIA Handbook is available at:

• www.gsa.gov/gsa/cm_attachments/GSA_DOCUMENT/PublicInformationHandbook_R2

E-s8V_0Z5RDZ-i34K-pR.doc

GSA’s primary FOIA website for Frequent Requests for Records is:

• www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_OVERVIEW&contentI

d=28492

In support of meeting Section 508 compliance in the agency, GSA established initiatives in its IT 

Strategic Business Plan FY 2010-2012. These initiatives will help mature the Section 508 

program by improving the way electronic and information technology is developed, procured, 

maintained or used in the agency. GSA has developed a new, comprehensive regulation and 

accompanying handbook this year that articulates agency policy and procedures to help 

employees meet Section 508 compliance and for conformance to accessibility guidelines. 

Ongoing monitoring of the state of Section 508 compliance is currently underway. Through the 

capture of defined metrics, such as tracking the number of IT acquisitions in a quarter and review 

for the appropriate Section 508 language, random sampling of GSA’s local, government wide 

and enterprise web systems for conformance to the Section 508 technical standards, testing of 

office documents for conformance to accessibility guidelines and tracking the number requests 

for technical assistance, support and guidance, GSA’s goals for achieving Section 508 

compliance agency-wide are possible. 

GSA does not have R&D authority.

A coalition of Federal agencies (led by GSA's Office of Citizen Services) has been working on 

Terms of Service agreements with a broad range of social media providers who offer free 

services to users. The objective is to resolve issues with the existing standard Terms of Service 

that are problematic to Federal agencies. Having these agreements means that, if an agency 

chooses to use various social media sites, it won’t have to start from scratch on negotiating a 

special agreement.

Below are links to the agreements and specific instructions for how agencies can sign on. Each 

provider is followed with a brief explanation of the way it improves access to government 

information. 

• AddThis (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_AddThis): bookmarking and 

sharing

• Bing (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Bing): search engine API

• Blip.tv (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Bliptv): video sharing

• ComMetrics (http://my.commetrics.com/): blog metrics

• Cooliris (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Cooliris): video and picture 

browsing
144

• Dipity (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?TOS_Dipity): multimedia timelines

• Disqus (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?TOS_Disqus): universal commenting & social 

discussion

• Facebook (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Facebook): social networking

• Feedburner (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Feedburner): RSS feed

• Flickr (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Flickr): photo sharing

• FriendFeed (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?TOS_FriendFeed): social networking 

aggregator

• IdeaScale (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?TOS_IdeaScale): voting and feedback

• IntenseDebate (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_IntenseDebate): social 

commenting

• LinkedIn (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_LinkedIn): professional networking

• MixedInk (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_MixedInk): collaborative writing

• MySpace (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_MySpace%20): social networking 

• OpenCalais (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_OpenCalais): automated 

metadata

• RPX (http://rpxnow.com/): accepting third party identities

• Scribd (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Scribd): social publishing

• Slideshare (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Slideshare): presentation sharing

• Socrata (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?TOS_Socrata): data hosting (formerly Blist)

• Sourceforge (http://sourceforge.net/): open source software development

• TubeMogul (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?TOS_TubeMogul): video analytics and 

distribution

• TwitVid (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?TOS_TwitVid): video sharing

• UserVoice (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_UserVoice): voting, customer & 

constituent feedback

• Ustream.tv (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Ustream): video broadcasting 

platform

• Vimeo (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Vimeo): video sharing

• Wikispaces (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_Wikispaces): collaboration

• WordPress (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_WordPress): blogging 

• YouTube (https://forum.webcontent.gov/?page=TOS_YouTube): video sharing

Publicly-posted Records Schedules

• w3.gsa.gov/web/c/file.nsf/4b6aaf8da00cdb5c85256325005e3d48?OpenView

• www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentId=21567&programPage=%2Fep%2

Fprogram%2FgsaBasic.jsp&channelId=-

24921&ooid=20113&pageTypeId=8199&P=CAIM&programId=16390&contentType=G

SA_BASIC

• www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/contentView.do?contentType=GSA_BASIC&contentId=215

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GSA submitted a list of all major systems as defined by OMB in 2007, with recommendations 

for disposal and tentative identification of many as being covered under either the General 

Records Schedule, or by disposition authorities granted by NARA to GSA predecessor systems. 

GSA submitted two schedules in FY 2009 for minor systems, including the debarred bidders 
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listing system, gsa.gov and insite.gsa.gov. GSA further proposed disposition internally to the 

GSA organizations maintaining USA.gov and the Federal Real Property Reporting systems in 

2008.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

NASA continues to proactively comply with the Electronic Freedom of Information Act 

Amendments of 1996. In past years the Agency set up a specific Electronic FOIA Reading Room 

for posting documents relating to the Columbia accident. Releasable portions of several NASA 

contracts have also been posted in the reading room. These and other agency records have been 

electronically posted to meet multiple requests for similar records or in anticipation of public 

interest for agency records.

• NASA’s FOIA Handbook is available at: 

www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/FOIA/EO_FOIA_Ref_Guide.pdf

• NASA’s Primary FOIA website is: www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/FOIA/agency/

• NASA’s Website for Frequent Requests is: www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/FOIA/agency/

Additionally, each NASA FOIA Requester Service Center has and maintains separate electronic 

reading rooms, which contain records posted that have been previously released.

NASA has an Agency Section 508 Coordinator and Center Section 508 Coordinators designated 

for each agency center. Each Section 508 Coordinator provides technical and legal guidance and 

assistance towards the analysis and evaluation of Electronic and Information Technology for 

compliance with Section 508. An Agency website has been developed, including FAQ’s, 

training, and guidance materials to include website development techniques, a list of best 

practices for electronic documents, and guides for electronic information creation and editing. In 

addition, a centralized Section 508 Help Desk has been established to further assist the Centers 

with understanding Section 508 and ensuring that all IT developed, procured, maintained, or 

used by NASA is currently in the process of establishing a Section 508 policy and in-depth 

training materials. Part of this process includes developing a face-to-face awareness training 

which has been presented to each Center and key organizations within NASA, including 

Information Technology managers, developers, and creators. In addition, a Section 508 Working 

Group has been instituted which includes all Section 508 Coordinators and agency partners, like 

the Office of Procurement and Office of the CIO, to ensure that key individuals within the 

Agency remain abreast of vital information related to Section 508.

The NASA Technical Report Server (NTRS), ntrs.nasa.gov/, is a comprehensive source of 

NASA’s current and historical federally funded research and development (R&D) aerospace 

research and engineering results. NASA’s R&D and missions produce a wealth of important 

scientific and technical information that is essential to the Agency, to U.S. aerospace companies 

and educational institutions, and to the Nation. The NTRS is an integral part of gathering and 

disseminating this mission related information. NTRS promotes the dissemination of NASA 

Scientific and Technical to the widest audience possible by allowing NTRS information be 

harvested by sites using the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting. NTRS is 

sponsored by the NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program Office, 

(www.sti.nasa.gov), which supports the acquisition, organization, management, dissemination, 
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and long-term retention and safeguarding of information relevant to NASA’s research and 

development and missions.

The purpose of the Scientific and Technical Information Program is to help ensure that NASA 

research is cost-effective by:

• Providing scientists and engineers with access to existing NASA and worldwide research 

results;

• Supporting the work of the U.S. aerospace industries; and

• Sharing the results of NASA’s research with the world, as appropriate.

NASA is committed to not only sharing information with the public, but also ensuring the quality 

of the information. NASA has several on-going processes for ensuring information quality, 

including but not limited to editorial reviews, compliance reviews, content reviews, and peer 

reviews. NASA has also established administrative mechanisms by which affected persons can 

obtain, where appropriate, timely correction of information maintained and disseminated by 

NASA if the information does not comply with NASA’s quality standards.

• Information about NASA’s commitment to quality of scientific and technical 

information, including the relevant processes can be found at 

www.sti.nasa.gov/qualinfo.html, “NASA Guidelines for Quality of Information.” 

• Information about NASA’s other STI reviews is located in NPR (NASA Procedural 

Requirements) 2200.2B, “Requirements for Documentation, Approval, and 

Dissemination of NASA Scientific and Technical Information” (this document is 

currently being updated in NODIS, the NASA Online Directives Information System).

In terms of Federal research and development activities, NASA R&D information is also 

available through numerous external websites, including:

• The National Technical Information Service (NTIS) (www.ntis.gov/) is the largest central 

resource for government-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and business related 

information available today. NTIS provides businesses, universities, and the public 

timely access to well over 3.5 million publications covering over 350 subject areas.

• The Government Printing Office’s Federal Digital System (FEDsys), www.gpo.gov 

provides public access to Government information submitted by Congress and Federal 

agencies and preserved as technology changes.

• Science.gov (www.science.gov) is a gateway to government science information 

provided by U.S. Government science agencies, including research and development 

results.

• USA.Gov (www.usa.gov) is the home page of the U.S. Government’s Official Web 

Portal for all government transactions, services, and information.

• Research.gov (www.research.gov) is a collaborative partnership of Federal researchoriented agencies working together for the ultimate benefit of the research community. 

NASA partnered in 2008 with the National Science Foundation, who is leading this 

important initiative. The Research Spending and Results Service lets Congress, the 

general public, and the broader research community easily search and find grant award 

information for NASA and NSF in one place. Research Spending and Results is a search 

capability that provides increased transparency about how NASA research grant dollars 

are being spent and what results are being achieved. Users can quickly and easily search 
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for detailed award information, including award abstracts and publication citations. This 

service currently makes grant award information searchable for NASA and NSF, and 

Research.gov plans to make award information available for other Federal research 

agencies in the future.

• The National Archives Administration (NARA) (www.archives.gov/public/) provides 

Federal information via its archives and digital preservation efforts.

• The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (www.cfa.harvard.edu/sao/) is a joint 

endeavor of the Smithsonian Institution and Harvard.

• Commercial search aggregators, such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, collect NASA’s STI 

and further disseminate it to the public.

• Research and Technology Organization (RTO) of NATO participates in an exchange of 

STI, and STI’s NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI) is its domestic 

dissemination outlet in the United States.

• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) participates in an exchange of STI

between themselves and NASA Scientific and Technical Information.

Disseminating information about its research and activities has been part of NASA’s core 

mission since the agency’s inception. The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 (as 

amended) directs the agency to “provide for the widest practicable and appropriate dissemination 

of information concerning its activities and the results thereof.” These information dissemination 

activities occur in a wide variety of forums at NASA, from the publication of research to the 

NASA Portal and press releases to educational outreach. “Space Act Agreements” are one of the 

main types of formal agency agreements used by NASA. The National Aeronautics and Space 

Act of 1958, also known as the “Space Act,” provides authority for NASA to enter into 

agreements with other U.S. government agencies, commercial entities, academic institutions and 

other organizations. In particular, the Space Act authorizes and encourages NASA to enter into 

partnerships that help fulfill NASA’s mission. As a result, the Agency engages in a wide variety 

of strategic partnerships, grouped broadly into cross-NASA, interagency, and international 

collaborations of various types.

In past years, NASA has compiled lists of active agreements manually and from separate 

tracking systems throughout the various NASA Centers and Mission Directorates. Currently the 

agency utilizes its Space Act Agreement Maker (SAAM) system to facilitate common business 

practices in the agreement process for non-international agreements, as well as to consolidate and 

centralize the management of agreements through a common web-based solution. This approach 

allows for a more International agreements are stored in the System for International External 

Relations Agreements (SIERA), which is managed by NASA’s Office of External Relations 

efficient and consistent image to NASA’s external partners, while allowing NASA to efficiently 

manage its Space Act Agreements. SAAM provides a single web-based resource where 

information about all NASA non-international agreements can be placed. NASA researchers, 

technical managers, and project/program managers will be able to initiate agreements which can 

then be managed by centralized coordination personnel (Agreement Managers). SAAM enables 

quicker turnaround and a consistent partnership process among NASA Centers, Programs and 

Projects. Now that it’s fully implemented, it is also used as a tool by the Agency, Mission 

Directorates and Centers to effectively communicate the contents of all the various agreements 

currently active across the agency with reporting and data mining capabilities. NASA publicizes 
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all of its major Space Act agreements that promote increased information sharing. Some current 

examples of NASA agreements to improve the dissemination of agency information to the 

general public include:

• NASA and the Internet Archive have created NASA Images to improve access to 

NASA’s still imagery, video and films. Through www.nasaimages.org, anyone has free 

access NASA’s vast collection to download, embed, share and create collections, 

including HD video. NASA Images was created under a Space Act Agreement between 

NASA and Internet Archive, a non-profit digital library, to offer unprecedented access to 

the largest collection of NASA media from a single, searchable site. NASA Images is 

constantly growing with the addition of current media from NASA, as well as newly 

digitized media from the archives of the NASA Centers. Since the launch of 

nasaimages.org in 2008, over 3.7 million visitors have explored the site and downloaded 

over 7.7 terabytes of data (as of November 30, 2009).

• NASA has an ongoing and innovative agreement with Yahoo! Inc. to help bring NASA 

TV coverage including the Space Shuttle and International Space Station Missions and 

Expeditions to millions of Internet users through the NASA Web Portal. Yahoo! provides 

live streaming of NASA TV mission coverage in Windows Media format as an official 

online host of NASA TV footage. Under the terms of the agreement, Yahoo! provides a 

co-branded Windows Media Player that streams the mission’s official online video on the 

websites of both NASA and Yahoo!

• NASA and Microsoft announced plans in 2009 to make planetary images and data 

available via the Internet under a Space Act Agreement. Through this project, NASA and 

Microsoft jointly will develop the technology and infrastructure necessary to make the 

most interesting NASA content – including high-resolution scientific images and data 

from Mars and the moon – explorable on WorldWide Telescope, Microsoft’s online 

virtual telescope. Under the joint agreement, NASA’s Ames Research Center will process 

and host more than 100 terabytes of data, enough to fill 20,000 DVDs. WorldWide 

Telescope will incorporate the data later in 2009 and feature imagery from NASA’s Mars 

Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). Launched in August 2005, MRO has been examining 

Mars with a high-resolution camera and five other instruments since 2006 and has 

returned more data than all other Mars missions combined.

• NASA and Microsoft have also collaborated to create a website where Internet users can 

have fun while advancing their knowledge of Mars. Drawing on observations from 

NASA’s Mars missions, the “Be a Martian” website (beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/welcome) 

will enable the public to participate as citizen scientists to improve Martian maps, take 

part in research tasks, and assist Mars science teams studying data about the Red Planet. 

The collaboration of thousands of participants could assist scientists in producing far 

better maps, smoother zoom-in views, and make for easier interpretation of Martian 

surface changes. By contributing, website users will win game points assigned to a 

robotic animal avatar they select. The site also beckons software developers to win prizes 

for creating tools that provide access to and analysis of hundreds of thousands of Mars 

images for online, classroom and Mars mission team use. To encourage more public 

participation, the site also provides a virtual town hall forum where users can expand 

their knowledge by proposing Mars questions and voting on which are the most 

interesting to the community.
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• NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) and Google have an ongoing Space Act Agreement 

to work together on a variety of challenging technical problems ranging from large-scale 

data management and massively distributed computing, to human-computer interfaces. In 

addition to making the most useful of NASA’s information available on the Internet and 

pooling engineering talent, Google is building an R&D facility on the ARC campus. One 

of the projects between Ames, Google, and Carnegie Mellon University is the Gigapan 

Project – a robotic platform for creating, sharing, and annotating terrestrial gigapixel 

images. In February 2009 a new Mars mode in Google Earth was released, delivering a 

high-resolution, three-dimensional view of the Red Planet. Besides providing a rich, 

immersive 3D view of Mars that will aid public understanding of Mars science, the new 

mode, Google Mars 3D, also gives researchers a platform for sharing data similar to what 

Google Earth provides for Earth scientists. The mode enables users to fly virtually 

through enormous canyons and scale huge mountains on Mars that are much larger than 

any found on Earth. Users also can explore the Red Planet through the eyes of the Mars 

rovers and other Mars missions, providing a unique perspective of the entire planet.

• In 2009, NASA and Cisco Systems teamed up to develop “Planetary Skin” – a marriage 

of satellites, land sensors and the Internet – to capture, analyze and interpret global 

environmental data. What happens to Earth when a forest is razed or energy use soars? 

We don’t know because environmental data are collected by isolated sources, making it 

impossible to see the whole picture. With the theory that you can’t manage what you 

can’t measure, NASA and Cisco’s Planetary Skin, a global “nervous system” that will 

integrate land-, sea-, air- and space-based sensors, will help the public and private sectors 

make decisions to prevent and adapt to climate change. The pilot project (a prototype is 

due by 2010) will track how much carbon is held by rain forests and where.

One of the primary areas that NASA uses to enter agreements to disseminate its information is

through the Agency’s Office of Education (OE). OE uses different types of communication 

technologies to present information in ways that target audiences are best able, and most willing, 

to access it. From information disseminated via the web, to remote control of scientific 

instruments, to learning in virtual worlds, NASA Education is making extensive use of teleeducation and tele-presence technologies to enable the public to participate in NASA’s missions. 

Tele-presence technologies enable cost-effective distribution of both education resources and 

information about NASA’s missions and technological/scientific advances.

Providing content through tele-presence technologies keeps NASA current with the technology 

and tools preferred by a new generation of Americans, and allows a high degree of interactivity 

between participants, regardless of geographic distance. The NASA Education website is a 

gateway for students, teachers, parents, and the general public to access reader-friendly 

information about NASA’s mission and upcoming student opportunities. Social networks 

facilitate collaboration between students and educators, regardless of distance. Online tools build 

a new generation of “citizen scientists” that pose scientific questions and seek answers when they 

collect data from earth-orbiting science instruments or astronomical observatories. NASA is even 

providing education activities in a whole new virtual world.

NASA Education Website: The internet is powerful tool for accessing large audiences across the 

nation and across the globe. NASA education pages on the NASA website logged over 54 
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million individual page views in FY 2009. From this site, students and teachers have access to 

age and grade appropriate curricular resources for the classroom, articles about NASA missions, 

polls and contests, downloadable vodcasts and podcasts, and information about NASA TV 

programming. Special events are often simulcast on the NASA education website and NASA 

TV. A listserv delivers periodic updates and announcements of special opportunities to educators 

registered through the EXPRESS email service. Complex personal engagements and online 

collaborations among participants are accomplished through NASA activities based in social 

networking, learning in virtual worlds, and other telepresence technologies. Broad use of social 

network sites (e.g. Twitter, Facebook) and the creation of new user communities with a specific 

common interest in a NASA-themed topic allow NASA reach new student audiences. On-line 

collaborative tools model NASA’s work culture of teamwork to achieve mission objectives. 

These resources facilitate peer-to-peer interactions and allow students and teachers to engage 

directly with NASA content experts.

• The NASA Student Ambassadors Virtual Community fosters greater interaction, 

collaboration and mentoring relationships among interns and fellows from NASA higher 

education projects. This tool links current and former participants and allow them to 

share experiences, receive materials for speaking events, assist NASA in recruiting future 

interns, and identify and respond collaboratively, to NASA competitive research 

opportunities. The activity is managed by OE and the website technology implemented 

by Omni Media Cast Technologies, LLC.

• The Interdisciplinary Science Project Incorporating Research Experience (INSPIRE) 

includes an online community. The community provides a place for INSPIRE students to 

interact with their peers, NASA experts and education specialists. Through grade-level 

appropriate educational activities, chats and the discussion board, students and their 

families are exposed to the many careers and opportunities at NASA. The community is 

implemented by personnel from Oklahoma State University

• The Endeavor Science Teacher Certificate Project (ESTCP) is an online teacher’s 

certificate project designed to give teachers the cutting-edge tools necessary to contribute 

to the development of a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) 

workforce. Endeavor Fellows complete a series of online courses and Action Research 

based on NASA content and educational materials. ESTCP’s collaborative learning 

environment is implemented through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Satellite 

Laboratory, Inc.

• NASA’s Museum Alliance is an online community-of-practice consisting of 350+ 

museums, science centers, planetariums, observatories, zoos, aquariums, parks and nature 

centers throughout the nation. Through the Museum Alliance website, members have 

direct access to Agency-wide content from missions, materials, resources, 

teleconferences, videoconferences, artifacts and news releases in order to help them share 

NASA’s exploration mission with the American public. Content presented to the 

community is provided by education staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

• NASA’s massively multiplayer online STEM learning game will “go live” in early 2010. 

The Moon-Base Alpha game uses real NASA Constellation data as the framework behind 

STEM learning. This activity is being implemented by OE in collaboration with NASA’s 

Innovative Partnerships Program Office. It is part of the Learning Technologies Project, 

is staffed by personnel contracted from University of Maryland, Baltimore County. 
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Corporate collaborators on this project are Project Whitecard, Inc. and Virtual Heroes, 

Inc.

• The Digital Learning Network is an agency-wide education infrastructure enabling twoway audio/video conferences and live interaction between classrooms and NASA 

personnel. The network is a vehicle for cost-effective electronic professional 

development and other educator training. The contract for management of the network is 

currently being competed by LaRC.

• The International Space Station (ISS) EarthKAM enables middle schools students to 

remotely direct a camera on the ISS to capture real times images of Earth. The image 

collection and accompanying learning guides and activities support classroom 

investigations in Earth science, space science, geography, social studies, mathematics and 

communications. The activity is overseen by the Education Flight Projects team at JSC 

and operated by Imaginary Lines, Inc.

• NASA eEducation Island in Second Life includes the virtual facilities of NASA 

eEducation Island, Explorer Island, Lunar Explorer Island, MoonWorld and Space 

CoLab. At these virtual sites, the public and educators explore NASA content, participate 

in profession development workshops on NASA STEM education materials, remotely 

attend launches and mission event and interact directly with NASA personnel. Students 

can visit NASA virtual site and participate in launches and other activities in Teen 

Second Life. NASA education in Second Life is managed through the Learning 

Technologies Project, staffed by personnel from NASA and the University of Maryland 

Baltimore Campus.

It is NASA policy to manage its information resources and records, including electronic records, 

in accordance with the requirements of 44 U.S.C. Chapter 31.

Descriptions of all NASA’s records and their retention schedules are contained in NPR 1441. 

NASA Records Retention Schedules (NRRS) posted at

nodis3.gsfc.nasa.gov/displayDir.cfm?t=NPR&c=1441&s=1D. All schedule items are approved 

by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

NASA finalized an inventory of its electronic information systems and determined whether they 

contain Federal records, and whether proper retention schedules already existed. Of the 2,187 

information systems identified in the agency, 1,330 were determined to contain records, 1042 of 

which already had appropriate retention schedules. All the systems were divided into 54 subject 

categories and schedules developed or revised for submission to NARA where necessary for the 

records within the system to be covered. The agency has existing or requested schedules for 

88.9% of the systems in this category.

In working toward the September 2009 milestone specified in NARA Bulletin 2006-02, in FY

2009 NASA submitted for NARA approval six schedule requests of new or revised retention 

schedules covering records in 194 systems. The agency is working to develop proposed 

schedules for the remaining 11.1% of the subject categories of systems.
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Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

• NRC’s Freedom of Information Act Guide is available at: www.nrc.gov/readingrm/foia/foia-request.html

• NRC’s Primary FOIA website is: www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/foia-privacy.html

• NRC’s Records Frequently Requested Under FOIA are available at: 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/records.html

• NRC’s Recent FOIA Requests are available at: www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/foia/recentrequest.html

The NRC does have service provisions for people without access to the internet. The NRC 

maintains a Public Document Room (PDR) where copies of NRC publicly available records can 

be read. Copies can be ordered in person, through e-mail, or by telephone. The PDR also has a 

toll free number (800-397-4209) and staff to assist members of the public who do not have 

Internet access. The PDR staff can also provide bibliographies based on subject searches of the 

public databases to give users an idea of the documents that are available. The PDR has a feebased copy service. It is not uncommon to refer people to the nearest public library for further 

assistance since most public libraries now have Internet access.

The NRC has further enhanced the accessibility of its public website by offering site visitors the 

BrowseAloud assistive technology solution. This customizable software allows site visitors to 

"listen" to the contents of a Web page, highlighting the words and sentences as they are "read" 

aloud. Unlike other available screen readers, which are designed exclusively for the blind, 

BrowseAloud provides a range of options to accommodate the broader needs of print-disabled 

stakeholders, who have visual impairments, learning disabilities (such as dyslexia), or literacy 

challenges (including English as a second language). BrowseAloud is available free of charge for 

NRC website visitors to download and use.

The agency’s public website as a whole (www.nrc.gov) disseminates R&D information to the 

public, specifically through the following pages: 

• NUREG-series contractor reports http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doccollections/nuregs/contract/index.html

• Research activities www.nrc.gov/about-nrc/regulatory/research.html

The website provides information about federally funded R&D as well as the results of Federal 

research.

The NRC has formal agency agreements with several external entities that complement NRC’s 

information dissemination program. The NRC uses the U.S. Government Printing Office's 

Superintendent of Documents to disseminate its NUREGs, and has an agreement in place to 

participate in the Federal Depository Library Program and their sales program. The NRC also is 

required to send the Library of Congress File Center 15 copies of all its published documents. 

The agency also supplies publications to the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), 

which provides another point of public access for users.
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The U.S. Department of Interior/Federal Consulting Group provides an online customer 

satisfaction survey to users of the NRC public website. The NRC uses the results of this survey 

in planning for and prioritizing improvements to the site.

The agency also contracts with On-Line Video Service for Web streaming of all Commission 

meetings and some public meetings. 

NUREG-0910, Revision 4, “Comprehensive Records Disposition Schedule,” includes a 

description of all records (in any format) that had a NARA-approved records retention schedule 

as of March 2005. This document as well as any new NRC Records Disposition Schedules 

approved after the publication of NUREG-0910 is posted on the NRC public website at 

www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/records-mgmt/disposition.html. Also, NRC Management Directive 

3.53, “NRC Records Management Program,” revised March 15, 2007, is available on the NRC 

public website at 

adamswebsearch2.nrc.gov/idmws/ViewDocByAccession.asp?AccessionNumber=ML071160026

. This management directive does not report on the actual transfer of electronic records but does 

include instructions on implementation requirements for format and media.

The NRC submitted 22 records retention schedules to NARA in FY 2008 covering 56 electronic 

information systems. The agency also determined which systems did not require a retention 

schedule because they did not contain records, were covered by NUREG-0910 or a General 

Records Schedule, or were created after the time mandated by the NARA bulletin. A retention 

schedule for analytical data (covering 60 electronic systems) is in draft, as well as one to cover 

budget activities. Additional records schedules are developed as needed based on information 

derived by a biannual data call and Privacy Impact Assessments.

National Science Foundation (NSF)

NSF’s policy is to make the fullest possible disclosure of information, subject to restrictions 

imposed by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy Act, to any person who 

requests information, without unnecessary expense or delay. NSF’s public website provides 

information about how individuals can make FOIA and Privacy Act requests for NSF records 

and how they can contact the FOIA and Privacy Act offices at NSF. 

• NSF’s FOIA Handbook (Public Information Handbook) is available from the public NSF 

website at: www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07135/nsf07135.pdf. 

• NSF’s primary FOIA website is accessible at: www.nsf.gov/policies/foia.jsp. 

• NSF maintains an online collection of significant agency documents (including 

documents most frequently requested under FOIA) at: www.nsf.gov/publications/ods/. 

The NSF website strives to be accessible to all, including those with disabilities and those 

without reasonable access to advanced technologies. NSF's accessibility specialists consult with 

other Federal agencies and Federal Web consortia to ensure that NSF’s documents are accessible 

to persons using special screen reading software and hardware. On most public NSF Web pages, 

there are invisible links at the top and bottom which direct to a text-only version of the page. 

Because many people that use screen reading devices cannot read documents in Portable 

Document Format (PDF), every PDF document on NSF’s website is accompanied by an ASCII, 

HTML, or word-processing version, or can be requested in printed form. 
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NSF’s commitment to ensuring the accessibility of NSF documents is particularly stringent for 

any publication relating to NSF funding opportunities. NSF also encourages grantees to ensure 

that web pages disseminating information about their work are generally accessible for persons 

using screen reading devices. 

NSF is increasing public access to information about how research and development (R&D) 

grant dollars are being spent and what results are being achieved. 

NSF makes R&D information available on the NSF website (www.nsf.gov/) to ensure that 

members of the public can easily locate, access, and utilize the Foundation’s public information 

products. The NSF website is the agency’s primary interface for disseminating information to 

scientists, engineers, university administrators, educators, business, vendors, the media, policy 

makers, and the interested general public. NSF’s science and engineering Directorates and 

administrative offices collaboratively provide content and manage the NSF website. 

The Research.gov services that are available to the public (www.research.gov) provide the latest 

research award information, headlines, policies, events, and other exciting research content to 

interested parties. Research.gov’s Research Spending and Results service allows the public to 

search detailed award information from NSF and the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration, including award abstracts and publication citations. A successful search delivers 

summary information for each award, including the start and end date of the award, the total 

award amount, and an abstract describing the nature of the work to be performed; some award 

abstracts also include information on publications that have resulted from in-progress or 

completed research. This search capability provides transparency about how research grant 

dollars are being spent and what results are being achieved. NSF’s Research Spending and 

Results data is updated daily. 

Promoting partnerships is one of NSF's core strategies: collaboration and partnerships between 

disciplines and institutions and among academe, industry, and government enable the movement 

of people, ideas, and tools throughout the public and private sectors. To this end, NSF supports 

collaborative projects involving academic institutions, private industry, and state and local 

governments. The Foundation also works closely with other Federal agencies in cross-cutting 

areas of research and education, and supports U.S. participation in international scientific efforts. 

NSF’s partners are listed at: www.nsf.gov/about/partners/. 

NSF’s Division of Science Resources Statistics (SRS) works collaboratively with other Federal

agencies and international science organizations to improve the capture and analysis of scientific 

statistical data. In cooperation with NSF’s partners, SRS provides a central clearinghouse for the 

collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on scientific and engineering resources. SRS’s 

work is facilitated by interagency committees, jointly funded efforts, and other agreements, and 

results in the provision of statistical reports and data via the NSF website and through other 

sources. A list of SRS surveys and partners is available at: www.nsf.gov/statistics/about.cfm.

A list and description of NSF’s NARA-approved record is accessible to the public on the 

external NSF website at www.nsf.gov/policies/records/index.jsp. 
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NSF is managing agency records per requirements of the E-Government Act of 2002 and NARA 

Bulletin 2006-02, and continues to coordinate with NARA regarding options for the transfer of 

NSF’s unique electronic materials to the Archives. NSF conducted the following significant 

records management activities in FY2009: 

• NSF acquired a Department of Defense (DoD) 5015.2-approved Electronic Records 

Management (ERM) system, Documentum, in 2009. NSF is in the process of integrating 

it to manage the storage, retirement, retrieval, and electronic transfer of agency records. 

• NSF submitted a request to schedule the eJacket System and eJacket proposal award 

records as official agency records. The schedule has been approved by NARA and 

beginning January 1, 2010, the NSF e-Jacket will be the official record for all proposal 

actions, including withdrawals, declines, and awards. 

• NSF’s Records Officer continues to meet with records owners as required to evaluate any 

new systems for records content, schedule them as appropriate, and update business 

practices. 

• NSF currently has not identified any new systems requiring records schedules. 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

The URLs for the OPM’s primary FOIA website, the link where frequent requests for records are 

made available to the public, and the Agency’s FOIA handbook are as follows:

• www.opm.gov/efoia/

• www.opm.gov/efoia/html/reading.asp

• www.opm.gov/efoia/foiaguide.asp

OPM’s compliance with Section 508 standards depends on the IT solution source. For solutions 

acquired through contracts, OPM’s Contracting Office includes OPM standard Section 508 

compliance language in the solicitation and contract award documents. Contractors are required 

to produce either a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template or a similar document (e.g., 

OPM’s self-certification checklist) showing compliance with Section 508 standards. 

For internally developed IT solutions, OPM program offices are required to self-certify 

adherence with Section 508 standards. 

Program offices have been instructed to obtain, and they have complied in obtaining, an 

independent verification and validation of their self-certifications and of the results of the 

contractor-provided Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. The independent verifications 

and validations must be conducted by an impartial third party.

OPM currently does not fund R&D activities. OPM currently does not have such agreements 

with external entities.

An inventory that describes OPM’s NARA-approved records schedules is posted online in 

OPM’s Records Management Handbook which is located at theo.opm.gov/policies/AMS44-

3%20 (converted).pdf. 
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In FY 2008, OPM submitted a records schedule for one information system, the Health Care 

Provider Debarment Files. Work is underway to schedule two more electronic 

systems: USAJobs and Scholarship for Service. In addition, electronic records such as the 

following are being transferred successfully to NARA: the Voting Rights Program Records 

(transferred most recently on 12/15/08); Central Personnel Data File (CPDF) (transferred most 

recently on 8/31/09); and the Federal Human Capital Survey data files (transferred on 11/20/09).

Small Business Administration (SBA)

The link to the Small Business Administration Guide to Public Information is:

www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/foia/FOIA_HANDBOOK.html

SBA’s IT acquisition policy implements Section 508 as prescribed by the Federal Acquisition 

Regulation (FAR). SBA reviews all SBA web applications for compliance with Section 508.

The SBA does not receive funding for, and does not participate in, R&D activities. Therefore, 

the SBA does not have a website dedicated to disseminate or describe such activities or results. 

However, the SBA’s Office of Economic Research website, www.sba.gov/advo/research/,

provides economic research and statistics associated with small businesses. 

In addition, the SBA’s Office of Technology administers the Small Business Innovation 

Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program. The Office of 

Technology’s website, www.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbaprograms/sbir/index.html, provides relevant 

research regarding information technology for small businesses.

 

The SBA’s Office of advocacy Small Business Law Library website, 

www.sba.gov/advo/laws/law_lib.html, provides the memorandums of understanding and formal 

agreements available to the public. Not all of the agreements are available for public viewing. 

In accordance with NARA Bulletin 2006-02, SBA currently lists 59 electronic records schedules 

in its Electronic Records Management System; of these the “Loan Accounting System” 

comprises 33 subsystems.

Social Security Administration (SSA)

The following link is to the SSA primary FOIA website: www.ssa.gov/foia/index.htm. It 

provides access to Agency FOIA Reading Room, including the FOIA Regulations, FOIA Guide, 

Annual Reports, Frequently Requested Documents, Manuals and Instructions, and Privacy 

Impact Assessments. This page describes the policies and linking guidelines and includes links to 

the Web Content Inventory page and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) page.

SSA provides Section 508 compliance oversight for all agency technology procurements and 

application development efforts for:

• Web and client/server applications including SQL, HTML, XML, AJAX, JavaScript, 

WebSphere, Cold Fusion, Hyperion and others

• CICS mainframe and screen re-facing applications

• Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint electronic documents

• Adobe Acrobat documents (PDF)
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• Telecom equipment

• Video and multimedia equipment

• Desktop and portable computers and interfaces

• Assistive Technology Scripts

• Application Development Tools

In addition SSA,

• Prepares and provides quarterly Section 508 compliance reports to the DCS Management 

Steering Committee.

• Prepares and delivers the agency response for Department of Justice bi-annual Section 

508 Survey.

• Provides Section 508 compliance testing for all major technology procurements in excess 

of $10 million, or where a significant number of people with disabilities are affected.

• Provides competitive award assessments to determine which product is “most compliant” 

with respect to Section 508 and FAR regulations.

• Provides pre and post procurement consultations to assist procurement officials with 

navigating the SSA procurement process with respect to Section 508 compliance, and to 

work with procurement officials from SSA and other agencies to identify strategies to 

improve the level of Section 508 compliance for purchased products.

SSA has received the International Social Security Association Good Practice Award Certificate 

of Merit with Special Mention from the Jury in 2009 for SSA’s Accessibility Best Practices 

Portal.

SSA has cooperative agreements with the Retirement Research Consortium (RRC). The RRC is 

composed of world renowned retirement research centers. SSA has these agreements and 

provides funds to the RRC to promote retirement research and to inform the public and 

policymakers about Social Security issues. Information developed by the centers can be found on 

their individual websites. The mwww.ba.ssa.gov/policy/ page contains information concerning 

the RRC and provides links to each center 

SSA shares information, in accordance with laws and regulations, to help others do their business 

more efficiently and effectively. For instance, SSA has hundreds of data exchange agreements 

with state and local governments. SSA also has made public statistical information through many 

public use files and makes these available in a variety of formats.

SSA schedules records under agency specific schedules or the General Records Schedule (GRS). 

The GRS can be found on the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) public 

website: http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/ardor/

SSA maintains a file plan and classification scheme describing the record type, the component 

owning the record, and the approved disposition. The agency-specific file plan is for internal use 

only and is not available to the public. 
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SSA has 718 applications and systems currently in use. To satisfy the requirement of NARA 

Bulletin 2006-02, SSA submitted two records schedules in FY 2008 and four in FY 2009. With 

the submission of these six SF-115s, SSA has scheduled all electronic systems. 

A Records Management Questionnaire to inventory electronic records has been developed and is 

used during the software planning stage of the SSA System Development Life Cycle. Project 

teams use the questionnaire to identify records management issues, including retention and 

disposition methods. The questionnaire ensures SSA incorporates records management 

requirements into the design of all information systems. This ensures SSA maintains a Records 

Management program which follows NARA Records Management Guidance and Regulations, 

including the DOD 5015.2 Standard as required.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

• USAID’s FOIA handbook is available at:

http://www.usaid.gov/about/foia/handbook.html

• USAID’s primary FOIA Website is: www.usaid.gov/about/foia/

• USAID’s frequent requests for records are available at:

www.usaid.gov/about/foia/webfreq.html

USAID’s Web Services division has oversight of the vast majority of the Agency’s intranet and 

extranet content. Web Services reviews all new or updated content to ensure compliance with 

Section 508 regulations and requirements. A software tool called AccVerify is used during the 

validation process. The Legislative and Public Affairs Bureau reviews all publicly accessible 

Internet content for Section 508 compliance. 

USAID does not fund Federal R&D activities. USAID’s mission focuses on international 

development, empowerment of nations, and promoting democracy and prosperity in the world. 

While USAID performs research towards those ends, it does not perform or fund “R&D 

activities.” 

USAID does not have formal agency agreements with external entities complementing the 

agency’s information dissemination program. However, in addition to disseminating information 

through its own website, USAID and its partners maintain many websites dedicated to 

disseminating USAID mission related information to communities of practice, communities of 

interest, NGOs, and the general public. The following is a link to a list of those websites: 

www.usaid.gov/policy/egov/usaid_portals_projects.pdf 

The Disposition Schedule for E-records can be found at: 

www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/500/502maa.pdf. This policy is consistent with NARA General 

Records Schedule 20, and includes USAID policy on the retention schedule for different kinds of 

electronic documents. 

The Disposition Schedule for paper records can be found at: 

www.usaid.gov/policy/ads/500/502mac/502mac_toc.html#2. This policy is consistent with 

NARA guidance, and includes USAID policy on the retention schedule for different kinds of 

paper documents. 
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• 151: Total Number of E-Systems or Series 

• 114: Total Number of Approved E-Systems or Series 

• 25: Total Number of E-Systems or Series Submitted to NARA and Pending Approval 

• 17: Total Number of Unscheduled E-Systems or Series 

• 92% Percentage of All E-Systems and Series Approved or Submitted 

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA provides visitors with a reference guide for FOIA, located at 

www.usda.gov/da/foia_guide.htm. This guide provides an overview of the provisions of FOIA 

which govern Federal agencies' responsibilities and the public's rights. It also outlines how and 

where inquiring parties should make a FOIA request, required response times, the conditions for 

expedited processing, fees and fee waivers, initial request determination, appeals for restricted 

access, and information regarding judicial review.

Through an easily navigable website, USDA simultaneously adheres to the stipulations of FOIA, 

while providing transparent access to the public-at-large. The USDA website, 

www.usda.gov/da/foia.htm, outlines the implementation of Executive Order 13392—Improving 

Agency Disclosure of Information, and provides links to the following:

• FOIA Guide

• USDA FOIA Fee Schedule

• Agency Mission Areas

• Electronic Reading Room (Reports)

• USDA FOIA Regulations

• FOIA Contacts

• Text of the Freedom of Information Act

• USDA Privacy Policy Statement

• U.S. Department of Justice – Freedom of Information Act Home Page

In compliance with the Freedom of Information Act of 1966, the Electronic Freedom of 

Information Act (E-FOIA) Amendments of 1996, and specifically, Section 207(e), “Public 

Access to Electronic Information,” USDA provides the means for the public to access the vast 

majority of agency documents, aside from those protected by legal exemptions and exclusions, 

such as personal privacy and investigative documents. USDA has established an electronic 

reading room, which includes agency policy manuals, opinions made in the adjudication of 

cases, and an index of records released by FOIA that are subject to subsequent FOIA requests. 

Information regarding the reading room is available at 

www.usda.gov/da/foia_reading_room.htm. Within the reading room, members of the public can 

also access the USDA annual reports from 1996 to the present and they may view contracts and 

purchase orders established between USDA and the private sector.

Compliance with Section 508 in Regards to Information Management

USDA addresses Section 508 compliance in three major ways. First, USDA has established 508 

Coordinators within most agencies and staff offices. These coordinators work closely with 

program and technical staff to ensure that 508 standards are being adhered to at the application 

level. For example, most coordinators work with Web page designers to ensure compliance and 

accessibility for the public and for USDA employees. In addition to these agency-level efforts, 
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USDA has also created a senior leadership team that is directly invested in the compliance 

process. This team reports jointly to the CIO (CIO) and the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) 

and executes recommendations concerning the implementation and enforcement of Section 508 

requirements to ensure senior executive leadership and systematic accountability throughout the 

Department. Moreover, the team supports the Secretary’s goal to make USDA a model employer 

and provider of accessible services. Finally, USDA establishes compliance requirements and 

provides guidance and communication related to the initiative in the form of departmental 

issuances, e.g. memos, emails, policy directives.

In addition to the efforts described above, there also exists a Section 508 departmental lead 

located within the Information Management Division of the Office of the CIO (OCIO) at USDA. 

This lead helps maintain communication with the General Services Administration (the entity 

which oversees the government-wide 508 program) and the Access Board (that board that 

implements 508 technical regulations). In addition, the departmental lead works with the USDA 

508 Agency/Staff Office Coordinators to maintain 508 websites, explore the implementation of 

new 508 technologies, maintain the 508 Coordinators Sharepoint site, facilitate 508 training 

opportunities, and resolve any 508 issues that may arise within the department. 

All of these efforts have helped USDA successfully maintain compliance with Section 508. 

USDA’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) reported that there are no 

systemic problems with the USDA 508 Compliance program based on program audits. In the 

majority of cases, 508 issues at USDA have been effectively resolved at the agency level without 

the need for elevation, and there are currently no known litigation actions based on Section 508.

Dissemination of Federal Research and Development Funding

USDA is fulfilling its responsibility under Section 207(g), “Access to Federally Funded 

Research and Development,” by providing public access to Department research projects at 

www.usda.gov. A list of research projects is available in the directories of Science.gov at 

www.science.gov. The guidelines outlined and links provided on 

www.ocio.usda.gov/qi_guide/scientific_research.html regulate the scientific research 

information used, produced, and published by USDA in order to preserve the objectivity, utility, 

quality, and integrity of scientific research disseminated by Federal agencies.

The Forest Service and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) are two particularly noteworthy 

examples of agencies within USDA that have made access to research and development 

information accessible to the public and employees.

The Forest Service Research and Development (FSRD) is the largest forestry research 

organization in the world. The FSRD serves private forest landowners through their 

investigations into new processes and methods of recycling wood products. The four main areas 

in which FSRD seeks to disseminate information to the public are:

• Resource Valuation and Use Research;

• Science Policy, Planning, Inventory, and Information;

• Vegetation Management and Protection Research, and;

• Wildlife, Fish, Water and Air Research.
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Available at www.fs.fed.us/research, the FSRD website provides research and policy 

developments regarding our precious natural resources to both the public and Federal employees.

ARS is USDA’s primary scientific research agency that seeks solutions to everyday agricultural 

problems by frequent collaboration with research partners from universities, companies, 

organizations, and foreign countries. The mission of ARS is to pursue scientific innovation and 

to disseminate the discoveries to the public as useful technology and knowledge.

Formal Agency Agreements for Public Dissemination of Information

In order to create a high quality and efficient process for the public to access USDA’s 

information and services, and to support the exchange of information when needed, the 

Department works with a diverse group of external partners and contractors.

The National Agricultural Library (NAL) expands public access to agricultural information and 

facilitates the successful development of the Library’s programs and services through 

partnerships with external libraries, organizations, and private industry. For a list of NAL’s 

partnerships, please visit National Agricultural Library Partnerships. 

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) partners with more than one-hundred 

colleges and universities that comprise the nation's Land-Grant University System. These 

universities are designated to receive unique Federal support in order to further pursue NIFA’s 

unique mission to advance knowledge for agriculture, the environment, human health and wellbeing, and communities. Information on the Land-Grant University System and NIFA’s 

partnerships is available at www.csrees.usda.gov/qlinks/partners/state_partners.html. NIFA 

promotes Higher Education Challenge Grants for the benefit of 1862, 1890, 1994, and 

Hispanic-Serving Land-Grant Institutions. These USDA-led Land-Grant Institution programs 

seek to improve research, extension, and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences by 

strengthening institutional capacities so that participants may work with businesses to promote 

efficient and profitable operations. Information about the respective grants and the application 

process is available at www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/fundview.cfm?fonum=1082.

USDA partners with Google to provide an enterprise-wide simple search and location instrument 

for public visitors to www.usda.gov and other agency websites. A partnership with such a 

powerful and pervasive information generating system as Google allows those with even the 

most limited internet experience and skill to easily locate USDA information.

USDA uses the Stellent content management system, which provides a single, strong content 

repository for managing Web content, documents, and digital assets, as well as addresses the 

long-term retention and disposition of managed content and published sites. This system allows 

more people to create new and modify existing content to provide faster and more efficient 

information dissemination.

Finally, USDA improves access to and dissemination of government information to the public 

through its participation in several key Presidential Initiatives. USDA’s partnerships with 

Business Gateway (www.business.gov), Grants.gov (www.grants.gov), E-Rulemaking 
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(www.regulations.gov), and GovBenefits.gov (www.govbenefits.gov) provides opportunities for 

efficient exchange of USDA information between the Federal Government and the public.

Business Gateway seeks to improve the service and reduce the burden, financially or otherwise, 

for business and private citizens interacting with the Federal Government through various 

projects. Serving as a one-stop access point for government services available to the private 

sector, information and key resources regarding business development are found in the Business 

Resource Library.

Grants.gov seeks to reduce current government inefficiencies, meet E-Government objectives, 

and benefit both citizens and the government by streamlining the process and easing the 

encumbrance of searching and applying for Federal grants. Through the E-Government 

Storefront, this initiative helps to remedy the arduous process associated with applications in 

different agencies with clear instructions for both public and private entities.

E-Rulemaking is a collaborative, inter-agency initiative tasked with the establishment of an 

automated, integrated repository for Federal rulemakings, which electronically consolidates and 

manages the dockets of Departments and agencies to provide easy access across the Federal 

Government.

GovBenefits.gov is a partnership between sixteen Federal agencies that seeks to consolidate over 

1,000 Federal and Federally-funded, State-administered benefit and assistance programs, and 

that provides readily available application information, as well as a tool to help users determine 

their benefit eligibility in both English and Spanish.

USDA’s NARA-Approved Records Schedules and Progress Inventory

In response to the NARA Bulletin 2006-02, "NARA Guidance for Implementing Section 207(e) 

of the E-Government Act", promulgated on December 15, 2005, and the National Archives and 

Records Administration's (NARA's) letter of September 15, 2006, USDA submitted a list of 

scheduled and unscheduled electronic information systems to NARA in October 2006. The list 

included all of USDA’s major IT investments identified as part of USDA’s Capital Planning and 

Investment Control (CPIC) process. USDA works with NARA on an ongoing basis to schedule 

USDA records, including electronic systems. 

The Office of the CIO manages USDA’s Records Management Program, for which NARA 

outlines the major responsibilities that Federal agencies currently have for preserving electronic 

records. The USDA has well-established processes and procedures to ensure the proper 

management, scheduling, and disposition of USDA records at 

http://www.ocio.usda.gov/records/index.html (protected by USDA’s eAuthentication Service).

Per NARA's request in September 2006, USDA Agencies provided NARA with an inventory 

describing USDA mission-related electronic records systems and series that were previously 

scheduled as well as those that will require scheduling over the next year. As of September 30, 

2009, USDA has identified 380 systems that require schedules. Of those, 296 have been 

submitted to NARA for review. USDA expects to submit the remaining 84 systems to NARA by 

the close of FY 2010.
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Section IV: E-Government Initiatives

This section of the report summarizes and highlights agency specific E-Government activities. 

More detailed information and links to the agency’s Information Resources Management 

Strategic Plan and Freedom of Information Act primary website are located in each agency’s EGovernment Act Report and are available on agency websites. Each agency was asked to:

1. Describe the initiative, the methodology for identification of the initiative, and how the 

initiative is transforming agency operations;

2. Quantify the cost savings and cost avoidance achieved through implementing the 

initiative (e.g., reducing or eliminating other investments in information technology);2

3. Explain how your agency maintains an ongoing dialogue with interested parties to find 

innovative ways to use information technology for the initiative;

4. Identify improved performance (e.g., outcome measures, quantifiable business impact) by 

tracking performance measures supporting agency objectives and strategic goals; 

5. Explain how this initiative ensures the availability of government information and 

services for those without access to the Internet and for those with disabilities;

6. Identify external partners (e.g., Federal, State or local agencies, industry) who collaborate 

on the initiative;

7. Explain how the project applies effective capital planning and investment control 

procedures; and

8. Describe the established business process your agency has in place for the continued 

ongoing process of identification of initiatives.

Department of Commerce (DOC)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at: 

• http://ocio.os.doc.gov/ITPolicyandPrograms/E-Government/PROD01_008776

Commerce’s International Trade Administration (ITA) maintains the sole E-Government 

initiative managed within DOC, the International Trade Process Streamlining (ITPS). The ITPS 

initiative allows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to obtain more easily the 

information and documents needed to conduct business abroad. 

DOC, through the ITA, has the mandated responsibility to coordinate the export promotion and 

finance activities of the 19 Federal agencies through the Trade Promotion Coordinating 

Committee. The committee is to “provide a central source of information for the business 

community on Federal export promotion and export financing programs” (15 U.S.C. 4727 (0) 

(2)).

Export.gov, the government’s existing online portal for small business export assistance 

information, has been enhanced to meet the mandate and is integrated with the 1-800-USATrad(e) call center and domestic and foreign offices staffed by trade specialists. Export.gov 

provides online information about foreign market intelligence, trade leads, trade shows, export 

 2 Section 300 of OMB Circular A-11, “Preparation, Submission and Execution of the Budget” provides instructions for 

developing baselines and calculating cost savings and cost avoidance for information technology investments (e.g., the 

Presidential E-Government and Lines of Business). See: www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/a11/current_year/s300.pdf
164

finance, and other valuable information and directs SMEs toward local Export Assistance 

Centers or to relevant offices in the foreign markets.

The concept of the ITPS initiative was to consolidate the export assistance programs and market 

information spread across 19 Federal agencies into a single, easy-to-use web portal with a 

common-sense URL – www.Export.gov. One of the key elements of this initiative was the 

implementation of a content management system for Export.gov to enable ITA and its partner 

agencies to easily change and update their export-related content and to provide consolidated 

information architecture for Federal export-related content.

Over the life of the initiative, the TPCC Agencies and ITA of the DOC has decommissioned 

duplicative and redundant websites. Not only has this reduced hardware and technical support 

costs, it has also saved staff time by not having to manage so much content. 

Recent surveys indicate that less than 2% of U.S. SMEs sell their products outside of the U.S., 

and two-thirds of those SME's export to only one market. The potential leverage available from 

small investments in export promotion is large. These non- and under-exporting SMEs represent 

an immense, untapped source of future U.S. employment and prosperity. For example, if a 

modest 0.5% increase in the level of SME exports were realized as a result of ITPS (an amount 

equal to $1.2 billion in sales by U.S. companies) it is estimated that U.S. employment levels 

could rise by nearly 19,000 jobs. An additional benefit is that firms that export have been found 

to pay 15% higher wages than the average firm and go bankrupt at a significantly smaller ratio 

than non-exporting firms.

ITA maintains an ongoing dialogue with interested exporters to find innovative ways to use 

information technology. The Secretary of Commerce chairs the TPCC which consists of 

representatives from 19 Federal Agencies that are involved in promoting and/or financing 

exports. ITA manages the TPCC Secretariat that is the coordinating office for the TPCC. 

Through this structure, ITA collaboratively works with the related agencies to assess what is, and 

what is not, working for U.S. companies seeking to enter the export business, and for 

experienced exporters, how to expand sales. Collectively, the TPCC determines its direction,

while the ITPS Program Management Office evaluates technical options, prioritizes projects and 

implements solutions that meet the needs of the exporting community.

ITPS tracks performance measures supporting Commerce objectives and strategic goals 

improved performance.

• Number of visitors to the ITPS website In FY 2009 = 2.5 million unique visitors 

• Number of trade leads viewed by U.S. companies in FY 2009 = 74,000

• Customer Satisfaction in FY 2009 = 73%

ITPS ensures the availability of government information and services for those without access to 

the Internet. Information on the Export.gov website, along with live export counseling and 

resource referral is available to the public via ITA’s call center (1-800-USA-TRAD(E)) and 

through over 105 domestic Export Assistance Centers located throughout the U.S. The 800 

number is also included on all print publications that the ITA produces. Export.gov utilizes 
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technology that is viewable using standard screen reading software and performs biannual checks 

for Section 508 compliance. 

External partners (e.g., Federal, state or local agencies, industry) that collaborate on the ITPS:

Key Federal Partners:

• International Trade Administration

• Department of Energy

• Export-Import Bank

• Foreign Agriculture Service

• U.S. Agency for International Development

• Overseas Private Investment Corporation

• Small Business Administration

• Department of State

• U.S. Trade and Development Agency

• United States Trade Representative

Key Private Sector Partners:

• Google

• City National Bank

• Comerica Bank

• M&T Bank

• PNC Bank

• TD Bank 

• Zions Bank 

• Baker & McKenzie

• TUV Rheinland 

• FedEx 

• UPS 

• U.S. Postal Service 

• FITA, the Federation of International Trade Associations

• Reed Exhibitions

• Aon Corporation 

• ThinkGlobal Incorporated 

This project, which is now in the operations and maintenance phase of its lifecycle, has been 

managed in accordance with Federal and DOC capital planning and investment control 

requirements since its inception. ITA created and continues to maintain a business case (OMB 

A-11 Exhibit 300) that documents investment decisions and status related to ITPS. Commerce 

has an established business process in place for the continued ongoing process of identification 

of initiatives. It also maintains this capital investment review process to identify and quantify 

cost savings and cost avoidance achieved through implementation for new IT programs.

The Commerce Investment Review Board (IRB) serves as the senior oversight board in the 

investment review process and provides decision-making recommendations to the Deputy 

Secretary at DOC. The IRB is co-chaired by the Chief Financial Officer/Assistant Secretary for 
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Administration (CFO/ASA) and CIO, supported by the Program Management Office. As of 

March 2009, the IRB combined the functions of the long-standing Acquisition Review Board 

and the DOC Information Technology Review Board into one unified review board for both IT 

and non-IT investments. In this capacity, the IRB provides for DOC oversight of program 

performance through the objective review of progress and assessment of pertinent measurable 

data tied to total life-cycle investment planning, budgeting and execution. 

Major investments with program/project life-cycle values exceeding $75 million or otherwise 

designated by the Deputy Secretary as being either high risk or critical to the DOC missions are 

subject to IRB review. The IRB's control reviews address projects that are in progress, at key 

milestones, or demonstrate a need for management intervention. The IRB review process 

includes initial reviews and opinions by DOC personnel with expertise in the CPIC process, costbenefit analysis, project management practices, Enterprise Architecture, E-government strategy, 

privacy, IT Security, acquisition planning, legal issues, budgeting, or other technical competency 

areas specific to the project in question. The results of these expert reviews provide the IRB with 

insight as to how well DOC’s ongoing systems are meeting cost, schedule, and performance 

goals, and assist the IRB in directing corrective actions as necessary. 

Project managers of major investment initiatives with high visibility or significant risk factors, 

submit monthly Earned Value Management reports that provide to the DOC OCIO with an 

executive-level view of the cost and schedule performance of the Department’s IT investment 

portfolio. At least annually, OCIO staff reviews IT systems that are not the subject of formal 

DOC IRB reviews or quarterly earned value reporting.

Proposals for new IT initiatives, along with supporting documentation, are presented the OCIO 

and IRB as part of the budget submittal process. Project sponsors also brief the IRB on the merits 

of their projects, and the IRB then rates and ranks the proposed initiatives according to 

documented evaluation criteria. Project sponsors are given an opportunity to correct deficiencies 

and improve their scores. Projects that receive satisfactory ratings are forwarded as approved by 

the CIO for the budget review process. The CIO provides finalized project ratings and 

recommendations to DOC’s Office of Budget and Departmental executives for determining final 

budget approval.

As an IT initiative is completed or reaches the operational life-cycle phase, a postimplementation review is conducted to explore lessons learned, verify how well it met the initial 

investment criteria, and to provide suggestions for better managing future projects. Managers of 

implemented projects are also required to submit an annual operational analysis that examines 

the initiative’s performance in terms of customer results, business results, cost and schedule 

performance, and innovation. Operational performance of implemented projects is compared to 

projections, thus providing valuable information relative to the project’s impact on operating unit 

and Departmental mission performance. This analysis identifies any investment initiative 

modifications that may be needed. These operational analyses and review techniques allow the 

Departmental CIO to revise the investment management process based on lessons learned.
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Department of Defense (DOD)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at: 

• http://cio-nii.defense.gov/docs/DoD_FY2009_EGov_Act_Implementation_Rpt_Final_30Dec09.pdf

Universal Core (UCore) is a Federal information exchange specification and implementation 

profile supporting the White House's National Strategy for Information Sharing. UCore focuses 

on commonly needed data points: "who," "what," "when" and "where." UCore was developed 

through a collaborative effort between DoD, Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS) and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) staffs 

to improve cross-boundary information sharing. Historically, programs have defined their own 

vocabularies and information exchange schemas, limiting the amount of understandable 

information that could be shared outside of pre-engineered interfaces.

The establishment and visibility of formal data sharing communities (i.e., Communities of 

Interest or domains) is improving the situation by developing common vocabularies within 

specific mission or business areas. However, sharing information outside these communities 

remains a challenge and is typically solved by using complex mediations on a case by case basis. 

UCore was developed to make it easier for programs to share information within and across 

communities by defining agreed upon representations for the most universally understandable 

concepts and a lightweight message framework to be a common basis for cross-domain and 

cross-agency interoperability.

UCore is intended to improve information sharing and mission effectiveness. Given the nature of 

UCore as an information exchange standard, quantifiable cost savings or avoidance will only be 

calculable on a limited case by case basis. The return on investment is realized when 

interoperability is achieved by the unanticipated user to successfully consume data with no prior 

agreement or engineering taking place. UCore directly contributes to the DoD policies for 

transformation and a DoD enterprise information environment. It avoids dedicated pair-wise 

semantic development and sustainment for two individual systems to communicate versus 

reducing the repeated incurred cost of developing semantics between every pairing of systems to 

exchange data. Once UCore is more broadly adopted, DoD expects to have a better handle on 

quantifiable savings and cost avoidance. 

In the initial development phase, the UCore Working Group relied on the Net-Centric Enterprise 

Services collaboration tool, Defense Connect Online, during the weekly meetings to facilitate 

distributed participation and development of the UCore standard. The working group consisted 

of approximately 200 engineers from across more than 20 different organizations, including 

DoD, DOJ, DHS, and ODNI. A two-pronged approach has been taken to maintain ongoing 

dialogue with the UCore community consisting of training and online resources.

UCore training has been a focus of sessions at the last three Armed Forces Communications and 

Electronics Association conferences, the National Information Exchange Model National 

Training Event 2009, and the first annual UCore Users’ Conference was held in September 2009. 

Additionally, the UCore team has provided training events at USTRANSCOM, USMC, NATO, 

and a number of remote training sessions to projects and teams across the user community.
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The UCore community website is provided as self-service, knowledge management capability to 

provide implementers with latest news and documentation on UCore. The website provides an 

online developers guide, developer tools and the UCore spec for download, an online validation 

tool, tutorials, and code examples. The website provides a way for the community to submit

change requests, view status of Configuration Control Board items, and request feedback or 

support from the UCore Team.

The Office of the DoD CIO chairs the DoD UCore governance body and represents the 

Department on the Joint Federal UCore Executive Steering Council currently composed of DoJ, 

DNI, and DHS, and associate membership from OMB and the PM-ISE. Additionally, DoD CIO 

staff members advise and serve on the Command and Control (C2) Data and Services Strategy 

Council advising the C2 community on implementation of UCore, extensions to UCore and 

associated common cores.

Since UCore Version 2.0 Baseline was released in March 2009, there has been consistent growth 

in the number of registered websites as well as mission implementations. UCore is publicly

releasable and has been briefed to NATO and Pacific allies and coalition members.

UCore has been referenced in various DoD and Joint Chiefs of Staff policy documents 

encouraging adoption including: National Information Sharing Strategy 2008-2009, CJCSI 

6212.01E, DIEA V1.1, and the pending revised DoD 8320.02G, “Guidance for Implementing 

Net-Centric Data Sharing.” In response to a July 13, 2009, DoD CIO request for implementation 

plans, the military services pledged their support for further UCore evaluation and adoption. 

UCore has been incorporated into the Homeland Security Enterprise Architecture Technical 

Reference Model, the Maritime Domain Awareness Architecture Hub, and is being evaluated as 

a Federal Data Standard. A certification process has been established at the Joint Interoperability 

Test Center to confirm conformance and there has been one Internet service provider 

documenting the use of the UCore standard. UCore is being incorporated into the DoD 

Information Standards Registry and is super namespace in the DoD Metadata Registry.

An indication of vendor adoption of UCore is the incorporation into one vendor's commercial 

prototype to do entity extraction of unstructured data. Also, a recent job search on a commercial 

website showed 17 jobs from ten different companies specifically requiring applicants with 

UCore knowledge.

As stated, UCore is a Federal information exchange specification and implementation profile 

designed and utilized across the Federal Government to promote the effective and efficient use of 

information. The Department is committed to ensuring equal access for disabled Federal 

employees as described in the Department’s efforts outlined in Section II, #9.

Throughout the development of UCore, it was a priority to include as many agencies, 

organizations, domains, communities of interest (COI), and mission areas. This was to ensure 

UCore would provide value regardless of the area it was being applied.
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]In addition to DoD, DoJ, DNI, and DHS, many other organizations have taken part in the 

development and implementation of UCore Version 2.0. This includes, but is not limited to, Air 

Force, Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, United States Strategic Command, United States 

Northern Command, Maritime Domain Awareness Data Sharing Community of Interest, Strike 

COI, Air Operations COI, Defense Intelligence Agency, Joint Interoperability Test Command, 

Office of Naval Research, Defense Information Systems Agency, National Geospatial

Intelligence Agency, as well as several educational institutions and industry partners.

Ongoing discussions with additional Federal Departments and NATO/Allied partners are 

expected to result in simplification of interoperability of critical mission partner data. DoD has

drafted language into the DoD data strategy guidance for acquisition reviews and acquisition 

milestone reviews to look for UCore conformance as an essential part of major acquisitions and 

as a measure of net-centricity for existing and evolving systems, programs, or services.

The Department has improved the governance of its business operations through the Defense 

Business Systems Management Committee (DBSMC), which serves as the overarching 

governance board for the Department’s business activities. The DBSMC is chaired by the 

Deputy Secretary of Defense, with representation of the Secretaries of the MILDEPs, the Heads 

of Defense Agencies and key officials of the OSD staff. Since its inception in 2005, the DBSMC, 

in concert with the Investment Review Boards, has served as the governance structure that 

guides the transformation activities for the Department’s business areas. As required by the FY 

2005 National Defense Authorization Act and as reiterated in the DBSMC Charter, the DBSMC 

has responsibility for approving business systems information technology modernizations over 

$1 million, the Business Enterprise Architecture, and the Enterprise Transition Plan. Specifically, 

the DBSMC sets priorities for business operations and identifies supporting performance goals, 

measures, and key initiatives. It also develops and approves annual updates to the Department’s 

Strategic Management Plan. The DBSMC meets on a monthly basis.

In addition, the Department’s Enterprise Transition Plan (ETP) lays out a roadmap for achieving 

DoD’s business transformation by implementing changes to technology, process, and 

governance. The ETP and DoD Business Enterprise Architecture guide and constrain the 

Department’s investment in, and implementation of, defense business systems, and are the key 

enablers of improved business operations. The FY 2010 ETP was released in December 2009, 

marking the Department’s fifth delivery of an integrated business transformation plan. In the 

past, a limited number of copies were printed. This year’s version is entirely electronic and is 

available online at: www.bta.mil/products/BEA_6.2/ETP/home.html.

The Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) plays a key role in 

identifying the capabilities required by the warfighters to support the National Defense Strategy, 

the National Military Strategy, and the National Strategy for Homeland Defense. Successful 

delivery of those capabilities relies on the JCIDS process working in concert with other joint and 

DoD decision processes. The procedures established in JCIDS support the Chairman of the Joint 

Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Requirements Oversight Council in advising the Secretary of 

Defense in identifying and assessing joint military capability needs. For example, the JCIDS 

process supports the acquisition process by identifying and assessing capability needs and 

associated performance criteria to be used as a basis for acquiring the right capabilities, including 
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systems. These capabilities needs then serve as the basis for the development and production of 

systems to fill those needs.

Department of Education (Education)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at: 

• www2.ed.gov/about/reports/annual/otherplanrpts.html

The Department of Education’s Grants Electronic Monitoring System (GEMS) is implementing 

a new “e-Folder” to store all grant records electronically. This records management application 

will be used by 150 users in the Office of Postsecondary Education and pilot tested by 50 users 

in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. These two offices manage more than 

7,000 open grants, both formula and discretionary, that represent nearly $10 billion in obligated 

funding.

Currently, the majority of documents for each grant are submitted in electronic format, but they 

are then printed and placed in a hard copy file. For each grant, the application, grant award 

notification, peer review comments, performance reports, communications, and other related 

documents must be printed and filed. This recordkeeping method is inefficient and wastes staff 

time and resources. 

The application meets the National Archives and Records Administration requirements for an 

electronic recordkeeping system as a system in which records are collected, organized, and 

categorized to facilitate their preservation, retrieval, use, and disposition (36 CFR 1234.2). It also 

meets the requirements of DOD 5012.2-STD Design Criteria Standard for Electronic Records 

Management Software Applications. 

This new initiative will provide the following benefits:

• Increase access to important grant documents;

• Improve methods for ensuring accountability;

• Increase staff efficiency; and

• Save costs on printers, paper, and storage space.

The information in the GEMS e-Folder will be used to:

• Monitor progress in meeting grant objectives;

• Justify the continuation of grants;

• Measure performance outcomes;

• Respond to Freedom of Information Act requests and information requests from members 

of Congress, the Office of Inspector General, and the General Accountability Office;

• Satisfy Government Performance and Results Act and Program Assessment Rating Tool 

reporting requirements;

• Maintain grant records as required; and

• Archive grant records as required.

The decision to develop an e-Folder originated during the Office of Postsecondary Education’s 

IT Business Transformation Initiative in 2007. A committee was convened to discuss ways to 

better coordinate the office’s IT investments, share information, and improve efficiency. In 
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partnership with the Office of the CIO’s Enterprise Architecture staff, an inventory was 

conducted of the office’s grant-related IT systems. The inventory showed that integrating them 

into one system was neither feasible nor desirable since each served varying program-specific 

needs. However, management and staff expressed a frustration that grant documents were stored 

in many different systems and were difficult to access. To respond to this need, a grant e-Folder 

was discussed. The solution recommended by Enterprise Architecture was to adopt HP TRIM 

Context, a commercial off-the-shelf records management application being used in the Office of 

Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, to store all grant documents in one location. 

TRIM has been integrated with GEMS, which is a system already used by staff to electronically 

monitor their grants. Adding an additional component to an existing system has made it easier to 

gain user acceptance.

The GEMS e-Folder will be fully implemented in January 2010. Cost savings will be fully 

realized when all open grants have electronic records. Many multi-year grants have existing hard 

copy files, which will not be scanned. Record-keeping will be electronic for all grants made in 

FY 2010 and onward. 

The GEMS program office has estimated that the Department will save $485,072 annually 

beginning in FY2011 by replacing the paper-based recordkeeping method for the Offices of 

Postsecondary Education and Elementary and Secondary Education. These savings will increase 

as this system is rolled out to additional offices across the Department. Eliminating paper 

archival storage alone is estimated to save an estimated $226,666.00 annually. E-Folders will 

also improve staff productivity by saving an estimated 7,360 staff hours annually (approximately 

3.5 FTE) in the areas of processing official grant documentation and responding to information 

requests.

The Department’s Office of Postsecondary Education has met regularly with other principal 

offices to demonstrate GEMS and offer it as a potential solution for their grant staff. The Office 

of Elementary and Secondary Education decided to pilot test GEMS e-Folder in FY 2010 for 

three divisions and 50 new users. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services is 

currently considering adopting GEMS e-Folder as well.

Staff members have collaborated with the Office of the CIO to plan the implementation of 

electronic signature technology in FY10 that will allow grant award notifications to be digitally 

signed and emailed to grantees. The grant award notification document is currently printed up in 

hard copy three times and signed by hand. A notification must be issued when a new award is 

made, when a continuation award is given, and any time there is a change to the grant, such as 

new personnel or an extension of the performance period. The Office of Postsecondary 

Education has estimated that staff members print and sign approximately 17,000 notifications 

each year, a significant burden. With the advent of electronic signatures, staff time and resources 

will be saved, and the notification will be stored automatically in the grant e-Folder.

The agency’s Regulatory Information Management Services has provided careful guidance on 

how to develop the system so that it meets all Federal requirements for an electronic 

recordkeeping system. Regular meetings have been convened to discuss how the records 
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retention schedule will be implemented and how records will be archived to meet NARA 

standards.

An advisory committee was formed in March 2009 to develop the requirements for the GEMS eFolder. This committee was made up of representatives from all the grant program areas. The 

members met every two weeks for four months to provide input into the design and formulate the 

requirements. They then tested the system and validated the requirements. GEMS users are 

consulted regularly for ideas about improvements. The system has a feedback function in which 

users can immediately send a suggestion for an enhancement to the development staff. 

GEMS e-Folder supports the agency’s cross-goal strategy on Management Objective 1: Maintain 

and strengthen financial integrity and management and internal controls. The system will 

dramatically improve grants management by allowing all records to be accessible electronically.

There will be a business impact on more than 7,000 grants that represent nearly $10 billion. Staff 

will have access to important documents, efficiency will be improved, and cost savings will be 

realized on printers, paper, and storage space.

Compliance with Section 508 is required in the development of the system. The system has 

undergone rigorous 508 compliance testing to ensure that customers with disabilities can 

successfully access and use the system.

All information technology investments participate in the Department’s Select Phase. The 

segment owner assigned to the Grants segment, in which GEMS resides, reviews the Grants 

portion of the portfolio to look for opportunities for consolidation and reuse. During the 2011 

Select Phase, the segment owner brought together several stakeholders (including GEMS) to 

understand their systems and determine where funding would best be placed for greater maturity 

and efficiency for the Department. The segment owner then presented these funding 

recommendations to the review board (Planning and Investment Working Group). The segment 

owner reported on both the performance of the segment over the last year, and each major IT 

investment project manager reported on the performance of their investments, along with their 

funding recommendations and justifications.

The Department’s Investment Review Board (IRB) was established under the authority of the 

Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996; the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; Office of Management and 

Budget Circular A-130 (Management of Federal Information Resources); and other applicable 

laws, rules, and regulations.

The IRB is a forum for deliberation about Department information technology (system and 

resource) investments needed to achieve the Department’s mission and business requirements.

• The IRB advises the Secretary through the Deputy Secretary to ensure that the 

Department:

• Maximizes the value, and assesses and manages the risk and costs, of all information 

system investments;

• Integrates information system investment decisions with the Department’s mission, 

strategic plan, budget, and enterprise architecture, 
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• Focuses on the entire life cycle of information system investments, including vision, 

definition, construction, validation, implementation, operation and maintenance, and 

disposal;

• Makes information resource investment decisions based on business needs and processes; 

• Emphasizes and monitors performance and results in information resource investments;

• Establishes investment review schedules and monitors these investments throughout the 

Control Phase of the IT investment management process;

• Recommends corrective actions for IT investments that are not performing in accordance 

with established cost, schedule, or technical performance parameters;

• Identifies opportunities to minimize duplicative or overlapping information systems 

across the Department;

• Identifies common IT issues and recommends resolution of those issues to the Deputy 

Secretary of the Department; 

• Provides input to the Deputy Secretary on IT architecture management planning and IT 

investment management process improvement activities; and

• Identifies security and privacy vulnerabilities and opportunities to provide a more secure 

electronic environment.

Department of Energy (DOE)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at: 

• http://cio.energy.gov/e-gov.htm

The Integrated Management (iManage) initiative, launched in 2003, is unifying disparate 

corporate financial and business systems into one architecture sharing common data. 

Redundancies and discrepancies are eliminated by completing the replacement of multiple, 

stand-alone corporate business management systems maintained by DOE staff and program 

offices with a single integrated DOE umbrella system.

When fully implemented, iManage will support the accomplishment of DOE’s Strategic Plan 

theme "Management Excellence" by standardizing and integrating administrative 

systems/processes throughout DOE. iManage is the Department's risk adjusted solution for 

managing enterprise-wide systems initiatives to achieve improved financial and business 

efficiencies, integrate budget and performance, improve decision making, enhance security 

posture, and expand transparent electronic government capabilities in support of Presidential 

priorities. The iManage Program incorporates enterprise-wide DOE projects from the Office of 

the Chief Financial Officer, Office of Human Capital Management, and Office of Management. 

The core subsystems or projects of the iManage program define the scope:

• CHRIS: The Corporate Human Resource Information System is the human-resources 

component of iManage. CHRIS is operational and supports human resource information 

and processing, and is the official system of record for employee information.

• STARS: The Standard Accounting and Reporting System is the financial management 

component of iManage. STARS provides a comprehensive, and responsive financial 

management system that is the foundation for linking budget formulation, budget 

execution, accounting, financial reporting, cost accounting, and performance 

measurement.
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• IDW/iPortal: The iManage Data Warehouse component is the enterprise-reporting 

facility for iManage. IDW migrates critical information from multiple systems, such as 

human resources, payroll, procurement, and financial management. This data is then 

aggregated and summarized to provide mission critical reporting and query capability. 

The IDW provides a single point for reporting. The iPortal aspects are improving the user 

interface via a paradigm shift to a desk-top Portal concept that connects DOE's people, 

simplifies the work and liberates the data.

• STRIPES: The Strategic Integrated Procurement Enterprise System initiative is the 

procurement component of the iManage program, and encompasses both acquisition and 

financial assistance actions.

• iBudget: iBudget is the budget formulation and execution component of iManage. As it 

replaces legacy systems, iBudget will standardize budget formulation and streamline 

execution processes, integrate and consolidate budget and performance data and support 

the preparation of the annual budget submission to OMB as well as the budget execution 

of appropriated funds.

For 2008 and in accordance with the capability area of OMB’s Federal Enterprise Architecture 

Program EA Assessment Framework 2.2, October 2007, the Business Support Services Segment, 

which incorporates iManage has documented results in performance improvement and cost 

savings/cost avoidance. This has occurred as iManage projects have progressed through their 

respective life cycles. As an example, documented in the 2008 iManage Exhibit 300, 

the alternative analysis section estimates a risk adjusted lifecycle intangible benefit cost 

reduction and/or avoidance of $49 million.

For BY 2010, a Federal quantitative benefits analysis was performed using the alternatives 

analysis information. This latest analysis is projecting budgeted cost savings/cost avoidance 

totaling $89.86 million. The increase from FY 2008 to FY 2010 is the result of STRIPES moving 

to the operational aspect of its life cycle; the iPortal concept materializing; and management’s 

final decision on the iBudget architecture. One of the Exhibit 300’s yearly performance elements 

is tracking the reduction of administrative expenses for individual procurement actions. This 

reduction reported for FY 2009 has been from $2,170 to $347. As STRIPES has moved to 

operational status, both at Headquarters and field sites, over 30 redundant systems have either 

been replaced or are in the process of being replaced.

With the enactment of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act came increased reporting 

and transparency requirements to adequately track its funding. STARS and IDW/iPortal with 

their open architectures were able to incorporate these reporting requirements without additional 

investment modifications. 

The iManage program manager, the individual project managers, along with staff from the 

Project Management Office, the Office of Human Capital Management, and the Office of 

Management are members of the various Federal Lines of Business committees as well as other 

peer groups both Federal and industry. The Headquarters Office of the CFO has periodic 

meetings of the field sites and energy laboratories’ CFOs, as well as participation in the yearly 

Information Management Conference sponsored by the Office of the CIO. This dialogue 
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includes conference calls, video conferences and one-on-one discussions related to all CPIC 

issues.

Customer surveys are an integral part of the CPIC process, and are done yearly to see what 

additional areas, if any, are needed, or changes in approach of current areas are warranted. FEA 

PRM based metrics are used to evaluate performance from the customer’s perspective and obtain 

feedback for innovative improvements. Also periodic follow-up telephone calls are made to 

customers that have contacted the iManage hotline for assistance.

Periodic reviews of other agency A-11 Exhibit 300 submissions are made to look for additional 

innovative approaches and architectures. Through these interfaces as well as OMB direction, the 

Department maintains the ongoing dialogue to find innovative ways to use information 

technology as it relates to the core subsystems and administrative functions supported by 

iManage.

As iManage is a key element in what can be termed administrative infrastructure it supports all

of the Department’s goals to some extent. The main thrust of iManage is in support of Theme 5: 

Management Excellence, enabling the mission through sound management. The following are 

the key strategic goals supported by iManage:

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) GOAL 1 - To preserve and create 

jobs and promote economic recovery.

• ARRA funding has allowed increased efforts in the iManage program.

• GOAL 5.2 Human Capital - Ensure that DOE’s workforce is capable of meeting the 

challenges of the 21st Century by attracting, motivating, and retaining a highly skilled 

and diverse workforce to do the best job.

• CHRIS: The Corporate Human Resource Information System is the human-resources 

component of iManage. CHRIS is operational and supports human resource information 

and processing, and is the official system of record for employee information.

• GOAL 5.4 Resources - Institutionalize a fully integrated resource management strategy 

that supports mission needs and postures the Department for continuous business process 

improvement.

The core subsystems or projects, listed below, of the iManage program describe the various 

administrative areas that have been integrated to improve Departmental performance:

• CHRIS: The Corporate Human Resource Information System is the human-resources 

component of iManage. CHRIS is operational and supports human resource information 

and processing, and is the official system of record for employee information.

• STARS: The Standard Accounting and Reporting System is the financial management 

component of iManage. STARS provides a comprehensive, and responsive financial 

management system that is the foundation for linking budget formulation, budget 

execution, accounting, financial reporting, cost accounting, and performance 

measurement.

• IDW/iPortal: The iManage Data Warehouse component is the enterprise-reporting 

facility for iManage. IDW migrates critical information from multiple systems, such as 

human resources, payroll, procurement, and financial management. This data is then 

aggregated and summarized to provide mission critical reporting and query capability. 
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The IDW provides a single point for reporting. The iPortal aspects will improve the user 

interface via a paradigm shift to a desk-top Portal concept that connects DOE's people, 

simplifies the work and liberates the data.

• STRIPES: The Strategic Integrated Procurement Enterprise System initiative is the 

procurement component of the iManage program, and encompasses both acquisition and 

financial assistance actions.

• iBudget: iBudget is the budget formulation and execution component of iManage. As it 

replaces legacy systems, iBudget will standardize budget formulation and streamline 

execution processes, integrate and consolidate budget and performance data and support 

the preparation of the annual budget submission to OMB as well as the budget execution 

of appropriated funds.

iManage is fully 508 compliant to satisfy the access requirement for those with disabilities. 

iManage and the investment applications that comprise it are for internal use by the Department, 

and thus have no external access that would be an availability requirement to those without 

access to the Internet. However, iManage has some data that ultimately is citizen-centric. This 

data, such as STRIPES data on procurements and CHRIS data on job opportunities, is passed to 

other organizations whose responsibility it is to satisfy this availability to those that lack Internet 

access. These organizations are responsible for providing the single governmental interface to 

the citizens.

As mentioned, iManage interfaces to the citizens through other organizations primarily with 

procurement and human resource data. These organizations are responsible for providing the 

single governmental interface to the citizens. The latest external partner is the Treasury 

Department. iManage has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to use Treasury’s 

Budget Formulation and Execution Module (BFEM) for the formulation aspects of DOE’s 

iBudget project. The BFEM module will execute at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The Office of the Chief Information (OCIO) establishes the Departmental capital planning 

processes and procedures. iManage is fully compliant with all OCIO established processes and 

procedures. iManage is also compliant with all aspects of the Departmental Order 413.3A; 

Program and Project Management for the Acquisition of Capital Assets, which provides project 

management direction for the acquisition of capital assets to insure that they are delivered on 

schedule, within budget, and capable of meeting mission performance. Business justification 

cases were conducted on all projects within the iManage program. The latest analysis resulted in 

the Department aligning the iBudget project with an existing E-Gov Line of Business. This is all 

within the Select phase of capital planning.

iManage has received a passing mark at every OCIO quarterly control review. iManage also 

makes extensive use of Earned Value Management data, performance element data, and program 

milestone data to effectively manage the program. Each year iManage submits and updated A-11 

Exhibit 300 as part of the Departmental budget process. As the various projects have transitioned 

to operational status, they have undergone a Post Implementation Review. These reviews have 

resulted in all projects being approved by the Information Technology Committee, which is the 

governing body of Information Management investments for the Department. After transitioning 
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and successfully completing the PIR process, the projects are incorporated into the yearly 

Operational Analysis of the iManage program.

As part of the budget development process, the Office of the Chief Financial Officer distributes a 

field budget call to request budget inputs from DOE’s field locations. The OCIO provides input 

to the budget call, indicating the timeline and high-level reporting requirements for IT 

investments requesting funding for the budget planning year. The OCIO then releases follow-up 

guidance to the CFO budget call and provides more detailed reporting guidance to the Program 

and Staff Offices. As part of the budget calls, field locations are requested to identify any new 

and on-going IT investments that will require funding. The field sites conduct a pre-selection to 

determine which investments are approved for funding and sumibt their requests to the 

appropriate Headquarters office for approval. Those offices review the requests and develop a 

final Program Office budget request, which is submitted to the OCIO for review and submission 

to OMB.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at: 

http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/compliance/

SBInet is one element of the Secure Border Initiative, and integrates the optimal mix of 

technologies into a comprehensive border security suite. This system improves U.S. Customs 

and Border Protection’s (CBP's) ability to respond to illegal activity and helps DHS manage, 

control, and secure the border. Rapid identification and classification of targets will allow for 

better determination of interdiction resources needed and identification of the actions to be taken 

to ensure border patrol officer safety. Sharing of information among agents and external agencies 

and offices increases coordination that will result in better analysis, and better ability to act more 

quickly and to project trends, standardized technology, tools, and processes will promote easier 

training and more proficient operation of equipment, and use and interpretation of the data. 

Knowledge of the secure border initiative will present a physical deterrence to potential terrorists 

and other aliens with criminal intent; resources can be quickly deployed or focused for specific 

targets of interest or high threat locations. More advanced technology with better identification 

capability will reduce “false positive” alerts, reducing agent investigation time and potential 

unavailability of resources when needed for an actual instance, and greater coverage of the 

border will reduce the probability that coverage gaps can be found and used for illegal entry into 

the country. 

The overall Secure Border Initiative maintains a website posting initiative descriptions, project 

descriptions, news, and contact information. On the website, SBI provides documentation as 

applicable for individual SBInet projects. CBP prepares an Environmental Assessment (EA), 

Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI), or Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which are 

made available for public input. Additionally, CBP is committed to environmental stewardship in 

tactical infrastructure and posts environmental documentation relative to SBI for review and 

comment by the public. The SBI website is www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/sbi/. 

SBINet aligns directly to the Department’s mission of securing national borders and Customs 

and Border Protection’s strategic goal to establish and maintain effective control of the borders 
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of the United States. SBInet is a relatively new initiative which began in FY 2007, and is 

currently a Mixed Life Cycle project. DHS has established performance metrics for SBInet, but 

does not yet have data to report on achieving performance targets. The four primary metrics are: 

(1) False positives registered, (2) Systems Operational Availability, (3) Situational Awareness of 

Sectors covered by SBInet System, and (4) Situational Awareness based on communications 

coverage over areas of interest covered by SBInet Technology solution. 

Section 508 requires that the SBI PMO ensure their procurement of Electronic & Information 

Technology takes into account the needs of all end users—including those with disabilities. 

Doing so enhances the ability of Federal staff with disabilities to have access to and use of 

information and data that is comparable to that provided to others. Tasks associated with 

implementing the SBInet C3I systems, including the implementation of data management 

centers, require Section 508 compliance. 

SBI brings clarity of mission, effective coordination of assets, and greater accountability to the 

work of DHS components (such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and 

Customs Enforcement, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Coast Guard) in 

securing the Nation’s borders. Further, it will be a critical link between agencies involved in 

border security across Federal, State, Local, and Tribal governments, private industry, media, 

and international efforts. As a part National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, CBP 

works in a collaborative manner with local government, State, Native American, and Federal 

land managers, as well as with thee interested public, to identify, understand, and, to the extent 

possible, minimize impacts to the environment. This includes impacts brought on by the Secure 

Border Initiative.

DHS successfully employs the Select, Control, and Evaluate Phases recommended by both the 

Government Accountability Office and OMB in implementing a capital planning process as 

required by the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. The design of the high-level CPIC process ensures 

that the Department addresses fundamental questions, as illustrated in Figure 2 below, at the 

appropriate phase of the process. Note that the process also addresses the specific requirements 

of both new projects as well as continuing projects. Continuing projects are those for which an 

Exhibit 300 was submitted to OMB in a previous year’s budget cycle. 

The assessment of SBInet within its respective portfolio on an annual basis ensures that SBInet 

supports the Department’s strategic missions and is allocated the requisite resources. DHS 

conducts an annual review of SBInet as part of its annual programming and budgeting processes.

Furthermore, SBInet participates in the Control Phase to ensure the project is performing within 

acceptable cost, schedule, and performance parameters and to ensure the continual assessment 

and mitigation of potential risks. Through timely oversight, quality control, and executive 

review, DHS manages SBInet in a disciplined and consistent manner to promote the delivery of 

quality products and results within scope, schedule, and budget. The SBInet CPIC process as a 

whole integrates strategic planning, enterprise architecture, privacy, security, budgeting, 

portfolio management, procurement, and the management of assets. 
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The established DHS business process for identifying initiatives is provided by the Acquisition 

Life Cycle Framework within DHS Acquisition Directive 102-01-Interim. The DHS Acquisition 

Life Cycle Framework outlines a flexible means for translating mission needs and gaps into costeffective, operational capabilities via stable and well managed acquisition mechanisms. The 

framework is designed to ensure that the Acquisition Manager (AM) has the tools, resources, and 

flexibility to successfully manage and execute the acquisition, and deliver a product that meets 

the user’s requirements while complying with applicable statute, regulations, and policies. 

The Acquisition Life Cycle Framework is a means to link the Department’s requirements with 

the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, Execution and Acquisition processes to enable DHS to 

make timely, informed, and holistic decisions regarding acquisitions. The DHS System 

Engineering Life Cycle is part of AD 102-01. DHS AD 102-01 also ensure consistency and 

alignment of investments with the DHS Enterprise Architecture, which consists of nine 

functional portfolios and cross cutting segment architectures with associated IT Service 

portfolios now being developed. The DHS Enterprise Architecture Board and Acquisition 

Review Board processes ensure that initiatives comply with DHS governance processes. 

Presently AD 102-01 is being revised to further improve DHS investment policies and 

procedures. 

The need for a DHS initiative can be identified in multiple ways. This includes: the DHS 

Strategic Requirements Planning and Programming process through the Integrated Program 

Guidance for annual budgeting efforts; Component and user identification of needed improved 

mission capabilities; and Congressional or OMB directed initiatives. The need for an initiative or 

new IT capability is typically identified by the OCIO, which is responsible for ensuring that the 

new initiative is in line with the DHS Strategic Plan and Enterprise Architecture. Subsequently, 

the need is documented in a Preliminary Mission Need Statement and submitted to the DHS.
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Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at:

www.hhs.gov/ocio/egov/annualreport/

HHS is a large and diverse organization, with a broad mission and corresponding functional 

responsibilities at both the Department level and, especially, among the Operating Divisions. To 

improve the business-driven perspective and the identification of initiatives, HHS has adopted an 

approach defined in terms of business areas and segments. Approved by the CIO Council, the 

segment prioritization process defines the strategic areas that need to be analyzed. Segments are 

then analyzed and built using the Federal Segment Architecture Methodology (FSAM) and the 

Rapid Segment Architecture Methodology (RSAM). The segments’ development and other 

architectural development analysis identify existing or new initiatives needed to fulfill HHS’ 

mission. The Enterprise Performance Life Cycle (EPLC) is then used to provide a standard 

structure for planning, managing and overseeing IT projects over their entire life cycle. Detailed 

information on the HHS EPLC framework and methodology is available at: 

www.hhs.gov/ocio/eplc/. More recently, HHS has been leading the Federal IT Capital Planning 

Workgroup to improve the processes related to the identification of initiatives and performance 

monitoring.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Open ID project is the first Federal agency initiative to 

implement an Open Identity for Open Government Initiative pilot program – a goal set in 

President Obama’s January 2009 Transparency and Open Government memorandum to make it 

easier for individuals to register and participate in government websites, without having to 

continually create new usernames and passwords. The OpenID standard is related to the concept 

of Single Sign-On (SSO), a method of access control that enables a user to authenticate once and 

gain access to the resources of multiple software systems in an organization. At NIH, SSO is 

implemented through the NIH Login. The NIH Login allows users to authenticate once and to be 

subsequently and automatically authenticated to other target systems when needed. Open ID, 

Information Cards, and SSO are designed to make it quicker and easier to access information 

resources, remove the responsibility for user authentication from website and application owners, 

reduce administrative burden, and increase security. Open trust frameworks allow different 

levels of security based upon what the organization decides is needed by particular individuals.

The intent of the initiative is to transform government websites into more accessible and 

interactive resources, saving individuals time and increasing their direct involvement in 

governmental decision-making. 

A Federated Identity approach provides NIH staff with the means to collaborate with colleagues 

from outside NIH, including those from universities, other Operating Divisions within HHS, and 

other Federal Agencies. The NIH Federated Identity Service is enabled through the use of open 

industry standards and/or openly published specifications.

The end goal of the Open Identity for Open Government Initiative at NIH is to give users of NIH 

websites and other electronic resources the ability to use a single account and login procedure 

that will simplify access to NIH applications, as well as other government and private sector 

applications. This will make it easier for users to access information resources, remove the 
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responsibility for security authentication from website and application owners, and improve 

security.

NIH estimates that Open ID contributes to approximately 1% of total net benefit of $297.867 

million in operations and maintenance costs for FY2011 through FY2015. The benefit will be 

realized through the implementation of this initiative. This will be achieved through 

consolidation of the IT services associated with identity management and the overall reduction in 

both O&M costs associated with identity management and by cost avoidance, and from not 

needing to invest in identity management at the investment level.

Employees across NIH have been exploring ways to make collaboration with their colleagues 

from outside NIH, including those from universities and other Federal agencies, easier. One 

approach is to use a Federated Identity. Federation allows users at universities and other agencies 

to use their existing user login names and passwords to connect to NIH systems. This is 

accomplished through a partnership with the InCommon Federation, a consortium of education, 

industry and government. The basis of Federated Identity comes from the use of open industry 

standards and openly published specifications.

The NIH Federated Identity Service value proposition includes (but is not limited to) the 

following:

• Improved capabilities for scientific research collaboration.

• Reduction in IT development expenses – the NIH Federated Identity Service eliminates 

the need to set up and maintain accounts for outside users for each system.

• Easier access for the users – access through the NIH Federated Identity Service means 

that the users will have far fewer user IDs and passwords to remember.

• A lower incidence of forgotten or expired passwords reduce helpdesk support costs –

since their passwords are those used in the “home” organization, infrequent visitors to a 

federated system will no longer have to worry about encountering an expired password or 

one that they are unable to recall.

• Improved privacy protection –federation relies on the authentication process of each 

user’s “home” identity credential provider, other organizations have no reason to delve 

into the user’s personal information, i.e., that information stays within the “home” 

organization.

• Improved use of Web 2.0 tools – the NIH Federated Identity Service enables seamless 

(yet secure) access to shared applications or systems, encouraging the use of Web 2.0 

tools for the purpose of promoting secure information sharing and collaboration.

• A higher degree of versatility and flexibility – The NIH Federated Identity Service 

adheres to widely accepted, shared principles, i.e., it is not tied to any specific protocol, 

technology, implementation, or vendor.

The NIH Federated Identity investment is predicated on Internet access and as such does not 

presume to directly ensure the availability of government information and services for those 

without access. It indirectly supports the availability by providing for a ready and secure means 

for providers and users to access online information for systems that provide or support activities 

and services for those with and without access to the Internet. The investment ensures 
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accessibility for those with disabilities by adhering to Section 508 requirements starting in 

development, through operations and maintenance.

Ten industry leaders (Yahoo!, PayPal, Google, Equifax, AOL, VeriSign, Acxiom, Citi, Privo, 

and Wave Systems) announced on Sept 9th, 2009, that they will support the first government 

OpenID pilot program. These companies will act as digital identity providers using OpenID and 

Information Card technology.

NIH bases its IT Capital Planning and Investment Control process (IT CPIC) on the policy and 

process developed by HHS. Open ID is reviewed as part of the overall investment request for 

funding from NIH’s Service and Supply Fund.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at:

• www.hud.gov/offices/cio/egov/index.cfm

The Integrated Disbursement and Information System (IDIS) is the primary vehicle for grantee 

data processing for the Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG), HOME 

Investment Partnership Program (HOME), Emergency Shelter Grants, and Housing 

Opportunities for People with AIDS grant programs. IDIS supports more than 1200 state and 

entitlement grantees participating throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and other insular 

areas. IDIS is used to initiate activities, request drawdown of grant money, track receipt and use 

of program income, and report program accomplishments. In an average year IDIS tracks about 

$7 billion in monetary transactions. 

IDIS additionally allows data processing for the following programs: Community Development 

Block Grants Recovery (CDBG-R), which includes funds for approximately 1,200 state and local 

government to invest in their own community development priorities. Most local governments 

use this investment to rehabilitate affordable housing and improve key public facilities –

stabilizing communities and creating jobs locally. The HOME - Tax Credit Assistance Program 

includes funds invested in a special allocation of HOME funds to accelerate the production and 

preservation of tens of thousands of units of affordable housing. And the ESG - Homeless 

Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program, which includes funds invested in preventing 

homelessness and enabling the rapid re-housing of homeless families and individuals, helping 

them reenter the labor market more quickly and preventing the further destabilization of 

neighborhoods.

• IDIS enables HUD grantees, including entitlement communities, urban counties, 

consortia, insular areas, and states, to request program funds and report on the activities 

outlined in each jurisdiction’s Consolidated Plan. The system facilitates HUD’s mission 

by providing for the grant money disbursements, usage, and accountability and thereby 

supports HUD’s missions of promoting adequate and affordable housing, economic 

opportunity, and a living environment free from discrimination.

• IDIS also provides timely reporting to Congress, local officials, grantees, and the public 

and facilitates HUD’s compliance with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act by 

eliminating the paper-intensive trail. It facilitates HUD’s avoidance of fraud, waste, and 
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abuse and provides significant benefits by supporting HUD’s paramount need to support 

the Business Operating Plan and the Department’s Annual Performance Report.

IDIS improves HUD's management, internal controls and systems, and helps to resolve audit 

issues. It improves accountability, service delivery, and customer service of HUD and its

partners. It also helps to promote program compliance. As the system is accessible from the 

Internet, IDIS expands HUD's ability to compare actual grantee performance against what had 

been planned in each grantee's Consolidated Plan. Grantees must enter each and every project 

and activity into the system for which funds will be spent. They must describe each, enter 

vouchers to draw funds from their line of credit by activity, and enter accomplishments for each 

activity. System reports provide grantees and HUD with quick information on the status of funds 

and each activity. Grantees must identify how much of each type of funding they assign to a 

specific activity against which draws can be made. Grantees may not fund for more money than 

they have been awarded by HUD or received in the form of program income, and may not draw 

down more than they have funded to an activity. IDIS allows grantees to effectively report to 

HUD in an electronic fashion.

The system operational expenses have been reduced by about $400,000 per year, due to moving 

off mainframe technology, adopting web technology (Oracle/Java), and tapping into enterprise 

services such as SiteMinder single sign-on and Microstrategy Business Intelligence. The new 

technology is very agile, allowing for rapid modification in response to legislative changes. 

Although hard to quantify in dollars, development time for any given function/enhancement is 

reduced by an estimated 70% compared to the old COBOL-based system.

The Web-enabled re-engineered IDIS system has embraced the Expanded E-Government 

Initiative by allowing The Office of Community Planning and Development’s (CPD's) formula 

grantees to be able to access IDIS from any browser or operating system that supports 128-bit 

SSL technology, thus saving time and reducing costs to the Federal Government. IDIS Online 

also eased the administrative burden on grantees, meaning they can spend more time actually 

operating their grants.

IDIS complies with six Strategic Portfolio Review (SPR) initiative-level recommendation 

categories:

• Align with Existing Segment Architecture Activities: CPD participated in a high level 

Integrated Project Team to yield a high-level solution. 

• Participate in New Segment Architecture Activities: CPD expanded its system reengineering efforts to develop a Government off-the-shelf solution for Grants 

Management to service all of CPD grant programs in one system. This could be a service 

center that other agencies could use for grants management. CPD participated in a high 

level Integrated Project Team to yield a high-level solution. 

• Participate in CORE IT Service Development Efforts: CPD participated in a high level 

Integrated Project Team to yield a high-level solution. 

• Integrate with External E-gov/LOB Initiatives: CPD developed HUD Target Enterprise 

Architecture XML (Component Framework: Data Exchange/Static Display)

• Align with Target Technical Standards: CPD has used HUD Target Enterprise 

Architecture J2EE (Service Platform and Infrastructure: Application Servers/Integrated 
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Development Environment; and Component Framework: Platform Independent/Database 

Connectivity/Server-Side Display) and Oracle database (Service Platform and 

Infrastructure: Database; and Component Framework: Database Connectivity). 

Ensure funding is spent on architecturally aligned efforts: CPD has developed a system with 

reusable components and has re-engineered with rules engines to capture 80% of business rules 

of all grant programs using commercial off-the-shelf and government off-the-shelf packages for 

report generation, application processing, and controlling business flow. The system is 

comprised of independent components that can be either custom built or replaced with a 

commercial or government package.

IDIS is a nationwide database that provides current information on program activities underway 

across the Nation, including funding data. HUD uses this information to report to Congress and 

to monitor grantees. IDIS is the draw down and reporting system for the four Office of 

Community Planning and Development formula grant programs: Community Development 

Block Grants, HOME Program, Emergency Shelter Grants, and Housing Opportunities for 

Persons with AIDS. Grantees also use IDIS for the Recovery Act Community Development 

Block Grants, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and Homeless Prevention and Rapid ReHousing Programs. The system allows grantees to request their grant funding from HUD and 

report on what is accomplished with these funds. 

HUD relies on IDIS to monitor and review information reported by grantees on their use of funds 

for activities that increase economic opportunities, including the number of jobs created and 

retained, number of jobs with health benefits, and the number of businesses assisted. Through 

IDIS, HUD is reporting improved performance in the goals related to providing homeownership 

assistance and strengthening communities by promoting economic development. Specifically, 

HUD reported the following:

• Provided assistance to 35,610 low-income homebuyers and homeowners through its 

HOME program;

• Through the CDBG program, HUD provided assistance to an estimated 106,367 

households, of which 2,441 households received homeownership assistance, and 103,926 

units of owner-occupied rehabilitation were completed;

• The HOME Investment Partnerships program expended an estimated $763 million on 

completed rental projects and committed an additional $62 million to tenant-based rental 

assistance; 

• Through FY 2009, rental units and direct rental assistance accounted for 53 percent of 

overall HOME funding. The total HOME appropriation in FY 2009 was $1.825 billion, a 

seven percent increase over FY 2008; and

• Grantees reported that CDBG assistance assisted in the creation or retention of 21,309 

jobs and for the Section 108 loan guarantee program, application commitments reflect 

that 8,089 jobs will be created. The total number of jobs created or retained as a result of 

assistance through these two programs is 29,398.

Systemically, IDIS has successfully maintained its availability goal that ensure that grantees 

have flexibility for funds draw-downs and reporting and its goal for decreasing the number of 

manual corrections to grantee data.
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HUD serves millions of low- and moderate-income households, and remains diligent in efforts to 

ensure that HUD’s information and services are available to everyone. While HUD program 

information is available on its website, and many of its business transactions are available via the 

Internet, HUD ensures that information and assistance is available through various mediums, 

including local, interactive training sessions, various outreach activities, free publications, and 

over the phone or face-to-face assistance. HUD also ensures that all information and applications 

are compliant with the accessibility requirements under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

IDIS is used by three different types of users: 

• CPD formula grant program participants located throughout the U.S.

• HUD’s Field Offices 

• HUD Headquarters staff 

HUD’s grantee community consists of State and Local governments, as well as charitable and 

non-profit organizations and institutes of higher learning. 

Each CPD Program continually undertakes efforts to improve data collection efforts and ensure 

data integrity. These efforts include upgrading data reporting systems, having HUD staff verify 

data and data collection processes when monitoring grantees, establishing and enforcing data 

reporting requirements, conducting grantee training and meetings focused on data reporting, and 

undertaking data clean-up efforts. For example, HUD worked with tribal housing representatives 

to revise the planning and reporting forms that grantees are required to submit annually. 

Improved forms will collect more information on tribal housing conditions while simplifying the 

reporting process for grantees.

Additionally, many CPD grantees want to "tell their story" to their citizens and other 

stakeholders about the many positive outcomes of the investments they have made in their 

communities using Federal, State, and Local resources. This required the development of an 

outcome performance measurement system for the various CPD grant programs. This system

was developed by a joint working group made up of members of the Council of State 

Community Development Agencies, the National Community Development Association, the 

National Association for County Community Economic Development, the National Association 

of Housing and Redevelopment Officials, the National Council of State Housing Agencies, CPD 

and HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research, and the Office of Management and 

Budget. The implementation of the outcome performance measurement system and its use by 

grantees is enabling HUD to collect information on the outcomes of activities funded with CPD 

formula grant assistance. This data is entered into IDIS and is aggregated at the national level to 

provide HUD with the information necessary to show the national results and benefits of the 

expenditure of Federal funds using these four CPD formula grant programs.

HUD actively participates on Federal-wide grants initiatives and IDIS has become a critical 

component of HUD's eGrants strategy.

HUD’s Information Technology Investment Management (ITIM) is a systematic process for 

managing the risks and returns associated with IT initiatives. ITIM ensures that all IT projects, 
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including IDIS, undergo a continuous, integrated management process focused on achieving 

desired business outcomes and provides a context for the continuous selection, control, and 

evaluation of IT initiatives. HUD applies the Select, Control, and Evaluate processes of the ITIM 

model to plan, manage, fund, control and evaluate its portfolio of IT investments. 

HUD implemented the comprehensive ITIM process to ensure that its portfolio of IT projects 

adequately address HUD's business strategies and are managed to achieve expected benefits in 

accordance with accurate and complete cost, schedule, technical, and performance baselines. 

HUD uses the ITIM process not only to manage its IT portfolio, but also as a complement to the 

budget process, a method for supporting PMA goals, and as a tool for constructing the 

Department’s EA.

An important role of the CIO is to continuously look for and implement eBusiness opportunities. 

Consequently, the CIO regularly meets with HUD and Federal leadership, HUD constituents, 

and various industry groups, to look for new opportunities to expand partners and to create new 

tools to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of HUD’s mission.

Department of the Interior (DOI)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at:

• www.doi.gov/e-government/

Records Management: The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) defines 

records schedules as a type of disposition agreement developed by a Federal agency and 

approved by NARA that describes Federal records, establishes a period for their retention by the

agency, and provides mandatory instructions for what to do with them when they are no longer 

needed for current Government business. The term refers to: (1) an SF 115, Request for Records 

Disposition Authority, which has been approved by NARA to authorize the disposition of 

Federal records; and (2) a General Records Schedule (GRS) issued by NARA. 

Section 207(e) of the Act with supplemental guidance from NARA Bulletin 2006-02, NARA 

Guidance for Implementing Section 207(e) of the E-Government Act of 2002, requires Agencies 

to submit records schedules for existing electronic information systems in steady-state operation 

or mixed life-cycle stage as of December 17, 2005. Additionally, electronic records in legacy 

systems that were not scheduled before decommissioning of the system also require submission 

of a records schedule (OMB Circular A-11 defines both steady state and mixed life-cycle stage). 

By September 30, 2009, agencies were required to have records schedules for these systems 

submitted to NARA for all records in existing electronic information systems.

As part of this Act, DOI identified 467 systems that contain electronic records for scheduling 

with NARA. In the course of scheduling these systems, DOI Bureaus identified an additional 42 

systems that required a records schedule. While records scheduling is a coordinated effort with 

NARA, the approval of the records schedules is not a DOI function. Therefore, it was agreed that 

DOI Bureaus would have schedules submitted to NARA by September 30, 2009. 

As of September 30, 2009, DOI had submitted over 99% of the records schedules identified at 

the start of the initiative. DOI also completed the extra work, and submitted records schedules 

for the additionally identified 42 systems making a total of 509 records schedules submitted to 
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NARA. The majority of these records schedules have already been approved by NARA. DOI 

awaits approval of the remaining records schedules.

A significant amount of electronic records are not properly scheduled. In addition, the traditional 

method of scheduling does not work in today’s information age and results in records schedules 

that are difficult to use and manage. Thus, a significant cost savings can be realized through the 

reduction of duplicative records and records schedules, and the creation of easy-to-use records 

schedules. It is estimated that over 50% of electronic mail (email) storage at DOI is duplicative. 

In addition, over 60% of e-mail is of a short-term duration, typically less than 180 days. The 

establishment of new records schedules, elimination of duplicate records schedules and the 

consolidation of current records schedules can significantly improve information management 

efficiency and reduce storage costs. For email, it is estimated that improved user email 

management would reduce email volume by 50%.

Of particular note is the additional work completed by one of the DOI Bureaus, the Minerals 

Management Service (MMS). MMS has worked with NARA to implement one of the first 

simplified records management schedule systems (i.e. Big Bucket), in addition to meeting the EGov requirement. The completion of this work required many additional staff hours and 

additional resources to review the business processes, information systems and records schedules 

in determining the proper business-information relationships and consolidating the hundreds of 

separate records schedules into eight Big Buckets. The extra effort completed my MMS is both 

commendable and noteworthy. MMS has provided both leadership and example in completing 

this consolidated records management approach with competing initiatives for existing resources 

and short timeframes. 

Records Management has been deemed a “value” within the Department as well as a DOI 

Information Resource Management (IRM) Strategic Plan FY 2010-FY 2015 goal. Interior’s 

emphasis on achieving sound records management practices has led to the identification of the 

Records Scheduling Initiative as a key performance measure in the new DOI IRM Strategic Plan. 

The Records Scheduling Initiative builds upon DOI’s records management policy as well as its 

Electronic Management System Initiative. An open dialogue is maintained with internal and 

external stakeholders with respect to the performance targets that are identified further below. 

Departmental Records Officials conduct monthly meetings with Bureau Records Officers and 

other interested officials to discuss the status of information technology as it relates to records 

scheduling and business processes. The monthly forum provides for sharing innovative ideas and 

conveying practices that are being implemented in both the public and private sectors. 

Additionally, DOI continues to collaborate with NARA officials on Government-wide strategic 

matters pertinent to records schedules, and participate on inter-agency workgroups with other 

Federal, State, and private organizations to provide for external “information sharing” 

opportunities in support of the Records Scheduling Initiative.
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IRM Strategic Plan FY 2010- FY 2015 

Records Management Performance Measures & Targets

DOI is an active partner serving on the Federal Records Council (FRC). The FRC is made up of 

all the cabinet-level Agencies and chaired by NARA. The FRC leverages records management 

knowledge, ideas and projects and plays an active role in developing management strategies for 

better records management. The FRC works with Agencies to develop procedures to implement 

NARA-endorsed records management standards, perform audits, and review records 

management challenges with the Federal Government. DOI also participates in Information 

Sharing Environment Controlled Unclassified Environment to develop identification, marking 

and dissemination procedures for sharing information across Agencies. 

Interior is committed to making every possible effort to ensure that all electronic and information 

technology developed, procured, maintained, or used by the Department is accessible to people 

IRM Performance Measure Performance Target

Year Target

2010 70%

2011 75%

2012 80%

2013 85%

2014 90%

Percent of systems identified by bureaus or offices at the beginning of the 

FY with a current/revised Bureau records schedule that promotes 

transparency of information within DOI and the Federal Government.

2015 95%

2010 20%

2011 40%

2012 60%

2013 80%

2014 90%

Percent of DOI bureaus and offices with established goals and measures for 

their Records Management Programs based on the baseline review of 

performance gaps identified using the DOI Records Management Maturity 

Model (RM3)

2015 100%

2010 10%

2011 25%

2012 40%

2013 60%

2014 80%

Percentage of electronic records managed through an approved electronic 

records (e-records) management system.

2015 100%
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with disabilities, including both employees and the general public. Furthermore, with respect to

OCIO Requirements document that is used to address Bureau/Office IT performance, DOI 

incorporated a statement for Bureaus to address Section 508 as it pertains to records schedules. 

In addition to the response provided above, it is important to note that DOI routinely collaborates 

with NARA on both DOI’s Electronic Records Scheduling Initiative and its Electronic Records 

Management Initiative. NARA staff officials attend workgroup meetings, provide guidance, and 

assist DOI in the creation of records management guidance. DOI participates on interagency 

workgroups and forums while sharing ideas with other Federal, State, and private associations. 

DOI is a Supporting Partner to EPA on electronic records technology analysis and reports.

The Records Scheduling Initiative is a component of the lifecycle investment strategy pertinent 

to all IT Initiatives that are managed by Interior’s investment control process. There are three 

essential phases, select, control, and evaluate that link all IT investments to the strategic goals for 

the Department. All initiatives are reviewed by Bureau Heads as well as the DOI’s Investment 

Review Board (IRB) which provide recommendations and make final investment decisions. The 

Department’s IRB assesses the items below for all investments.

• Benefits that are being realized

• Achievement of costs, schedule and performance goals 

• Management and mitigation of risks 

• Achievement of strategic goals

The Records Scheduling Initiative was identified as a key initiative that can improve 

collaboration and transparency in managing E-Gov, cross-cutting initiatives across the enterprise 

to increase efficiency and enhance mission delivery. 

DOI is focused on expanding IRM’s partnership with the mission owners to collaboratively 

perform the planning and analysis necessary to best enable DOI’s missions. A clear outcome for 

accomplishing this goal is to plan and develop the most appropriate and highest priority 

information services and solutions. This has been accomplished through the establishment of the 

DOI Business Model which logically structures DOI’s many business functions into distinct 

logical areas. In turn, investments supporting a given segment reflect the target segment 

architecture, or future state, and are aligned with the agency enterprise architecture. First work 

with mission leaders is performed to prioritize the segments in the DOI Business Model that are 

in need of modernization or transformation. By prioritizing the segments, DOI can focus limited 

resources on planning (architecting) the segments with the highest priority information services 

and mission needs for investment decision making and implementation success.

OMB has published detailed guidance on its Performance Improvement Lifecycle, which is 

composed of three phases: “Architect,” “Invest” and “Implement.” DOI’s Information 

Technology Management Council (TMC) fully subscribes to the Performance Improvement 

Lifecycle, and this is reflected in the first three goals of the IRM Strategic Plan. The Performance 

Improvement Lifecycle provides a means to accomplish the Administration’s Federal 

information policies focused on improving the IT investment planning process and eliminating 

duplicative and poorly managed projects can achieve its desired mission outcomes and business 

results.
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Department of Justice (DOJ)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at:

• http://www.justice.gov/jmd/ocio/egovactreport2009.pdf

The Department of Justice Information System Security Line of Business Shared Services Center 

(DOJ ISS LOB SSC) has implemented an initiative to help streamline and transform IT security 

processes across fourteen Federal Partnership agencies. The Cyber Security Assessment and 

Management (CSAM) initiative provides DOJ and Partnership agencies with a web-based secure 

network capability to assess, document, manage and report on the status of IT security risk 

assessments and implementation of Federal and DOJ mandated IT security control standards and 

policies. DOJ technical services and support are managed through service level agreements 

between DOJ and supported Partnership agencies.

DOJ has not performed a cost savings study; however, the DOJ CSAM initiative provides a 

robust set of automated tools that replace manual processes, thus allowing users to more 

efficiently define system accreditation boundaries and inventory information, assess security 

performance, centrally manage remediation plans of action and milestones, and generate system 

security plans along with a wide range of data through reports, graphs, and charting functions. 

These powerful automated system management capabilities leverage significant economies in a 

digital environment. 

DOJ’s ISS LOB SSC engages fourteen Partnership Agencies in frequent workshops, weekly 

integrated project team meetings, quarterly configuration control board and executive steering 

group meetings. These meetings provide a forum for DOJ and Partnership Agencies to share 

lessons learned, review and prioritize proposed enhanced features and functionality, and ensure 

implementation strategies maximize utility and return on investment. DOJ has also collaborated 

with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to ensure current statutory and 

regulatory guidance is supported by the CSAM initiative. 

The DOJ CSAM initiative supports DOJ OCIO oversight and auditor access to Certification and 

Accreditation data. These comprehensive automation efforts help facilitate communications and 

implementation of enterprise policy, standards, and procedures to support achievement of 

Agency objectives and strategic goals. A comprehensive set of performance metrics via an 

Agency Component-level “dashboard” view are supported by the initiative.

While CSAM is not designed for direct public access, CSAM supports the accreditation of 

systems that agencies use to support the public. For CSAM users, CSAM supports remote access 

via secure networking technology. Further, accessibility to CSAM by individuals with 

disabilities has been successfully tested in collaboration with a key Partnership Agency, the 

Department of Education.

The DOJ ISS LOB SSC Partnership comprises 14 agencies including the Departments of 

Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, Labor, 

Transportation, U.S. Agency for International Development, and Securities Exchange 

Commission, Office of Thrift Supervision, National Science Foundation, National Archives and 

Records Administration, and Social Security Administration. 
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Ongoing enhancement plans for the DOJ CSAM initiative include integration of enterprise cost 

guidance in the application for each program and system. Additionally, CSAM captures 

investment costs for plans of action and milestones to remediate risks to information and 

information systems.

The DOJ Corporate Board structure and other investment management forums actively engage 

cost saving initiatives and promote discussions for transforming current Agency business 

practices within the IT Capital Planning community.

Department of Labor (DOL)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at:

• http://www.dol.gov/cio/programs/E-Gov/EGov2009.htm

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal 

Government in the broad field of labor economics and statistics. The quality of data BLS 

produces is highly dependent on the number of voluntary respondents that supply information 

and the data they provide. As such, BLS continually analyzes its processes and identifies ways to 

encourage respondents to provide data by reducing respondent burden. BLS also looks for 

methods to increase the quality of data provided by its respondents. 

The Internet Data Collection Facility (IDCF) is a data collection option offered by multiple BLS 

surveys. The IDCF provides benefits to both respondents and BLS that are not offered by other 

data collection options. It allows respondents to record their responses on the Internet, leading to 

potentially increased data quality due to online editing and users' ability to provide comments 

and correct data after initial submission. Because the collected information is loaded directly to a 

database, the IDCF also offers the potential of decreased turnaround time for some surveys. The 

resulting electronic format is more immediately available to be extracted, transformed, and 

loaded for aggregation and estimation. Other means of collection, such as mail and fax, consume 

more time and require key entry (and sometimes double key entry) into a data processing system. 

Finally, the IDCF decreases the number of times BLS employees need to contact Web reporters, 

thereby reducing respondent burden. BLS believes that reducing respondent burden could result 

in an increase in overall response rates, leading to better quality data. 

The BLS approach to Internet data collection is to provide a consolidated, manageable, and 

secure architecture with the following characteristics:

• Common look and feel across surveys

• Support for multi-survey respondents

• Multiple levels of security

• Secured system behind the BLS firewall

• Monitoring and risk assessment of only one infrastructure

The Current Employment Statistics Survey, Multiple Worksite Report Survey, Occupational 

Employment Statistics Program, National Compensation Survey, the International Price 

Program, Producer Price Index, and the Occupational Safety and Health Statistics Survey all 

have, or will shortly have, the capability to allow respondents to submit reports via the Internet 
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through the IDCF. As more BLS surveys use the facility, and as more respondents embrace this 

method, the transaction cost is expected to decrease. In addition to using the IDCF for survey 

data collection, the facility was found to be a perfect solution for providing external access to 

BLS online training for off-site researchers.

All of the programs involved in the web collection have observed numerous benefits, such as an 

increase in data quality due to automatic online editing, users’ ability to provide comments to 

questioned data, and ability to correct data after initial submission. The programs also have noted 

an increase in response rates and a reduction in turnaround time for some surveys. The need to 

contact survey respondents to clarify reporting issues has decreased, thus lowering the overall 

respondent burden. 

Overall the IDCF facility has shown survey respondent growth in every year of operation and 

has reduced operating costs from 105,145 transactions in 2004 at a cost of $5.84 per transaction 

to 974,250 transactions at a cost of $0.77 per transaction in 2008.

BLS has established partnerships with many of its stakeholders and customers to explore 

innovative ways to improve the delivery of BLS statistical information and services through IT. 

BLS is committed to ongoing dialogues with these groups and consequently, BLS continues to 

participate in meetings, annual conferences, Joint Policy Councils, and so forth. For example:

• BLS meets on a regular basis with its advisory committees, including the Business 

Research Advisory Council, the Labor Research Advisory Council, and the Federal 

Economic Statistics Advisory Committee. 

• BLS program-specific committees such as the National Longitudinal Survey Technical 

Review Committee support ongoing dialogue with Federal statistical agencies (in this 

case, Census), academia and other interested groups.

• BLS and its State partners in the areas of employment/unemployment statistical programs 

and safety and health statistical programs participate in annual conferences and serve on 

Joint Policy Councils. 

Feedback from data users via telephone and e-mail is also a source for identifying areas where 

there is need or opportunity for IT improvements. Although these mechanisms provide feedback 

for a broad range of issues, IT is included.

BLS IT Strategic Plan reflects the commitment of BLS to have an ongoing dialogue with its 

stakeholders. An implementation plan was shared with IT management for review and will be 

shared with BLS management in the near future.

The BLS uses performance measures and results to improve customer service, transform agency 

operations, align program outcomes with BLS and Department goals, and comply with statutory 

mandates such as the E-Gov Act and the Government Performance Results Act. A significant 

BLS customer service goal and associated performance measure is to disseminate data to the 

public according to the announced schedule 100% of the time. This goal allows the President and 

Congress, as well as the private and public sectors, to create, implement, and respond to policies 

that impact the Nation's economy. 
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To assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the IDCF, performance measures were implemented 

using the Federal Enterprise Architecture Performance Reference Model (PRM). The IDCF PRM 

provides performance metrics and targets for technology, processes, and business outcomes that 

enable a “line of sight” among them. The IDCF line of sight illustrates incremental value 

creation from technology inputs into process outputs that create business and customer 

outcomes. The IDCF PRM helps produce enhanced IT performance information to improve 

strategic and daily decision-making and improve alignment—and better articulate the 

contribution—of segment to business outputs and outcomes.

Since the announcement of the opening of the IDCF in 2001, there has been considerable interest 

in Internet data collection among the different BLS programs. Almost every survey has at least 

investigated the feasibility of collecting data using the IDCF Facility. Programs that use the 

IDCF demonstrate a growing acceptance of web collection among BLS respondents. Some 

examples: 

• The Occupational Safety and Health Statistics (OSHS) program has seen the number of 

respondents in its annual survey rise from 10,517 establishments in 2002 (the first year) 

to 97,573 in 2007, representing approximately half of OSHS data collection. OSHS has 

also has added fillable PDF forms as a data collection method, with data being processed 

from the PDF through the IDCF facility.

• The International Price Program (IPP) started Internet data collection in December 2003 

and had converted approximately 62% of their sample respondents to online collection at 

the end of FY 2008. 

• The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program initiated collection in early 2002. 

Since that time, the number of respondents has increased to nearly 14% of their sample 

and they continue converting touchtone data entry (TDE) respondents to IDCF. CES now 

considers IDCF a critical component of their collection efforts and is leading the push for 

IDCF to be a COOP facility in 2009.

• The Multiple Worksite Report (MWR) survey started their IDCF collection with data for 

the first quarter of 2006, soliciting respondents in four states through a limited test pilot 

project. To date, the project has resulted in 30% of the solicited respondents converting 

from paper to web collection. By the first quarter of 2009 MWR was up to 46 states 

participating in online collection representing 19,832 employers and 155,150 worksites. 

BLS continues to utilize its Internet Data Collection Facility as a major means of obtaining 

information electronically and of helping to meet its goal of reducing paperwork burden by 1%. 

The IDCF is a key component in automating the Bureau’s data collection efforts and, in doing 

so, reducing data respondents’ burden by providing an automated tool that simplifies the 

reporting process of the Bureau's respondents, thereby supporting PRA and GPEA compliance 

efforts. 

Because responses to virtually all BLS surveys are voluntary, BLS has found it essential to 

provide respondents with a range of alternatives for providing data to BLS. While the Web and 

email options have grown dramatically as a means to disseminate information, the BLS 

continues to support customers who do not have or prefer not to use Internet access. BLS uses 

Multimode surveys that provide respondents with the capability to select the most suitable mode 

for their circumstances. This self-selection lies at the core of burden reduction. 
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BLS also provides printed press releases by mail and fax, and has published the phone numbers 

that data users can call for specific information about programs in the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Customer Service Guide. 

The IDCF initiative collaborates with several external partners to collect data. These include 

Labor Unions, public and private enterprises. The initiative also interacts directly with citizens 

who complete survey information on an individual basis. 

Initiative Stakeholder Category Stakeholder Type

BLS - Internet Data 

Collection Facility 

(IDCF)

Business - Labor Union Respondents External

Business – Other Public & Private 

Establishments

External

Respondents External

Citizen Respondents External

Government – Federal IDCF Internal

Labor Statistics (LABSTAT) Internal

Office of the Commissioner Internal

The IDCF initiative follows the processes and procedures defined in the Department of Labor’s 

IT Capital Planning Guide for Managing IT Projects. This guide is the single-source document 

that identifies and defines the performance-base management methodologies that enable all 

levels of management to capture, evaluate and control the cost, schedule and technical 

performance of The U.S. Department of Labor’s IT investments The IDCF project complied 

with the requirements to ensure this investment was:

• Approved within the framework of the Department’s management oversight structure;

• Have visibility in the Department’s annual budget process, and;

• Are funded to the level necessary to satisfy the project’s technical performance 

requirements.

The Department of Labor uses an IT Investment Management Framework (IMF) to continually 

identify improvement initiatives. The IMF establishes an integrated business process that 

includes Enterprise Architecture and Capital Planning and Investment Control functions. One of 

the major roles of the Enterprise Architect function, working closing with CPIC, is to analyze 

Department’s architecture for opportunities to reuse, consolidate, or improve business services. 

The Enterprise Architecture Program Office is maturing this processing to leverage the Federal 

Segment Architecture Methodology. Furthermore, Department of Labor employs a federated 

governance model where each agency has the ability to propose its own improvement initiative. 

The business case flows through the governance process and is examined for the potential to 

become an enterprise-wide initiative.

By collecting data over the Internet, BLS is able to incorporate Internet-based data collection 

into a number of its establishment surveys. BLS benefits from the IDCF by:

• Controlling certain costs

• Improving response rates
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• Decreasing burden, or the perception of burden

• Improving data quality

• For surveys with multiple deadlines—reducing revisions between preliminary and 

final estimates

Department of Transportation (DOT)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at:

• http://www.dot.gov/webpoliciesnotices/dotegovactreport2009.htm

Intermodal Hazardous Materials Database 

There are over 1 million estimated daily shipments of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) 

transported across our transportation networks. In addition, there are over 300,000 HAZMAT 

companies that ship and/or transport hazardous materials. However, there are only 663 

Federal/State HAZMAT inspectors who can only complete a little over 26,000 inspections a 

year. Therefore, to best utilize compliance and enforcement resources, DOT is leveraging a 

unified risk-based data-driven approach to drive essential business decisions that will enable 

DOT to identify and target high risk/consequence companies. This approach will allow DOT to 

increase safety performance through risk-based enforcement; maximize limited resources by 

prioritizing inspection activities; strengthen cross modal, state, and local collaboration; and 

increase the effectiveness of outreach, training and emergency preparedness. 

DOT is using an iterative enterprise approach to develop the Intermodal Hazmat Intelligence 

Portal which was launched in October 2008 to serve as a Federal intelligence fusion center for 

HAZMAT inspection and enforcement data collected by DOT Operating Administrations: 

PHMSA, FRA, FAA, and FMCSA, and its partners, e.g., the USCG, Transportation Security 

Administration, and state/local governments. The concept for this initiative was developed 

through a collaborative effort between the Federal agencies mentioned above and private 

industry to ensure an innovative solution was developed that utilized the best technology to 

achieve the desired results. By employing risk reduction strategies, DOT can strengthen safety 

performance by leveraging data to drive business decisions that will provide for the safe, secure, 

and reliable transport of HAZMAT. Through data sharing and business intelligence tools, DOT 

will make strategic and operational decisions benefiting from capabilities that were not possible 

in the past, e.g. pattern matching to identify trends, and leading indicators to potentially identify 

and prevent incidents from occurring. Through partnerships, the investment will produce a DOTwide identifier for all HAZMAT shippers and carriers. This will allow DOT to easily integrate 

all data on hazmat shippers and carriers to create a risk rating for each regulated company and a 

complete inspection history by using data from Federal, State, and commercial sources. The 

system has already reduced the time to plan inspections through the use of automated scorecards 

and supplying the data necessary to create a detailed itinerary. Based on the area the inspector 

designates and over 20 different criteria, a ranking report is generated. From this report, an 

inspector or manager can launch an itinerary planner (a separate, seamlessly integrated 

application) which utilizes GIS data to help select companies to inspect based on highest priority 

and locality. As an inspector plans their trip, they are alerted to other companies that are high 

risk that are within a specified radius of the selected shipper/carrier. Shippers/carriers that are 

selected for inspection cannot be selected by other inspectors; however, other inspectors can 

view all planned inspections. Collaboration tools such as the Itinerary Planner will help limit 
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duplicate inspections and will be used to coordinate outreach to industry and the public in the 

future.

The USCG, TSA, CDC, and Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland 

Security partnered with DOT to expand the portal to also meet their safety and compliance 

requirements. The result will be an effortless data exchange (web-services), analysis, and 

collaboration to support first response, safety, and security activities. Although this is not a 

public facing initiative, it is a cross-cutting, e-Business initiative that is 508 compliant and 

supports E-Gov initiatives such as the Information Sharing Environment. To ensure the success 

of this investment, the Intermodal Integrated Project Team and Executive Steering Committee 

utilize proper CPIC procedures, while the Investment Review Board ensures compliance with 

CPIC procedures and alignment with the DOT enterprise architecture. The project manager 

effectively communicates with the participating agencies and state and local partners to ensure 

the investment meets their needs. This is accomplished through the Executive Steering 

Committee, which includes representatives from each participating agency, HAZMAT 

conferences and other forums. Performance measures for this investment have been developed 

and include: decreasing the number of serious incidents involving hazardous materials, 

increasing the percentage of inspections on companies who are considered high risk, reducing 

the number of visits to out of business companies, and reducing the time to plan inspections. The 

benefit of these measures and others defined in the cost benefit analysis for this investment result 

in a net present value of over $17 million, a return on investment of 248%, and a payback period 

of 2.3 years (cost/benefit analysis calculated over an 8-year period). These measures also aid in 

achieving DOT safety and organization excellence strategic goals.

This June, the Common Operating Environment (COE), in conjunction with the FAA’s Mike 

Monroney Aeronautical Center Enterprise Service Center, began the design and implementation 

of an interface between the Department of Transportation's Financial Management System, 

Delphi, and GrantSolutions. As a first step, this interface will automate the transmission of grant 

obligations from GrantSolutions to Delphi. The interface will then be extended to incorporate 

commitment accounting. This interface will eliminate what is often a paper process and 

significantly reduce obligation delays and errors associated with manual operations and allow 

DOT staff more time to focus on program implementation and oversight thus improving both the 

financial and programmatic stewardship of the DOT's grants. In addition, the interface will 

improve the timeliness and accuracy of financial reporting on DOT grants. The obligation 

accounting component of the interface is expected to be deployed in the second quarter of FY

2010. The development of this interface is being sponsored by the DOT's Office of the Chief 

Financial Officer and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The link is: 

• www.grantsolutions.gov/cf/display/mkt/2009/08/07/DOT+Financial+Management+Delp

hi+Interface+Project

FRA has not achieved cost savings and cost avoidance yet as the initiative is in the process of 

implementation.

Through FRA’s outreach at the beginning of July, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration (PHMSA) deployed GrantSolutions for the Hazardous Materials Division's grant 
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programs. This is the second DOT administration to deploy GrantSolutions, and builds upon the 

partnership the COE established with the FRA. The PHMSA deployment was unique in that 

PHMSA's hazardous materials grant programs became operational within 6 weeks of signing the 

agreement to join the COE. GrantSolutions will be used by PHMSA to award and manage their 

FY09 grants.

PHMSA was able to deploy rapidly for the following reasons: First, PHMSA utilized a Desktop 

Walkthrough process in lieu of the traditional fit/gap process to rapidly identify any 

discrepancies between their business practices and the functionality of GrantSolutions. The 

Desktop Walkthrough process is a methodology recently developed by the COE to reduce the 

cost and speed up the traditional fit/gap process. This methodology is not applicable to all 

potential partners, but the PHMSA deployment demonstrates its effectiveness when applied 

appropriately. Second, PHMSA chose to leverage the FRA grants management workflow that 

had been implemented in GrantSolutions. This eliminated the need for any timely and costly 

code modifications. Third, the application intake review, application approval and award 

approval processes in GrantSolutions are now configurable from within the administrative 

module of GrantSolutions, which dramatically simplifies the implementation of partner specific 

business processes.

Department of the Treasury (Treasury)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is located at:

• treas.gov/offices/cio/egov/ea/

The Treasury Department has embarked on an array of initiatives and activities that support the 

overall objectives of the E-Government program. The Department uses an established 

governance framework to identify and prioritize E-Government initiatives. The following 

initiatives resulting from this approach are the most representative of the breadth and 

composition of activities in progress or planned: 

Modernized e-File (MeF) is the Department Federal tax return e-Filing platform. MeF provides a 

Web-based method for corporate, excise, exempt organizations (non-profit), and partnerships tax 

returns to file electronically. The Department will add Form 1040, most common 1040-related 

forms and schedules, and Form 4868 in February 2010. MeF’s web-based presentation to 

Taxpayers has transformed how the Department completes its tax processing and compliance 

functions by eliminating the need to send paper documents to processing centers, as well as the 

need to match the paper documents with an electronically filed return. Taxpayers can scan and 

attach additional documentation with their electronic tax return submission. This eliminates the 

need for Taxpayers to send documents via paper, further reducing time and storage costs. 

Additionally, MeF provides business and individual taxpayers the opportunity to meet their state 

filing obligation by filing their state return with their Federal return. 

For the 2010 tax season, the Department implemented a new self-service application, the 

Electronic Filing PIN, to assist taxpayers who want to file electronically but cannot provide the 

necessary information from their 2008 tax return. The initiative began in June 2009 and is 

scheduled for completion in January 2010. The Electronic Filing PIN application will streamline 
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the taxpayer’s ability to obtain Adjusted Gross Income tax information, reduce call center wait 

times for taxpayers and improve customer service.

TreasuryDirect is a Web-based system designed to maximize customer self-sufficiency, optimize 

Treasury Department resources, replace the issuance of paper savings bonds, and ultimately 

maintain all accounts for marketable securities. TreasuryDirect allows customers to buy, manage, 

and redeem electronic savings bonds and Treasury bills, notes, bonds, and Treasury InflationProtected Securities online. The system provides investors with an easy and secure way of 

viewing and managing all of their Treasury security holdings online. The Department designed 

TreasuryDirect to maximize customer self-sufficiency and minimize off-line processing by 

customer service and related personnel.

TreasuryDirect is transformative in that it allows the public the ability to perform the following 

actions online on a 24x7 basis: 

• Establish an account online and have their identities verified automatically 

• Update account and banking information

• Purchase U.S. Treasury securities

• Perform various transactions on these security holdings

• Establish linked accounts for their children

• Initiate the conversion of U.S. savings bonds held in paper form into electronic form

• Inquire and view accounts and holdings 

The Treasury Department is developing the FSA-D to support the Department of Education 

initiative to simplify the student loan application process. Applicants will realize immediate 

benefits beginning in January 2010. FSA-D will be an English language Web-based application 

that provides taxpayers completing the Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA) through the 

Department of Education FAFSA On-the-Web with access to relevant tax data from their filed 

individual returns. The FSA-D will deliver to authenticated taxpayers relevant Federal tax 

information in real time. Taxpayers will be able to print, save, or transfer their tax data directly 

into the online FAFSA. OMB and the Department of Education are jointly funding this project. 

This citizen-centric service is an innovative approach to making tax data available to taxpayers in 

a secure environment in order to streamline the student loan application process. 

In recent years, the Department has taken incremental steps to move towards a paperless 

environment to reduce cost, improve access to information, reduce errors in data entry, and 

reduce the impact on the environment. Programs such as Go Direct at the FMS and Electronic 

Filling (e-Filing) have demonstrated significant cost savings and achieved improved data quality. 

Due to the success of such programs, the Department is launching additional paperless 

initiatives. The Department’s goal is to eliminate paper transactions in five years. This will 

enhance customer service, greatly reduce costs, improve quality, and minimize the 

environmental impact of the Department. A variety of legislative proposals and initiatives 

designed to help achieve this goal are included in the Department’s current budget request. 

The Treasury Department is implementing an Enterprise Content Management solution that will 

modernize case management capabilities. This initiative will provide a common approach across 

Treasury to modernizing document-based business processes. Moving forward, the program will 
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focus on enhancing mission effectiveness, reducing total cost of ownership by promoting 

economies of scale, and enabling all Treasury bureaus to progress toward a paperless 

environment. The Treasury Department will achieve a reduction in the cost of operations through 

the adoption of standards, enterprise wide agreements/contracts and the consolidation of servers 

and storage devices.

Other paperless initiatives include modernizing Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) IT. Legislative and 

policy proposals to accelerate the move to paperless processing include mandating e-Filing of tax 

returns filed by paid preparers, mandating BSA e-Filing, and mandating the use of Electronic 

Funds Transfer by new annuitants as they enroll in beneficiary programs such as Social Security.

In addition to developing transformational E-Government initiatives, the Department is 

enhancing existing initiatives with additional capabilities, using new technologies and services to 

increase access and transparency of existing services, as well as increased collaboration with 

partners and citizens. Specifically, the Department is increasing, or plans to increase, the use of 

cloud computing, Green IT (Power Management), Web 2.0 technologies, and leveraging 

technologies and services such as YouTube, Data.Gov, and RSS feeds for podcasts and content 

syndication. In addition, the Department, through its IT Optimization activities has identified a 

number of cross bureau initiatives designed to create and foster greater efficiencies and effective 

management of current resources. The Department completed several pilot cloud computing 

initiatives at Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the U.S. Mint, and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and 

Trade Bureau. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has one initiative in progress, with 

three additional initiatives planned across the Department.

The Department projects MeF to return nearly $2.9 billion in benefits through its life cycle. Each 

tax return received electronically and processed saves $1.64. Across all return types, 

electronically filed returns have a less than 1% error rate compared to a 5% error rate for paper 

filed returns. Error reduction speeds processing time and decreases necessary interaction between 

the IRS and the Taxpayer. 

MeF reduces the volume of paper tax returns the Department must maintain in storage facilities 

for record retention purposes. The continued incorporation of additional forms and schedules 

onto the MeF platform will allow the IRS to retire the legacy e-File applications approximately 

one year after deployment of the final MeF release. After the retirement of the legacy e-File 

applications, currently planned for 2015 (assuming the availability of funding), the IRS 

anticipates savings of more than $8 million annually in operating and maintenance costs.

The Department estimates TreasuryDirect to return $6 million in benefits through its life cycle. 

By eliminating the need for paper securities and allowing customers to process transactions 

themselves, Public Debt will reap the benefits of decreased costs for its entire line of retail 

securities. In addition, updates such as providing additional layers of security and adding features 

to improve customer service will allow BPD to strengthen customer confidence and promote 

customer self-sufficiency. This includes the use of a verification service to authenticate customer 

information in a timely manner. 
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The other E-Government initiatives are either still in implementation and have no cost savings 

and cost avoidance information to capture or are still in the process of capturing this information. 

The Department employs several methods to initiate and maintain dialogue with stakeholders 

and citizens. A few of these methods include outreach sessions, technical seminars, working 

level meetings, and partnerships with industry, Federal, State, Local, and Tribal agencies. For 

example, all of these methods have helped set the direction for e-Filing. Currently, software 

development firms, including a number of the biggest tax preparation software development 

companies, are registered to support e-Filing with the IRS. These firms, along with a number of 

large corporations, submit returns to the MeF system. Ten additional firms will support 1040 

filing in February 2010. Fifteen states have signed memoranda of agreement with the IRS to 

participate in the corporate and partnership Federal/State e-Filing Program under MeF. Sixteen 

states will participate in Phase I of the 1040 offering. This will allow Taxpayers to use MeF to 

file their state tax returns with, or after, when they submit their Federal returns to the IRS.

The Department tracks performance measures related to agency goals, objectives, and outcomes. 

The Department has a mix of outcome, output, and efficiency measures. The Department aligns 

measures based on the Department’s strategic framework in four major areas: Financial, 

Economic, Security, and Management. The Department establishes target values for measures 

during the budgeting process and records actual values at specified frequencies (quarterly, 

annually, etc.). For each performance target, the Department calculates a percent of target for 

each performance period by comparing the actual and target values. Trends are determined for 

both target and actual values based on four years of data or more (where available). Trends can 

be up, down, or flat, and, depending on the desired direction of the measure, be either favorable 

or unfavorable. The Department summarizes these trends for management reports.

The Department rolls up the performance of a set of measures to understand performance at the 

strategic outcome, objective, and goal levels. The Department also measures trends at these 

levels. Performance measure information, along with anecdotal evidence and milestone 

achievement are used together to assess overall performance. Additionally, the Department uses 

indicators (broad-based metrics that show whether outcomes are trending in the desired 

direction) to assess performance.

All content that the Department provides using Google’s YouTube video service, Web services, 

and Internet applications, is also available via bureau Hotlines, mail requests, and local Service 

Desks. The Hotlines and U.S. mail are available to all citizens and do not require access to the 

Internet. Additionally, the Department will continue making information available in hard copy 

and pursue current distribution channels such as providing tax forms at public libraries and other 

locations.

The Department collaborates with external organizations throughout the planning, 

implementation and operations of projects. For example, to support the Tax Management 

business area, the IRS formed strategic alliances with a number of professional organizations and 

tax practitioners. Through outreach sessions, technical seminars, and working level meetings, 

these partnerships helped set the direction for electronic tax filing. These organizations include: 

• Federation of Tax Administrators
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• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

• National Association of Computerized Tax Processors

• Council for Electronic Revenue Communication Advancement

• Tax Information Group for Electronic Data Interchange Requirements Standardization

• Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Council

For another example, the Federal Student Aid Datashare program has established partnerships 

and maintains agreements with the IRS, the Department of Education, and other Federal, State, 

and Local agencies.

Investments adhere to the Treasury CPIC policies and processes for major investments. This 

includes Select, Control and Evaluate; CPIC governance; E-Gov/President’s Management 

Agenda Scorecard guidance; Baseline Change Request guidance; and Earned Value Management 

guidance. 

In September 2009, the Department created the IT Optimization Team in an effort to find 

approximately $200 million in savings by pursuing a range of aggressive optimization initiatives 

that maximize the efficiency of the Department’s IT. Their work carries forward and expands 

upon the Departments Executive Investment Review Board’s endorsement of several high-level 

optimization strategies. In addition, the team, composed of representatives from each of the 

Treasury bureaus, will build on current and planned initiatives. 

Key activities of the team are identification and promotion of proven practices, accumulating 

lessons learned, and gaining cross-bureau consensus on a range of optimization initiatives. 

Additionally, the team is responsible for the development of specific proposals (e.g., baselines, 

timeframes, etc.) for review and approval by the Department’s CIO Council. 

An example at the bureau-level is the IRS Modernization Vision and Strategy (MV&S) process 

used to identify initiatives for review, prioritize them, and propose projects for funding approval 

through the IRS governance process. The MV&S, CPIC, and Governance processes provide IRS 

a means to identify and effectively manage initiatives.

Department of State (DOS)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is available at: 

• www.state.gov/m/irm/rls/c29080.htm

The Department of State’s Office of eDiplomacy represents both organizational and 

technological innovation to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing within State and with 

other Federal agencies. These innovations are essential to successful U.S. diplomacy in today’s 

dynamic and globally integrated information age.

Following the 1998 bombings of American embassies in Africa and the 2001 attacks in the U.S., 

the Department recognized an urgent need to improve communication, collaboration, and 

knowledge-sharing internally and with other Federal national security and foreign affairs 

agencies. The Department also realized that this need would require overcoming formidable 

barriers: 
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• A business model of largely self-contained strategic business units (e.g., geographic 

bureaus and embassies); 

• An organizational tradition of exclusive work focus on an individual’s current business 

unit; 

• A World War II-era communications model (telegrams) and Cold War security model 

(“need to know”) that restrained information flow; 

• And a career development model of constant change of job and location.

Accordingly, in 2003, the Department formally launched the Office of eDiplomacy and granted 

it wide latitude to innovate knowledge-sharing solutions, following a broad strategy to empower 

Department personnel to find and contribute knowledge anywhere and anytime. The office itself 

and its transformational mandate were remarkable in the context of the Department’s traditional 

command-and-control, hierarchical culture. The creation of a center for knowledge management 

generated and continues to fuel innovations that give substance to the ongoing shift of the 

Department toward a more open knowledge-sharing organization. In particular, the Sounding 

Board and the Virtual Student Foreign Service Program are transforming operations by:

• Bridging great distances (geographic and bureaucratic) between employees and other 

interested parties. The Sounding Board receives dozens of ideas and hundreds of 

comments daily on Department operations. The Virtual Student Foreign Service Program 

brings together former Department interns, who now have returned to U.S. colleges, to 

assist in political and economic initiatives, public diplomacy outreach, and other 

innovative diplomatic partnership projects for our embassies overseas.

• Both the Sounding Board and the Virtual Student Foreign Service Program were 

initiatives announced by the Secretary of State with very little lead time. It is a testament 

to the fast-moving culture in which the Office of eDiplomacy operates that both programs 

were brought online in a very short period of time. The Sounding Board was brought up 

in 48 hours, using past projects the office had established as a template. The Virtual 

Student Foreign Service Program was announced at Secretary Clinton’s commencement 

speech at New York University in May 2009, and was up and running in time for the 

2009-2010 academic year.

The innovations of organization, information technology and business practices that comprise the 

knowledge leadership program thus have both unified and made more versatile the interaction 

between State’s extensive domestic operations and its large and dispersed international activities, 

and advanced a transformation in the Department’s leadership of American foreign policy 

formulation and implementation.

The Knowledge Leadership initiatives of the Office of eDiplomacy are very cost-effective 

programs that adapt primarily open source technologies for use within the Department’s Intranet 

and affiliated networks. The Sounding Board eliminates chaotic and time-consuming surveys on 

suggestions of “how to make the Department of State a better place.” The Virtual Student 

Foreign Service Program allows significant savings on travel and physical resources that are 

normally used for traditional internship programs, and extends the benefit of the time and money 

already invested in traditional State Department interns when they return to their universities to 

work as U.S. Virtual Student Foreign Service Program participants. 
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Several years into the knowledge leadership initiative, the Office of eDiplomacy has received a 

robust response from employees in the U.S. and abroad that indicates an appreciation for current 

technologies, as well as a call for additional lightweight and mobile tools in the future. The 

Sounding Board represents the embrace not only of Web 2.0 technological interaction, but also 

the application of horizontal, silo-busting social media at work. Likewise, many of the projects 

of the Virtual Student Foreign Service Program focus on research and engagement well-suited 

for the next generation of diplomats. In addition, the Department’s Information Resource 

Management Bureau and its eDiplomacy Office constantly seek input and guidance from leading 

knowledge management and information technology visionaries both in and outside the U.S. 

Government, and the Department continues to incorporate appropriate and innovative ideas into 

“State’s 21st Century Statecraft” agenda (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6PFPCTEr3c).

The Office of eDiplomacy’s Knowledge Leadership initiative supports the Information 

Technology section of the FY 2007-2012 Department of State and USAID Strategic Plan

(http://www.state.gov/s/d/rm/rls/dosstrat/2007/html/82957.htm) by providing internal and 

external information sharing capabilities that Department personnel did not previously have in 

order to collaborate with their internal and external partners. Metrics available indicate that the 

right information is being provided to personnel within the Department and to external partners, 

and this objective will continue to be met in the future.

Because participation is voluntary for the Office’s initiatives, site usage statistics provide output 

measures to signify the progress and maturity of each program. Anecdotal evidence also supports 

the value of these programs to end users and can be a proxy for outcome measures in specific 

examples:

• There have been over 500,000 visitors to the Sounding Board site since March 2009.

• The Sounding Board had 815 ideas/suggestions published by end users in its first ten

months.

• The hundreds of ideas have caused 5,955 comments to be posted, shaping the debate 

about various aspects of the “how” of U.S. foreign policy.

• Popular topic areas on the Sounding Board include technology, green initiatives, human 

resources, and miscellaneous facilities/administrative issues. And, some of the employee 

suggestions to the Sounding Board have already been implemented successfully. For 

example, as the result of staff ideas submitted to the Sounding Board, the Department 

moved to provide additional mobile computing tools to U.S. diplomats, thereby 

enhancing their information gathering and reporting capabilities; and the Department 

included, for the first time, rank-and-file employees in its annual Iftar dinner with 

diplomats from Arab nations and other important members of the Washington, DC 

Muslim community. 

• The Virtual Student Foreign Service (VSFS) Program currently has 44 student 

participants working virtually for 37 diplomatic missions overseas.

• The VSFS program has fostered a partnership between the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and 

a student at the University of Wisconsin. In a public diplomacy project, the VSFS student 

participant has begun to work with an Iraqi student to work in Arabic and English on a 

blog and other social media avenues that now have over 200 regular participants.
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• Meanwhile, at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, another partnership between the post and a 

University of Virginia VSFS student participant has created a micro-blogging platform to 

promote the analysis of social media in China.

• Likewise, the U.S. Embassy in Oslo is working with a VSFS student participant to 

provide Norwegian students with an “insider’s view” of U.S. students’ academic and 

social lives. 

The Office of eDiplomacy is carefully reviewing all of the following ideas, comments, and 

suggestions for appropriate action by the Department to ensure the availability of government 

information and services for those without access to the Internet and for those with disabilities. 

In this regard, the Office of eDiplomacy works closely with the Department’s IMPACT office on 

Section 508 of the Disabilities Act, to ensure that all of DOS’s information systems and tools are 

compliant and accessible.

A number of suggestions put forward on the Sounding Board are focused on improving 

accessibility and tools for disabled employees working for the Department. An idea submitted to 

the Sounding Board in early October 2009 suggested that the Department “provide equal 

opportunity in the Foreign Service for employees with disabilities” and generated over 60 

thoughtful comments from State Department personnel. Another popular idea addressed 

suggestions on how to improve productivity for those who suffer from repetitive stress 

syndrome.

Mutual understanding fostered by the Virtual Student Foreign Service has positive results abroad 

and at home, both for those with access to the Internet and those without. While all of the VSFS 

projects are primarily coordinated through the Internet (most often by email), the output of the 

project is not necessarily Internet-only. Some projects are analytical in nature, and the students’ 

reports give employees at post additional perspectives on the cultural panorama of their 

interlocutors. For other projects, students have been asked to prepare primary school lesson plans 

on conservation and ecology or to provide recommendations for youth engagement in other

countries. Additionally, the American students benefit from their broadened perspective on 

international issues, and they bring these benefits to their peers in the classroom and others who 

don’t directly participate in the program.

Even for those locations where internet access is limited, the Department’s message is reaching 

its target. For Paraguay, Embassy Asuncion’s VSFS participant works on a Facebook page in 

Spanish and covers themes related to education in the United States, life and culture at U.S. 

universities, and issues related to technology and the web. Despite a low Internet penetration rate 

in Paraguay (one of Latin America’s lowest, at 9%), the site now has more than 6,600 fans and a 

healthy amount of interaction across American/Paraguayan cultural lines. 

The Sounding Board is available to any Federal agency that has access to the Department of 

State’s Intranet, which encompasses almost all employees working for other agencies overseas. 

Their contributions to the Sounding Board allow for a more frank discussion to take place on the 

improvement of the Department operations. In addition, a number of suggestions put forward on 

the Sounding Board have encouraged increased exchanges, knowledge sharing, and interaction 

between the Department of State and the Department of Defense, the intelligence agencies, and 

other Federal organizations.
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The Knowledge Leadership initiatives of the Office of eDiplomacy have been managed through 

State’s Capital Planning and Investment Control process as a minor investment. The central 

program is reviewed each year for the validity of its business case and resource needs in 

comparison with other requests for funding. Contributions to the initiative, e.g., suggestions put 

forward on the Sounding Board or individual interactions by VSFS student participants, are 

largely decentralized. The role of the Office of eDiplomacy is primarily to facilitate 

contributions, and therefore the framework and the support for programs are managed centrally.

New components to the Knowledge Leadership initiative have been identified in the past through 

Department surveys and the business needs of personnel. For example, 85% of respondents to a 

2009 survey indicated that an internal social networking tool (“Facebook for the State 

Department”) could foster increased collaboration and sharing without regard to boundaries of 

time and location. Therefore, this is the next project the Office of eDiplomacy is embarking 

upon.

The Office of eDiplomacy also tracks survey responses through time to determine prevalence of 

business cases: in 2003, 55% of survey respondents indicated that mobile access to Department 

information was important or necessary; in a 2008 survey, that statistic went up to 69%. As a 

result, the Department has dramatically increased the availability of mobile access for its 

employees both domestically and at U.S. diplomatic missions around the world. Such continued 

innovation is critical to winning U.S. diplomacy and an effective American 21st Century 

Department of State in today’s more dynamic, integrated, and information-intensive era of 

international relations. 

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is available at:

• www.oit.va.gov/

VA is implementing the VA Strategic Communications System (VASCS), a modern document 

and workflow management solution. VASCS provides extensive security for mission critical 

documents often containing Personally-Identifiable Information (PII). VASCS is replacing an 

obsolete document management system that could not be updated and failed to provide identified 

requirements, including mandatory security features. The new initiative provides management 

reporting with required security, major improvements to workflow efficiency, and integrates 

with the VA electronic mail system to streamline operations. 

This application was chosen because it illustrates VA’s transformation goal to transform into a 

21st Century organization that is people-centric, results-driven, and forward-looking. Cost 

savings and avoidance are difficult to quantify. The dollars spent on responding to security 

breaches and failure to be responsive to citizens may result in more than monetary losses. 

Savings based on like systems will not be articulated until the system has been implemented and 

is functioning. VA users are requested to provide comments and suggestions for improving the 

system. In addition, a robust Integrated Project Team meets frequently to discuss issues and 

disseminate information to stakeholders. 
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VASCS supports the VA Enabling Goal, Objective E-3: Implement a One-VA information 

technology framework that supports integration of information across business lines and 

provides a source of consistent, reliable, accurate, and secure information to Veterans and their 

families, employees, and stakeholders. Improved performance: Enhanced information integrity 

and information sharing; improved tracking and reporting capabilities. VASCS is 508 compliant. 

VASCS is an internal VA initiative used on systems only accessible to VA employees. The same 

software is currently used by the Office of the President, Veterans’ Committees in both houses of 

Congress, the Department of Justice, and Department of Homeland Security, among others. 

Implementation of VASCS provides an opportunity for increased data sharing between VA and 

these agencies in the future. 

The VASCS was approved and is being monitored via VA’s IT Multi-Year Programming 

Process. As such, the investment was originally funded through this process and is required to 

report on progress by this process and through VA’s Program Management Accountability 

System. As directed by the CIO, the Office of Information and Technology delivers available, 

adaptable, secure and cost effective technology services to VA and acts as a steward for all VA 

assets and resources. VA developed a framework that supports high-level strategies to improve 

electronic delivery of services to veterans, beneficiaries, and other major VA stakeholders. The 

framework provides a uniform approach for electronic forms management, Web-based 

applications, identifications and authentication options, authorization and access control, 

electronic signature, security, and data interchange that supports the Department’s internal 

business processes and systems.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is available at:

• http://epa.gov/oei/OMBEgovImpRpt012010.pdf

The Geospatial Line of Business (GeoLoB) is an intergovernmental imitative to improve the 

ability of the public and government to use geospatial information to support the business of 

government and facilitate decision-making. The initiative is important to EPA as it represents an 

opportunity to leverage shared investment across Federal agencies for the shared benefit of 

EPA’s many partners in environmental protection. EPA expects the GeoLoB to be the organizing 

construct through which critical national data development and acquisition takes place to fill 

numerous data gaps at EPA. The Agency is currently applying lessons learned in the creation and 

management of the National Geospatial Program for the benefit of EPA’s partners in the 

GeoLoB as well as colleagues in State, Local, and Tribal government organizations. EPA’s

efforts in this area include participation in the Data.gov Project Management Office, where EPA

is working to leverage the past work of the geospatial community to transform government 

through broader information sharing, and also includes an ongoing effort to leverage data 

distributed across the Federal enterprise in efforts to lead the restoration and protection of critical 

resources like the Chesapeake Bay.

EPA's national geospatial program has achieved a cost avoidance of approximately $2 million 

per year by internally consolidating procurements for data and tools into multi-year enterprise 

licenses. The GeoLoB will reduce costs by providing an opportunity for EPA and other agencies 

to share approaches on procurement consolidation that other agencies can follow. Throughout 
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FY 2008-2009, EPA played a key leadership role in a GeoLoB Workgroup to explore 

opportunities for Federal-wide acquisition of key geospatial software and data. In early FY 2010, 

the first of these acquisitions became available to the Federal community through the Smartbuy 

Program managed by GSA. It is anticipated that additional Federal Government-wide common 

services will be made available in the future. EPA hopes to achieve significant additional savings 

through alignment with the Data.gov initiative, and are greatly looking forward to future shared 

data and service hosting using Data.gov as a platform. EPA continues to play a leadership role in 

defining the requirements for geospatial cloud computing and is working with DOI, DHS, 

USDA, DOC and other Federal leaders in this exciting area.

EPA is a leader in many collaborative efforts around the GeoLoB and the Federal geospatial 

enterprise. These include participation in Federal Geographic Data Committee collaborative

activities like the Executive Steering Committee, Steering Committee, Coordination Group and 

many GeoLoB Workgroups, as well as the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (a Federal 

advisory committee). Additionally, EPA participates in numerous forums including the Open 

Geospatial Consortium and many national and international geospatial communities of interest. 

EPA’s National Geospatial Program also works closely with its state partners through 

organizations like National States Geographic Information Council and the National Association 

of State CIOs as well as through its network of grantees that participate as a part of EPA’s 

National Environmental Information Exchange Network. Approaching the transparency and 

accessibility of data through the questions of “where” is this, provides a strong focal point for 

citizen participation. The GeoLOB ensures that the Federal Government investment in this area 

is aligned, efficient and collaborative with partners.

Working through the GeoLoB, EPA is able to leverage its experience and investment as a part of 

the broader Federal geospatial community. This has helped identify efforts in other Departments 

that can benefit of the Agency’s objectives and strategic goals. The National Geospatial Program 

investment is tied to a number of key cross-Agency goals from EPA’s strategic plan and is 

positioned as a key supporting investment in base technology that enables others to carry out 

their work across the Agency efficiently and effectively.

While geospatial information is inherently visual and offers unique challenges in terms of 

presentation to those without Internet access and for those with disabilities, EPA continues to 

meet these challenges as it has in the past. The National Geospatial Program and its partners 

across the Agency work closely with their respective EPA Section 508 Coordinators to ensure 

access to EPA’s geospatial information meets or exceeds these requirements. Additionally, the

central support team for the National Geospatial Program staffs a help desk that is available by 

telephone to those without internet access, and can provide assistance via phone, mail, etc. on an 

as needed basis. EPA also works extensively to release data in open, accessible formats that are 

not tied to particular web technologies (e.g., web mapping applications) so that EPA’s many 

“information intermediaries” in the community, working at newspapers, libraries, local 

environmental organizations, K-12 and university institutions, etc. can present EPA’s data in 

creative and accessible ways available to fit the needs of their specific communities.

Major external partners for the GeoLoB include sectors represented on the “National Geospatial 

Advisory Committee,” charged with advising the Department of the Interior and the Federal 
208

Geographic Data Committee. EPA’s Geospatial Information Officer is a member of the advisory 

committee along with numerous colleagues representing the Federal, State, Local, Regional,

Private Sector, and Academic interests in this area.

Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) for this investment is maintained through the 

continued development, management and evaluation of the investment as per EPA’s Exhibit 300. 

A cross-Agency governance structure has been put into place at EPA that reviews this and all 

other major IT investments on a regular basis. EPA’s CPIC Exhibit 300 is closely tied to the 

Geospatial Segment Enterprise Architecture, and movement towards this target is helping to 

drive the Agency towards systems where EPA’s data are broadly available through web services, 

Data.gov and other multi-Agency data storage, management and dissemination points.

The established and ongoing business process EPA uses to continually identify initiatives began 

with regular meetings of the Management Team and included review and analysis of the 

Enterprise Architecture. This process has evolved over time, and will soon take on a new 

dimension with the hiring of an Information Innovations Officer; a position which was 

advertised broadly last spring. This position is located in the Office of Environmental 

Information (OEI) and the incumbent will report to the CIO (CIO). The incumbent will be 

responsible for providing guidance and direction throughout OEI on a full spectrum of 

information innovations. The incumbent will ensure that OEI works across the Agency, utilizing 

existing and new information technologies to ensure a transparent, participatory and 

collaborative EPA.

The creation of this position is timely in the support it will lend to the newly established Senior 

Management Group formed to respond to OMB’s Open Government Directive. In 2010, EPA 

will continue to identify information and data efficiencies and cost saving initiatives through its 

EA process. EPA will continue to incorporate new initiatives, such as the newly identified effort 

on the Use of Mobile Applications (which is just getting started), and the Open Government 

Flagship initiative.

General Services Administration (GSA)

The Agency’s E-Government Act Report is available at:

• http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/channelView.do?pageTypeId=8199&channelPage=%2

Fep%2Fchannel%2FgsaOverview.jsp&channelId=-25145

The six E-Government initiatives implemented by GSA are:

1. IT Infrastructure Line of Business

2. E-Gov Travel

3. Integrated Acquisition Environment

4. Financial Management Line of Business

5. Federal Asset Sales

6. USA Services
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Information about each initiative is contained in the charts below.

IT Infrastructure Line of Business

The IT Infrastructure Line of Business (ITI LoB) supports government-wide efforts to 

improve the management of Federal IT infrastructure through internal efficiency and 

effectiveness and the adoption of common solutions to improve service levels and 

increased cost efficiencies. The work of the ITI LoB has been instrumental in advancing 

cloud computing within the Federal Government. As cloud-computing projects are 

developed and implemented, the result should be greater efficiency in infrastructure 

investments, greater efficiency and buying power through aggregated services and 

hardware purchases, reduction in energy consumption, and a reduction of adverse 

environmental impacts. In FY2010, the ITI LoB will build on its work by developing a 

strategic Federal cloud blueprint, tackling cloud computing adoption barriers and 

expanding the ways in which agencies can acquire cloud applications and services. 

Budgeted Cost Savings 

(In Thousands)

Cost Avoidance

(In Thousands)

$16,865,000 $5,449,176

The ITI LoB is the recognized government-wide leader in the area of collaborative 

infrastructure planning, design, optimization, and systems lifecycle management. 

Furthermore, the ITI LoB is a catalyst for intergovernmental cooperation and 

coordination, providing technical advice and enabling the sharing of best practices where 

agencies face common policy, planning, and implementation challenges.

The ITI LoB is identifying opportunities for IT infrastructure consolidation and 

optimization and developing government-wide common solutions to realize cost savings.

External partners who collaborate on the initiative:

Agriculture, Department of

Commerce, Department of

Defense-Military, Department of

Education, Department of

Energy, Department of

Environmental Protection Agency

Health and Human Services, Department of

Homeland Security, Department of

Homeland Security, Department of

Housing and Urban Development, Department of

Interior, Department of

Justice, Department of

Labor, Department of

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Science Foundation

Office of Personnel Management

Small Business Administration

Social Security Administration

State, Department of

Transportation, Department of

Treasury, Department of

Veterans Affairs, Department of
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E-Gov Travel

Establish a common Government-wide Web-based end-to-end travel management service 

that reduces or eliminates capital investment and minimizes total cost per transaction for 

the Government with policy based on best travel management practices.

Budgeted Cost Savings 

(In Thousands)

Cost Avoidance

(In Thousands)

$114,339 $328,694

The E-Gov Travel Project Management Office collaborates with agency representatives, 

vendors, and travel industry experts to continually enhance the system’s functionality for 

the Federal Government traveler. This hosts monthly and quarterly customer meetings 

and industry partner meetings in which recommendations to enhance program 

effectiveness and feedback on program improvements are collected.

Reduced direct cost as a percent of revenue to 61.4%.

Increased percentage of vouchers serviced to 33.64%.

External partners who collaborate on the initiative:

Agriculture, Department of

Commerce, Department of

Education, Department of

Energy, Department of

Environmental Protection Agency

General Services Administration

Health and Human Services, Department of

Homeland Security, Department of

Housing and Urban Development, Department of

Interior, Department of

International Assistance Programs

Justice, Department of

Labor, Department of

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Archives and Records Administration

National Science Foundation

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Personnel Management

Small Business Administration

Social Security Administration

State, Department of

Transportation, Department of

Treasury, Department of

Veterans Affairs, Department of
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Integrated Acquisition Environment

The Integrated Acquisition Environment (IAE) initiative provides shared services to 

support the entire acquisition lifecycle in a unified manner by leveraging governmentwide, existing technology/acquisition infrastructures, simplify/standardize process, and 

balances needs and funding through managed phased development.

Budgeted Cost Savings 

(In Thousands)

Cost Avoidance

(In Thousands)

$13,800 $440,519

IAE is helping agencies meet the requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and 

Transparency Act (FFATA) of 2006 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 

of 2009 (ARRA). FFATA requires “the existence and operation of a single searchable 

website, accessible by the public at no cost to access” that includes information on each 

Federal award. IAE was able to help agencies meet these requirements by leveraging 

existing solutions. Innovated re-use resulted in agencies being able to properly report data 

on the FFATA portal. ARRA requires all prime recipients to be registered in the Central 

Contractor Registration (CCR). CCR expanded to meet this requirement, and Federal 

Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) provided means to find ARRA opportunities. The 

Federal Procurement Data System provides the means for data feed to USAspending.gov 

about all reported Federal contracts.

Over 6.5 million hours were saved by the contributing agencies in completing over 14.4 

million recorded acquisition business process transactions. Contributing agencies 

received estimated benefits of $341,601,492 based upon the processes, personnel, roles, 

steps, and actions involved. IAE was selected as a finalist for the 2009 Excellence.Gov 

Awards, recognized as a Federal program which has achieved exceptional results in the 

management of IT to support the government’s mission and serve citizens.

External partners who collaborate on the initiative:

Agriculture, Department of

Commerce, Department of

Defense-Military, Department of

Education, Department of

Energy, Department of

Environmental Protection Agency

General Services Administration

Health and Human Services, Department of

Homeland Security, Department of

Housing and Urban Development, Department of

Interior, Department of

International Assistance Programs

Justice, Department of

Labor, Department of

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Archives and Records Administration

National Science Foundation

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Personnel Management

Small Business Administration
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Integrated Acquisition Environment

Social Security Administration

State, Department of

Transportation, Department of

Treasury, Department of

Veterans Affairs, Department of

Financial Management Line of Business

The Financial Management Line of Business (FM LoB) is sponsored by the Office of 

Management and Budget and is tasked with improving the effectiveness, performance, 

and efficiency of financial management services available to Federal programs. 

The FM LoB improves the cost, quality, and performance of Federal financial 

management by leveraging shared service solutions and implementing other 

Government-wide reforms that foster efficiencies in financial operations. FM LoB 

encourages agency migration to these Shared Service Providers at the Department of 

Interior National Business Center, Department of Transportation Enterprise Services 

Center, General Services Administration, and Department of Treasury Bureau of Public 

Debt. With the GSA as the managing partner, the FM LoB builds on the premise that all 

agencies will use common systems and standard financial business processes – enabling 

more efficient and effective Federal financial operations.

Budgeted Cost Savings 

(In Thousands)

Cost Avoidance

(In Thousands)

$2,601,000 $0

FM LoB maintains ongoing dialogue with interested parties in agencies and among the 

Federal financial community through its governance structure, including the CFO 

Council, Executive Steering Committee and Transformation Team.

Increased Shared Service Provider (SSP) overall customer satisfaction rate from 85% to 90.5%.

External partners who collaborate on the initiative:

Agriculture, Department of

Commerce, Department of

Defense-Military, Department of

Education, Department of

Energy, Department of

Environmental Protection Agency

General Services Administration

Health and Human Services, Department of

Homeland Security, Department of

Housing and Urban Development, Department of

Interior, Department of

International Assistance Programs

Justice, Department of

Labor, Department of

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Science Foundation
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Financial Management Line of Business

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Personnel Management

Small Business Administration

Social Security Administration

State, Department of

Transportation, Department of

Treasury, Department of

Veterans Affairs, Department of

Federal Asset Sales

Federal Asset Sales (FY2010 = $950,000) is an E-Government program designed to 

improve and optimize the way the Federal Government disposes of its assets. The 

FedAssetSales Program focuses on the final phase of the Asset Lifecycle Management 

and offers significant benefits to participating Federal agencies as they conduct their asset 

disposition activities while making it less difficult and time consuming for the public to 

locate and purchase Federal assets.

Federal Asset Sales is guided by three key goals of the initiative:

Goal 1 - Make it easy to find, buy, and sell Federal assets 

Goal 2 - Leverage economies of scale to increase return on assets sold, decrease cost of 

sale, and reach a broader customer base

Goal 3 - Take advantage of market driven, best-in-class practices and solutions 

Initially the Federal Asset Sales Program resided on USA.gov and allowed citizens and 

business to identify agencies that sold either personal or real property. At this time, the 

website provided only links to the agency that was selling property and the citizen was 

forced to search each agency site individually. At the end of FY 2006, FedAssetSales 

launched the next generation of this Federal Asset Sales Portal (Govsales.gov). This 

Web-based application allows citizens to search for Government property for sale in a 

single place across the Government as opposed to agency by agency searches. The 

Federal Asset Sales Portal allows citizens to search for property via a keyword search, 

browse assets by category, and view lists of assets. The FedAssetSales Portal allows 

participating Sales Center Agencies that are charged with selling on behalf of the Federal 

Government) to create, update and delete records in the Federal Asset Sales data 

repository. Both the personal real property portal currently provides citizens with the 

capability of searching by the type of property. "The portal currently provides citizens 

with the capability of searching for particular personal and real property assets. A 2010 

objective will be to provide citizens with the capability of searching by the type of 

property -- personal and real property -- as well as particular personal property 

commodities and types of real property assets."

The first generation portal used by the government to offer assets for sale to the general 

public was firstgov.gov (now usa.gov).This "portal" provided citizens the ability to locate 

agencies listing assets for sale though it did not provide any functionality besides link 
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Federal Asset Sales

listing. The second generation portal, govsales.gov not only gathers asset data into a 

single, searchable location but also links participating sales centers together. It is 

important to note that sales activities are restricted to the selected Sales Centers (SCs) and 

that the govsales.gov portal does not provide functionality for members of the public to 

purchase items directly on the portal.

Beyond the implementation of the second generation portal, the Program anticipates most 

activity will shift to operational activities with preplanned product improvements being 

released on a quarterly basis. 

Budgeted Cost Savings 

(In Thousands)

Cost Avoidance

(In Thousands)

$0 $483,644.75

This initiative places sales activities "in the hands" of those who are best suited to 

administer them, the approved SCs. The SCs were selected for participation in the 

initiative due to expertise in disposing of assets and will continue this role while using 

govsales.gov to offer their assets for the public to review. The govsales.gov portal is the 

link between the SCs participating in the initiative and the general public and prevents the 

citizen from having to search across the Internet for government auctions. The portal 

collects all sales data into a single location and can locate assets of interest using a robust 

set of search features.

5% increase in customer traffic

External partners who collaborate on the initiative:

Agriculture, Department of

Defense-Military, Department of

General Services Administration

Housing and Urban Development, Department of

Interior, Department of

Justice, Department of

Treasury, Department of

Veterans Affairs, Department of

USA Services

USA Services is now institutionalized at GSA and is called the Office of Citizen Services

(OCS). OCS continues to improve the Federal Government service and overall 

responsiveness to citizen inquiries. USAS is working to meet citizen needs and improve 

agency performance through two primary areas: (1) Direct services via the channels of 

the Office of Citizen Services and the Federal Citizen Information Center including the 

web via USA.gov and GobiernoUSA.gov (email through USA.gov), telephone via 1-

800-FED INFO (National Contact Center), or in print (Pueblo, CO distribution facility) 

and; (2) Government-wide leadership in customer service contract vehicles, education, 

market research, best practices, performance standards, and tools. 

OCS is also implementing social media and other Web 2.0 technologies to create a 

collaborative government with a state-of-the-art environment that will accommodate new 
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USA Services

ways of interacting with the public.

Budgeted Cost Savings 

(In Thousands)

Cost Avoidance

(In Thousands)

$246,810.12 $141,043.875

Provides critical web skills training through Web Manager University to over 11,000 

Web managers and specialists to date. Manages a Government Contact Center Council 

for best practices and information sharing of over 50 representatives from the major 

Federal contact/call centers. Manages the Federal Web Manager Advisory Council for all 

cabinet level agencies that shares best practices and works together to improve websites 

and citizen engagement through social media government-wide. The Intergovernmental 

Solutions Division within OCS leverages intergovernmental networks at the state and 

local along with international governments to influence improvements in collaboration 

practices and through participation in Communities of Practice that foster efficient 

information and technology sharing opportunities among public and private sectors.

USA Services provided direct services to citizens through easily accessible channels that 

deliver accurate, consistent, and timely Government information. Citizen touchpoints 

rose to 245 million, exceeding its target by 12%.

External partners who collaborate on the initiative:

Agriculture, Department of

Commerce, Department of

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Defense-Military, Department of

Education, Department of

Energy, Department of

Environmental Protection Agency

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Trade Commission

Health and Human Services, Department of

Homeland Security, Department of

Housing and Urban Development, Department of

Interior, Department of

International Assistance Programs

Justice, Department of

Labor, Department of

Legislative Branch

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Archives and Records Administration

National Credit Union Administration

National Endowment for the Humanities

National Science Foundation

National Transportation Safety Board

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office of Personnel Management

Other Defense Civil Programs
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USA Services

Postal Service

Securities and Exchange Commission

Small Business Administration

Smithsonian Institution

Social Security Administration

State, Department of

Transportation, Department of

Treasury, Department of

Veterans Affairs, Department of

With each of the initiatives described above, GSA has given disabled employees and members of 

the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others. Access to 

information for those without access to the Internet is available both internally and externally. 

Within GSA, non-Internet access is available through hardcopy, audio materials and as presented 

in meetings. External access is available through similar media in both available forums and 

through Freedom of Information Act actions. 

Annually, during budget formulation, all proposed IT investments will have business cases or 

modified business cases prepared for review and approval by the respective Service/Staff Office 

(SSO) governance bodies. Upon SSO-level approval, these IT initiatives comprise the SSO IT 

portfolio, which is submitted next to GSA OCIO for agency-level governance review.

The GSA Portfolio Management Committee (PMC) conducts the first enterprise-level 

review/approval of the SSO IT initiatives. IT initiatives approved by the PMC are recommended 

for consideration by the IT Executive Council (ITEC). The ITEC, in turn, reviews the PMCrecommended portfolio, and determines which IT initiatives it will recommend for approval by 

the GSA Business Systems Council (BSC). The BSC has approval authority for IT initiatives, 

which are then included in the GSA IT Capital Plan for submission by the Administrator as part 

of GSA’s annual budget package.

Throughout the year as part of budget execution, GSA governance bodies monitor major 

Information Technology investments’ progress against planned cost, schedule and performance 

milestones. This oversight is addressed during regularly scheduled PMC, ITEC, and BSC 

meetings, at which control review results for steady state (SS) and development, modernization, 

and enhancement activities are presented. Initiative baseline change requests submitted for 

review/approval are assessed by the Office of the CIO, with recommendations provided to the 

PMC for action. OCIO also reports major IT initiative progress data to the OMB IT Dashboard 

monthly.

GSA’s major initiatives that include substantial development, modernization or enhancement are 

required to conduct Earned Value Management (EVM) compliance reviews to ensure the 

adequacy of EMV reporting systems and processes. In addition, completion of Integrated 

Baseline Reviews ensure common understanding of the Performance Measurement Baseline, 
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including the scope of work, key milestones, risks and associate mitigation strategies, and 

required management processes.

IT system that result from major Information Technology investments undergo post 

implementation reviews to gauge the systems’ success in meeting objectives and to acquire 

lessons learned that will inform current and future Capital Planning and Investment Control 

processes. Annual Operational Analyses of ongoing systems contribute to management and 

stakeholder awareness of capabilities and needs, and support continued IT portfolio evolution 

and decision making.

The Strategic Planning, Budget, and Performance Management process is an iterative on-going 

process intended to facilitate sound business and financial analysis. The implementation of this 

approach to organizational strategic planning and performance management encourages 

collaborative decision-making among senior leaders across Service and Staff Organizations at 

the Central Office and Regional levels throughout the fiscal year regarding strategic plans, 

budget priorities, and performance results. Planning and performance management go hand-inhand. Planning (or lack of planning) impacts GSA’s overall performance results; and 

performance results inform GSA’s strategic plans. When properly executed, it is a continual 

cycle providing a comprehensive analysis of how well GSA is meeting the GSA Strategic Goals, 

Administration’s Management Agenda, Business Line/Program Area Performance Goals and 

Measures, and ensures GSA is best positioned to achieve a successful future.

Our success is highly dependent on our ability to accurately identify and effectively meet 

customers’ needs. Therefore, the purpose of the Strategic Assessment Phase is to consciously 

assess the health and direction of the Business Line/Program Area’s mission and its performance 

results in executing the mission. This is the point at which GSA asks the questions—what are 

GSA’s customers’ needs; are their needs being met in the most effective manner possible; does 

GSA add value to its customers; will the mission today be the same three to five years from now; 

do the Long-Term Outcome Goals previously established still reflect GSA’s future direction, and 

so on. A Strategic Assessment analyzes customer requirements, prior, current, and future 

strategies, business plans, and performance results. The conclusions from the Strategic 

Assessment guide the Organization’s future Strategy and Action Plans. 

Each Business Line/Program Area completes a Strategic Assessment outline that informs the 

Senior Executive Team’s Agency-wide planning efforts by identifying Business Line/Program 

Area trends, issues, and concerns, operational strategies and improvement projects to be pursued, 

as well as uncovering cross-cutting issues where Agency-wide resolutions may be more 

effective. This is not a budgetary exercise. At the Service level, the Strategic Assessment will 

articulate to the Commissioners and the Regional Administrators how the Agency-wide and 

Service-specific Long-Term Outcome Goals are being met, or addressed, within the respective 

Service and/or Staff Organization. The strategic assessment results will be presented by senior 

leaders and discussed with the Administrator at the Strategic Assessment Session.
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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

The Agency’s E-Government Act Report is available at:

• www.nasa.gov/news/reports/index.html

The Nebula Cloud Computing Platform (nebula.nasa.gov) is an efficient and highly-scalable 

containerized cloud computing infrastructure, developed at NASA’s Ames Research Center, 

which enhances NASA’s data-sharing capabilities with the public. Nebula’s architecture is built 

using standards-based, open-source software and takes advantage of open data Application 

Programming Interfaces (APIs) for enhanced interoperability with commercial cloud service 

providers. This enables NASA researchers to easily port datasets to run on commercial clouds 

while avoiding the need to grant access to its highly secured internal networks. By reducing the 

number of systems that would otherwise need to be maintained and monitored independently, 

Nebula reduces NASA’s web “surface” vulnerable to a cyber attack.

Nebula allows NASA researchers to tap into a shared pool of powerful, highly-scalable and fully 

FISMA-compliant infrastructure faster and for less money than they could build themselves. 

Researchers pay only for what computing and storage they need at the time, and when their 

computing needs change or are no longer required, those resources go back into the pool and 

may be utilized by another group. This drastically reduces redundancy, waste, and cost within 

NASA. Nebula’s modular containerized infrastructure is not only proven to be the “greenest” 

form of data center, but it is incredibly flexible, as containers can be modified, upgraded, 

expanded and even physically relocated as future needs evolve.

Because Nebula began its pilot in mid-2009 and broader utilization did get underway until the 

last few months of the year, the Agency has yet to quantify actual cost savings for the Nebula 

initiative. However, as cloud computing systems provide “pay-as-you-go” storage, processing, 

and bandwidth services that share economies of scale with the other cloud “tenants,” both NASA 

and its partners expect to achieve both cost savings and cost avoidance with the deployment of 

Nebula.

In a traditional IT environment it takes several months and usually hundreds of hours of labor for 

groups to procure, set up, configure and maintain new IT infrastructure. By utilizing Nebula, 

NASA groups gain access to powerful IT resources months faster and with far less effort than 

before. Nebula will save hundreds of man-hours, allowing NASA scientists to focus on mission 

support and research and development instead of building and maintaining redundant IT 

infrastructure.

The Nebula team uses social and new media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, GovLoop and 

Yammer, as well as email lists and a project blog at the Nebula website (nebula.nasa.gov), to 

stay in contact with parties from NASA, academia, industry, and the general public. NASA

regularly uses these channels to keep apprised of NASA’s development progress and solicit 

feedback and ideas. In addition, Nebula team members are active in the open source engineering 

community and regularly engage in discussions with key open source developers to align 

Nebula’s project plans with trends in industry and the academic community. Nebula is also 

engaged with several NASA research groups, such as the Climate @ Home project, to help 

support new computing paradigms within NASA. Finally, the Nebula communications team 
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supports Federal and industry groups (e.g. NIST Cloud Computing project) and various 

developer groups within NASA (e.g. the Ames Web Developers User Group) through speaking 

engagements and group participation.

Nebula provides measureable improvements that directly align with areas of emphasis in 

NASA’s Strategic Management Framework. In support of NASA’s Strategic Management of 

Information Technology, Capital Assets, and Environmental Impact, Nebula provides an easily 

quantifiable and improved alternative to building additional expensive data centers that will be 

required to address the Agency’s ever-growing compute and storage needs. Today many of 

NASA’s dedicated compute and storage servers are underutilized, taking up valuable data center 

floor space, requiring expensive environmental controls, and requiring a high level of on-going 

energy investment. Nebula’s pooling of resources allows for a dramatically reduced data center 

footprint, significantly less energy usage, and much higher utilization rates for compute and 

storage resources. Nebula’s cloud-based resource pooling approach will greatly reduce the cost 

of computing for NASA’s scientists and engineers allowing access to significantly more compute 

resources at the same cost or the same amount of compute resources at reduced coast, providing 

savings that can be used for other mission investments.

Nebula also provides a leading edge technology solution that directly supports the Strategic 

Management of Innovative Partnerships, Education Initiatives, and Outreach to Stakeholders. 

For example, Nebula has partnered with Microsoft on the World Wide Telescope initiative, a 

project that enables portions of NASA’s vast archive of space imagery to be made easily 

available to NASA’s stakeholders, including the American public and its educational institutions. 

Further, Nebula provides a “convenient” hosting platform for non-sensitive research information 

that both NASA scientists and collaborators at other research institutions can use to easily share 

information and findings, eliminating access barriers that would be present if the data had to be 

stored on either NASA’s or a collaborator’s private network. Nebula’s innovative technology 

provides several solutions that enhance the flow of research information (NASA’s “product”) 

both between NASA and the public and between NASA’s scientists and their peers at other 

research institutions.

The computing infrastructure support that the Nebula platform provides to NASA and other 

Federal agencies dramatically simplifies the process of delivering high quality, accessible web 

applications for public consumption in a rapid and cost-effective manner. The resulting savings 

will allow more emphasis to be placed on the implementation of innovative assistive web-based 

technologies that benefit individuals with disabilities.

Nebula allows research and development groups to focus on creating innovative software and 

groundbreaking scientific findings rather than the minutia of setting up a computing 

infrastructure. This supports innovation both in Internet-delivered products and in findings 

delivered through traditional media outlets, research publications and through the benefits of 

NASA technology spin-offs.

Nebula is currently collaborating with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to provide 

high-capacity computing and storage for USAspending.gov 2.0. This site enables the American 

public to access budget information for all Federal Agencies and offers detailed information 
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about Federal IT contract spending through an interactive IT dashboard. For more information on 

USAspending.gov, go to: www.USAspending.gov.

Nebula will follow established Agency capital planning and investment control processes for all 

IT investments as required by NASA policy requirement (NPR 2800.1). Further, all Nebula 

program and project investments will be managed in accordance with both the Ames Research 

Center (ARC) and the Agency’s Project Management Office guidelines, per NPR 7120.7. Nebula 

services will be evaluated periodically against identified investment objectives, including 

adherence to financial and budget management practices.

In 2009, NASA invested approximately $1.6 billion in IT assets and services. The success of 

these IT investments directly influenced the ability of organizations within NASA to fulfill 

mission goals and execute business plans. For example, all current E-Government plans and 

initiatives are all heavily dependent upon their underlying IT investments.

Recognizing both the importance of IT investments to the organization and its role in supporting 

the success of these investments, the Office of the CIO (OCIO) is engaged in an ongoing effort 

to establish, maintain, and support an IT investment analysis and decision-making environment. 

Two key components of this environment are executive decision-makers and repeatable 

processes:

• Executive decision-makers: The Governance structure addresses multiple levels of 

review, which are based on the strategic significance and investment value. Thresholds 

have been established that dictate formal governance involvement from Center through 

the organizational hierarchy to the top management levels within NASA.

• Processes: Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) is NASA’s primary process 

for (1) making decisions about which initiatives and systems NASA should invest in and 

(2) creating and analyzing the associated rationale for these investments.

NASA’s IT governance structure supports disciplined processes to help ensure the success of the 

overall IT transformation effort, the alignment of IT solutions with mission needs, and that 

ongoing IT services meet customers’ needs. To meet these governance needs, the CIO chartered 

the following three boards:

• The IT Strategy and Investment Board (SIB) makes decisions regarding IT strategy, 

investments (prioritization and selection), Enterprise Architecture, and NASA-wide IT 

policies-processes. SIB members include senior level members from Mission 

Directorates, Mission Support Offices, and Centers.

• The IT Program Management Board (PMB) provides executive oversight and makes 

decisions regarding application and infrastructure projects to ensure that investments 

approved by the IT Strategy and Investment Board stay on track during formulation and 

implementation.

• The IT Management Board (ITMB) makes decisions regarding management of the IT 

technical environment at NASA to implement IT strategy, policy and investment 

initiatives, including configuration management, integration, and performance of IT 

systems.
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NASA’s OCIO is responsible for ensuring that the Agency follows a structured and integrated 

approach to managing IT resources. Through this approach, the OCIO ensures that all IT 

investments align with the NASA mission and support business needs, while minimizing risks 

and maximizing returns throughout the investment’s lifecycle. Investment and resources 

management processes are instrumental in meeting the CIO’s IT financial management strategic 

initiative. The ultimate outcome of these processes is increased visibility into IT budgeting and 

spending, and the ability to fund IT services for NASA’s users.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)

The Agency’s E-Government Act Report is available at: 

• www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/e-gov/

In past years the NRC has highlighted major electronic initiatives that provide the means to 

receive and manage complex electronic document submittals in support of major license 

applications for new nuclear power plants, license renewals for existing nuclear power plants, 

and the Department of Energy’s high-level waste repository license application for Yucca 

Mountain, NV. This year the NRC is providing an update on its National Source Tracking 

System (NSTS).

The events of September 11, 2001 heightened the nation’s concern about the possible use of 

radioactive materials for a malevolent act. Both in the United States and abroad, various 

industries, hospitals, and academic institutions make widespread use radioactive materials (often 

contained in sealed sources). A major impetus for NSTS is the need to control radioactive 

materials that could be used in a radiological dispersal device or “dirty bomb” (a conventional 

explosive that carries radioactive materials and releases them on detonation). The NRC has been 

proactively working on material real-time tracking capability since 2005. 

In late 2006 and early 2007, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conducted a test of 

the NRC controls governing the issuance of licenses for possessing certain types of radioactive 

materials and for enforcing possession limits on the quantities of those materials. Subsequently, 

GAO reported that they were able to obtain radioactive materials licenses for two fabricated 

companies, modify the licenses to raise the possession limits, and utilize the augmented licenses 

to receive quotes for purchasing radioactive materials from legitimate licensees.

At a July 12, 2007, hearing of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 

Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations following GAO’s report, participants 

suggested that the NRC should consider establishing a Web-based licensing (verification) system 

that would allow suppliers to validate purchaser licenses and the authorized quantity that a 

purchaser could obtain. The GAO, NRC, and Congress deemed this as a necessary and urgent 

information technology initiative to protect the nation from the threat of malevolent use of 

radioactive materials.

In FY 2009, the successful implementation of NSTS satisfied NRC’s commitment to Congress to 

develop source tracking capabilities and satisfied the International Atomic Energy Agency’s 

Code of Conduct’s call for a national, central database of high-risk sources. 
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As noted above, benefits associated with the NSTS include the following: monitoring the 

location, possession and disposal of radioactive sources of concern throughout the country; 

improve accountability and give better information to decision makers; responding in the event 

of an emergency; and communicating radioactive source information among Government 

agencies.

Over the 5-year period ending in FY 2015, the projected cost avoidance and cost saving for 

NSTS is $47 million.

The NRC regularly seeks opportunities for improvements to the NSTS and contributing 

processes. A major source of input is periodic conference calls with Agreement State agencies 

and direct contact and outreach efforts with key users who have high NSTS transaction volume. 

After capturing and analyzing these business drivers, the NRC utilizes independent contractor 

resources to evaluate potential improvements through system features then proposed for 

maintenance releases. Similarly, the NRC assesses application of emergent technologies as 

appropriate.

The NSTS, which received an authority-to-operate in December 2008, tracks the transfer of 

responsibility of sealed sources of radioactive materials. This tracking spans the life cycle of the 

source from manufacture through shipment receipt, decay, and burial. It supports controlled 

authorizations and accountability for licensed suppliers and licensed recipients of sealed sources. 

The successful implementation of NSTS satisfies NRC’s commitment to Congress to develop 

source tracking capabilities and satisfies the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Code of 

Conduct’s call for a national, central database of high-risk sources.

NSTS helps the NRC do the following:

• monitor the location, possession, and disposal of radioactive sources of concern 

throughout the country

• improve accountability and give better information to decision makers

• detect and act on tracking discrepancies

• conduct inspections and investigations

• communicate radioactive source information among Government agencies

• respond in the event of an emergency

• verify legitimate import, export, ownership, and use of radioactive sources

• further analyze hazards attributable to the possession and use of radioactive materials

In January 2009, all users of Category 1 and Category 2 radioactive sources in the United States 

began reporting their source inventories and transactions, as required by Titles 10 of the Code of 

Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 20, or Agreement State equivalent regulation. The regulations 

state that each licensee who manufactures, transfers, receives disassembles or disposes of a 

nationally tracked source must complete and submit a National Source Tracking Transaction 

Report. 
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The NRC provides support for those who do not have access to a computer with Internet and 

who also need to report to the NSTS or who wish to obtain NSTS data. For those reporting 

regulated transactions (e.g., shipment or receipt of materials), the NSTS operational support 

contract includes data entry support for those who wish to report by fax using NRC Form 748. 

Those without NSTS user accounts may request NSTS data through routine NRC procedures. 

These include the NRC Freedom of Information Act process as well as services of the NRC 

Public Document Room (PDR), where NRC publicly available records can be read. The PDR has 

a toll-free number (800-397-4209) to assist members of the public who do not have Internet 

access. The PDR can also provide bibliographies based on subject searches of the public 

databases to give users an idea of the documents that are available. The PDR has a fee-based 

copy service. 

Prior to enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the NRC began collaboration with a full 

range of organizations concerned with the threat of radiological dispersal devices. These 

outreach efforts included the establishment of an Interagency Coordinating Committee (ICC), 

comprised of representatives of external Federal agencies as well as the Organization of 

Agreement States (OAS). The OAS represents the interests of those states that regulate nuclear 

materials under the NRC Agreement State Program. In addition to the ICC, a crosscutting 

working group developed the NSTS requirements document, ensuring input from all 

perspectives. Later design efforts included industry input on the NSTS user interface. Most 

recent efforts have focused on working closely with industry users in an effort to minimize their 

burden in providing timely reporting of key activities of manufacturing and transfer of source 

materials. 

In 2005, the NRC Information Technology Business Council reviewed and approved the NSTS 

business case prior to concurrence of the NRC Chairman. Prior to acquisition of contractor 

support, the agency developed an integrated project plan reflecting all planned activities and 

resources required both from NRC and contractor staff. In early 2006, following contract award, 

the agency refined this integrated plan resulting in the baseline NSTS plan. At the same time, the 

NRC implemented the Earned Value Management process to provide monthly monitoring of 

schedule and cost variance. This process continues and is integrated with NRC’s reporting under 

the OMB Exhibit 300. At an operational level, ongoing maintenance and enhancement work is 

managed using a Change Control Board, including representatives of all stakeholder segments, 

such as industry and Agreement State agencies. 

The NRC has a Capital Planning and Investment Control process that uses a vetting process to 

identify initiatives that may duplicate E-Government initiatives. The identification occurs at the 

very beginning of any investment and includes a review by the Enterprise Architecture Branch. 

An NRC governance board (The Information Technology Business Council) performs further 

review and includes a review by an NRC senior procurement official as required by OMB 

memorandum. 
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National Science Foundation (NSF)

The Agency’s E-Government Act Report is available at: 

• www.nsf.gov/oirm/dis/

NSF-led Research.gov (www.research.gov/) is a multi-agency, community driven solution that 

gives the general public, the science, engineering, research, and education community, and 

Congressional staff easy access to key information and services from multiple Federal agencies. 

Research.gov improves access to information about Federal research spending by disseminating 

the results of federally-funded research activities, making the Federal grant-making process more 

transparent. 

NSF realized the need for the initiative in communicating with stakeholders and peers. 

Thousands of institutions and researchers across the nation perform research activities to advance 

science and engineering with grant awards made by these agencies. These federally-funded 

research activities interest a broad spectrum of stakeholders including the general public, 

Congressional representatives, Federal research agencies, public interest groups, and the science 

and engineering research community. These stakeholders want to know where Federal research 

dollars are going, how they are being spent and what results are being achieved. 

Research.gov is transforming agency operations – both within NSF and within its partner 

agencies – by facilitating activities related to federally-funded research. A survey conducted by 

the Federal Demonstration Partnership found that research organizations and grantees spend 42% 

of research time on grants administration, representing an investment of more than $85 million. 

Research.gov strives to alleviate this burden by providing a single location where the research 

community can access streamlined grants management services and information pertaining to 

multiple Federal research agencies. 

Research.gov helps Federal agencies avoid the costs of developing and implementing online 

management services while supporting efforts to promote their common research mission. 

Research.gov also fulfills Federal mandates (Public Law 106-107, President's Management 

Agenda, E-Government Act, and the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act) and 

enhances agencies' management services by organizing information into a single access point 

throughout the management business process. Use of Research.gov reduces staff time spent 

fielding requests for status and policy information; increases standardization and decreases 

manual input with electronic intake of progress and financial reports; and provides an audit trail 

via electronic reporting and E-Authentication. 

NSF maintains a regular dialogue with key public constituents to ensure that the IT resources and 

tools are meeting stakeholders’ needs. 

Because NSF works seamlessly with scientists, researchers, and members of the academic 

community in pursuit of NSF’s mission, their collaboration on and support for Research.gov was 

critical. NSF presented plans for Research.gov at a wide range of conferences targeted to faculty 

members, researchers, and grant administrators to ensure they had up-to-date information on the 

initiative. Response to the concept was very positive, and helped NSF to solidify an initial 

approach for providing management services. NSF’s ongoing conversations with partners, 
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grantees, and other interested members of the research community have continued to shape the 

direction of Research.gov 

Research.gov is already delivering important benefits to stakeholders by increasing the speed 

with which agencies can communicate important information to applicants and grantees. The 

Research.gov team has received many comments from customers regarding the amount of time 

and effort Research.gov has saved them. One customer recently commented, “Having all grant 

application status information in one place is fantastic! This can be a real time saver.” 

In terms of benefits to partners, Research.gov helps partner agencies modernize their services 

while avoiding the costs of developing agency-specific services. For example, the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative, State Research, Education, and Extension Service 

(USDA/CSREES) and the Department of Defense’s Army Research Office are now able to 

provide their users with an electronic method for checking proposal status at a fraction of the 

cost of developing a similar agency-specific service. In particular, USDA/CSREES has been able 

to eliminate costly and inefficient paper-based processes for communicating application status. 

As Research.gov continues to expand its offerings and partnerships with Federal research 

agencies, its value will continue to increase. 

NSF has mechanisms for providing the information available via Research.gov and other agency 

products to all members of the public, even if they lack access to the Internet or have disabilities 

that affect their use of traditional information resources. NSF's Reception and Information Center 

fields inquiries regarding the agency's programs, offices, staff, and publications, and is dedicated 

to serving as a resource for all interested parties. NSF’s Information Center can be reached at 

(703) 292-5111 or info@nsf.gov (TDD: 703-292-5090, FIRS: 800-877-8339). NSF publications 

can be requested at the Information Center, by phone, or via mail. NSF publications: (703) 292-

7827, or NSF Publications, Suite P-60, Arlington, VA 22230. 

The Research.gov portal is compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, which requires 

websites to be accessible to individuals with disabilities. The Research.gov publishing platform 

is provided by an Enterprise Content Management Systemthat automatically enforces 508

compliance during the publishing process. This ensures all content on Research.gov is 508 

compliant and accessible prior before the content is made publicly available. 

Research.gov includes partnerships with three other Federal agencies: the National Aeronautics 

and Space Administration, Department of Defense Research (including the Army Research 

Office and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research), and USDA/CSREES. NSF also partners 

with multiple research associations on Research.gov, such as the Federal Demonstration 

Partnership, to identify the research community’s service priorities and ensure Research.gov 

meets their needs. NSF’s Research.gov partners are listed at: 

www.research.gov/rgov/anonymous.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=page_partnering_agency_li

st

NSF has applied effective Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) procedures 

throughout the development of Research.gov. In the initial planning phase of the initiative, the 

project team conducted research through a variety of sources, including Gartner evaluations of 
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market leaders and best-of-breed commercial products, to determine the nature of the market and 

products available in this area. The team invited technology vendors to give product 

presentations and had several vendors develop prototypes. The Research.gov team then 

conducted a detailed alternatives analysis of the solutions available to determine the appropriate 

technology. The team eventually determined that integrating a suite of commercially available 

technology products, including portal software, would best meet agency and stakeholder needs as 

the platform for Research.gov. 

Research.gov has been developed in a modular manner with services released in phases. This 

design was intentional; NSF realized that by taking a phased approach to releasing services, they 

could obtain feedback at each stage of the development process and deliver a truly innovative 

solution that aligned with customer expectations. This phased approach did pose a potential risk 

to stakeholder adoption because it did not offer the full range of services needed to support 

research activities in the initial release. However, the team has engaged in open and ongoing 

communication with all stakeholders to establish and manage expectations and to mitigate risk. 

Through continuous communication, the team has kept stakeholders apprised of their approach 

and the rationale and benefits behind it. Stakeholders appreciate the phased approach because it 

allows them to test services through pilots and betas and provides them with user feedback prior 

to the production release.

NSF applies effective CPIC processes, such as those described in OMB’s “Capital Programming 

Guide,” in the identification, selection, and implementation of new initiatives. NSF’s CIO, 

Executive IT Review Board, and other senior agency officials are involved in the identification 

of potential agency IT initiatives to ensure that investments with the greatest potential benefit to 

NSF’s mission are brought to the table. Prior to and during the investment selection process, 

NSF looks for potential investments that will support high priority mission functions and goals as 

described in the NSF Strategic Plan. NSF also ensures that new initiatives will not duplicate 

existing efforts within the agency and will leverage existing resources wherever possible. When 

considering investment options, NSF conducts analyses to ensure that benefits will outweigh the 

potential risks. Finally, NSF tries to pilot new initiatives to establish proof-of-concept and test 

the feasibility of the investment before implementation.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

The Agency’s E-Government Act Report is available at:

• www.opm.gov/about_opm/reports/egov.asp

The Enterprise Human Resources Integration (EHRI) Program supports the strategic 

management of human capital by providing agency customers with access to timely and accurate 

Federal workforce data. The EHRI solution addresses historically challenging issues faced by 

HR managers throughout the Federal Government. Throughout the life cycle of a Federal 

employee, paper records have been moved among many places – within an agency, among 

agencies, and between agencies and archives. Even though different agencies have automated 

personnel and payroll processes, the varied nature of HR information systems has limited the 

electronic transfer of information between agencies. EHRI eliminates multiple data systems and 

brings them into a single consolidated warehouse in a secure environment containing over 500 

data elements on 1.9 million Federal employees. This single source of data represents a powerful 
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resource for HR managers, government executives, OMB, and Congress. Savings of more than 

$105 million a year in Government costs associated with handling and storing paper employee 

records.

EHRI achieved a total of more than 1.2 million cumulative HR folders on the eOPF system by 

year-end FY 2009, meeting the OPM operational goal to achieve an additional 20% of hard copy 

folders Government-wide to electronic format by October 1, 2009. In FY 2009, EHRI completed 

its largest eOPF deployment to date, the Department of Veterans Affairs, with more than 250K 

online folders.

OPM’s systems development lifecycle methodology- Information Technology Systems Manager 

mandates usage of tools and techniques that promote accessibility. OPM’s IT Investment Review 

Board monitors the status of accessibility for the investment.

External partners who collaborate on the initiative:

Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of 

Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of 

Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the 

Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of State, Department of 

Transportation, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Agency for 

International Development, Intelligence Agency, Environmental Protection Agency, General 

Services Administration, National Aeronautical and Space, Administration, National Science 

Foundation, Office of Personnel Management, Social Security Administration

The Human Resource Line of Business (HR LoB) vision is to create government-wide, modern, 

cost-effective, standardized, and interoperable HR solutions to provide common core 

functionality to support the strategic management of Human Resources through the 

establishment of Shared Service Centers (SSCs). OPM has formed a strong HR LoB governance 

structure and co-chairs the 24-agency Multi-Agency Executive Strategy Committee (MAESC) 

with OMB. This body meets monthly to plan and carry out the activities of the HR LoB. The HR 

LoB maintains an on-going dialog with all stakeholders. OPM’s work streams and activities are 

selected each year as the result of input from the MAESC, shared service centers, OPM and 

OMB. Projected cost savings will exceed $1.3 billion through 2015 with total lifecycle benefits 

of nearly $3 billion and total lifecycle costs of $1.6 billion. After FY 2015, the HR LoB is 

expected to generate over $200 million in cost savings annually.

The HR LoB continued to make significant progress in achieving its goals during FY 2009 by 

completing the following activities: 

• HR and Payroll Benchmarking

• Provider Assessment

• Cost Benefit Analysis

• HR Systems Integration

• HR Enterprise Architecture
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In FY 2010 the HR LoB will conduct the following activities designed to achieve the initiative’s 

goals:

• HR IT Transformation

• Standards and Requirements

• SSC Oversight and Assessment

• SSC Performance Measurement and Agency HR Benchmarking

• Strategy Formulation

OPM’s systems development lifecycle methodology- Information Technology Systems Manager 

mandates usage of tools and techniques that promote accessibility. OPM’s IT Investment Review 

Board monitors the status of accessibility for the investment.

External partners who collaborate on the initiative:

Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Defense, Department of 

Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of 

Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of the 

Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department of State, Department of 

Transportation, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Agency for 

International Development, Environmental Protection Agency, General Services Administration, 

National Aeronautical and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, Office of 

Personnel Management, Social Security Administration, Accenture National Security Services, 

Allied Technology Group, Inc., Carahsoft Technology Corporation, and IBM.

The Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) processes of selection, control, and 

evaluation of investments, including E-Gov initiatives, are incorporated throughout the planning, 

procurement and development processes. The projects are reviewed by OPM’s executive-level 

IT Investment Review Board for alignment with OPM strategic goals and Executive Branch 

priorities and for compliance with IT security, privacy, accessibility, and related standards. The 

Board also monitors them for effectiveness in meeting cost, schedule and performance goals and 

advises the agency head on decisions to fund, continue, modify or terminate the investments. 

Items required for the investments are procured after the approval of various managerial levels 

and internal governance boards as appropriate to the scope and scale of the procurements. 

OPM agency-wide and the OCIO in particular, continually look for ways to review and initiate 

business process improvements before the application of IT solutions. As new initiatives are 

proposed, vetted, and approved, OCIO works hand-in-hand with the agency’s IT Investment 

Review Board and program office(s) to review, propose, and implement business process 

improvements that strengthen workflow, solidify potential system requirements, and incorporate 

a continual review process to integrate system improvements once deployed to the OPM user 

community. This process ensures that the needs of the OPM user community are being met with 

IT solutions incorporated with executive-level and user input throughout the process to ensure 

successful system implementation and support of the agency mission.
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Small Business Administration (SBA)

The Agency’s E-Government Act Report is available at:

• www.sba.gov/aboutsba/budgetsplans/BUDGET_ADD_REPORT_PLAN.html

The SBA Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is part of the OMB approved 

Automated and Streamlining Customer Experience program that will:

• Introduce new technology and revitalize SBA’s infrastructure

• Improve the offering of new economic incentives to small businesses and lenders

• Help restart lending and investing in small business

SBA’s market research and due diligence team based its selection of the Microsoft Dynamics 

Customer Relationship Management on low cost, best value, functionality, and its ability to meet 

the aggressive time-line required to support American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

initiatives. 

SBA’s CRM system meets the basic need for providing centralized customer contact data across 

the agency. Currently, there is a gap between specific field offices with manual processes, field 

offices with database applications, and several disparate systems, all tasked with maintaining 

customer contact information for various areas of the agency.

Beyond centralizing contact demographic data, CRM will provide the ability to easily track 

major performance metrics vital to the SBA such as the number of new lenders established, 

number of contact efforts made to customers and number of loans issued. These reports are 

quickly available to individual users or can be automated and standardized as a part of the 

Agency process.

The system will support immediate recovery efforts by improving efficiencies of SBA lender, 

business, outreach and marketing stimulus activities, and providing the foundation for future 

long-term customer relationship process reengineering and improvement initiatives. The CRM 

program will enhance productivity and improve the customer experience by centralizing 

customer contact data, facilitating consistent service delivery and organizing customer 

communications across SBA. 

The CRM tool has not been in place long enough to produce cost savings and avoidance data. 

The implementation to the final deployment of the CRM tool only took approximately five

months. This would be an impressive accomplishment in a corporate environment, let alone the 

Federal space. 

To mitigate the risk that its desired fast track approach would cause schedule or cost variances, 

SBA developed the CRM project based on a proven commercial off-the-shelf product, using a

pilot approach along with a realistic schedule. SBA chose small business partners experienced in 

developing similar projects on tight schedules. To mitigate possible integration risks, SBA 

researched integration capabilities, developed a CRM project proof-of-concept prior to 

acquisition, and adopted a pilot-based implementation to minimize long-term performance risks 

and rapidly implement continuous enhancements based on user feedback. The approach also 
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included an internal social media community portal, thereby giving SBA a mechanism for intraagency collaboration on best practices, feature enhancements, and process improvements. 

Several Federal agencies are interested in the CRM application and SBA’s accelerated speed to 

market. At the 90-member Small Agency Council, SBA shared its example of how small 

businesses could enable agencies to reduce the procurement cycle for technology deployment, 

while helping achieve the 23% small business set-aside Federal procurement goal. Concurrently, 

SBA and Microsoft are exploring how to provide further entrepreneur development opportunities 

for small businesses. 

The table below provides a mapping of the strategic goals of the agency to a measurement 

indicator for CRM.

Strategic Goal Supported Measurement Indicator

Ensure that all SBA programs operate at maximum 

efficiency and effectiveness by providing them with 

high quality executive leadership and support services

Improved CRM "vision areas"

Ensure that all SBA programs operate at maximum 

efficiency and effectiveness by providing them with 

high quality executive leadership and support services

Number of District Directors who participated in either 

training, discussion, or design sessions to articulate 

requirements

Ensure that all SBA programs operate at maximum 

efficiency and effectiveness by providing them with 

high quality executive leadership and support services

Major process design sessions

Ensure that all SBA programs operate at maximum 

efficiency and effectiveness by providing them with 

high quality executive leadership and support services

CRM access by SBA staff

The CRM tool was designed according to Federal accessibility standards so it can be used by 

people with disabilities.

SBA is examining how CRM could be used to coordinate communication and interaction with 

the public, including responses to FOIA requests and other agency correspondence. In turn, 

CRM web tools would enable the public to effectively locate information about SBA services, 

programs, partners and resources. In the future, plans include leveraging web technology that 

will allow the public to interact directly with SBA resource partners and programs.

The CRM project adheres to all of the Agency’s CPIC procedures. Specifically, CRM has 

participated in the CPIC pre-select, select and control phases. The project has not reached the 

maturity level to participate fully in aspects of the CPIC evaluate phase as implemented at SBA.

SBA’s CRM tool is the centerpiece for revitalizing SBA’s use of information technology. It 

provides a foundation to consolidate existing stove-pipe systems, as well as enable future 

systems integration with a holistic approach to information technology enterprise architecture. At 

the business level, it will unify and standardize how SBA field office staff interacts with lenders, 

borrowers, businesses, and resource partners. CRM also provides the previously unavailable 
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ability to track and report on field office activities, set goals, establish performance metrics and 

enhance executive decision making through the use of business intelligence tools.

Social Security Administration (SSA)

The Agency’s E-Government Act Report is available at: 

• www.ssa.gov/irm/

In December 2008, SSA implemented a streamlined Internet application process, iClaim. This 

process was created as part of the Ready Retirement project to address significant increases in 

retirement claims over the next decade. The goal was to significantly increase the number of 

online applications by improving the user interface and increasing public awareness. Public 

response has been highly favorable. The implementation of iClaim resulted in an almost 

immediate increase in online use.

The usage of iClaim has reduced the time and effort required to apply online for retirement 

benefits. The resulting decrease in walk-in and phone applications provides SSA with additional 

flexibility to process increasing workloads.

Cost savings and cost avoidance for FY 2009 for retirement applications were estimated to be 

$722,262. Projections for FY 2010 through FY 2018 are estimated to achieve additional cost 

savings and cost avoidance of $52,297,998 (discounted for inflation using OMB Office of 

Economic Policy Discount and Inflation Rates). These cost savings and cost avoidances are 

achieved by the reduction in handling time for applications by SSA employees

iClaim was developed using collaboration and communication with all stakeholders, including 

various SSA components and field offices, Capitol Hill, OMB, privacy experts, the American 

Customer Satisfaction Institute, advocacy groups and others. The agency monitors feedback 

received from users, the American Customer Satisfaction Index, and other sources to evaluate 

the effectiveness of iClaim and identify areas for improvement

SSA Claims Representatives save about twelve minutes handling an iClaim retirement 

applications online as compared with walk-in and phone-in claims. For FY 2009, the 

implementation of iClaim resulted in a cost avoidance of $722,262. Combined with the 

significant projected increase in retirement applications and marketing campaigns promoting the 

online application’s use, iClaim will help SSA achieve its objective of 50% of retirement 

applications being submitted online by 2012.

The agency committed to a significant amount of public insight early in the design process. The 

project team was able to design an online application that provided high value at minimal cost. 

With respect to the disabled community, iClaim was also designed and tested for compliance 

with Section 508 guidelines. For those who do not have access to the Internet, the agency has to 

enhance user’s ability to access SSA systems at locations other than home (e.g., community 

center, library, place of employment).

The agency’s senior IT investment decision making body, the IT Advisory Board (ITAB), 

reviewed and approved iClaim as part of the Core Services Portfolio. This process is an essential 
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component of the SSA CPIC process and requires the development of a cost-benefit analysis or 

business value score. Prior to ITAB review and approval, the Portfolio Manager (Associate 

Commissioner-level) and Portfolio Executive (Deputy Commissioner-level) assessed the 

alignment of the investment with the goals and vision of the portfolio, which, in turn, is aligned 

with the agency’s goals and objectives. iClaim was reviewed and approved by the senior SSA 

executives in a manner consistent with the agency’s IT investment management process.

iClaim is monitored on an ongoing basis (i.e., by an assessment of usage, customer satisfaction 

scores, customer comments, and email comments regarding users’ current and future behaviors). 

This monitoring enables the agency to identify the improvements that have the highest value and 

that can be delivered in the most cost efficient manner.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

The Agency’s E-Government Act Report is available at: 

• www.usaid.gov/policy/egov/

USAID’s implementation of the Electronic Government (E-Gov) Act of 2002 has taken two 

primary forms: participation and implementation. Externally, the Agency currently participates 

in 25 of the 37 Federal E-Gov initiatives or Lines of Business (LoB’s). Internally, USAID has 

applied the Government-wide perspectives and lessons-learned to its own information 

technology investments, as exemplified by the Global Acquisition and Assistance System 

(GLAAS). 

The GLAAS initiative implements an enterprise, end-to-end, web-based Acquisition and 

Assistance (A&A) solution to standardize business processes and automate USAID’s 

management of the A&A process by integrating it with the Agency’s financial management 

system. GLAAS is the implementation of PRISM, a commercial-off-the-shelf acquisition and 

assistance management tool configured for USAID. Investment in GLAAS directly serves two 

essential functions: expansion of E-Gov initiatives and Agency business modernization. 

GLAAS is able to maximize interoperability and minimize redundancy through integration with 

a host of internal and external systems. Through the real-time integration of GLAAS with 

USAID’s financial management system, the Agency is able to provide inclusive, timely, and 

accurate reporting to better accommodate mandates and management of stakeholders' data calls. 

GLAAS replaces the aging legacy New Management System used domestically, and provides a 

standardized IT solution for disparate paper-based processes in 81 missions overseas. 

GLAAS provides real-time integration with the Agency’s financial system for posting 

commitments, obligations, and awards, as well as synchronization of vendor data. Working with 

other interested parties to innovate the use of the information, it also integrates with external 

government systems including the Federal Procurement Data System, FedBizOpps, Federal 

Assistance Award Data System, and Grants.gov. Based on collaboration with the General 

Services Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, the interfaces will 

reduce user workload and simplify the acquisition and assistance process. 
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The agency completed development of the combined acquisition and assistance functionality, 

which was successfully piloted in December 2008 through February 2009. The pilot included 

selected offices in USAID/Washington, six missions in the Latin America and Caribbean 

Region, and three missions in the Europe and Eurasia Region. Utilizing a single A&A tool 

provides significant benefit to the Agency in terms of staff workload, deployment, project 

management, reporting, and legacy system retirement. USAID’s acquisition and 

assistanceworkload has significantly increased over the last ten years. Upon completion of 

deployment, the single solution will allow USAID to handle this considerable workload while 

also preparing for current trends that include: 1) increased competition mandated by Congress; 

and 2) the need for additional oversight as USAID increases its opportunities targeted to new 

partners, small businesses, and local and indigenous organizations. GLAAS increases efficiency 

and enhances data collection and reporting thus improving accountability, transparency, and 

compliance. 

Full deployment began immediately following the pilot, with six missions in East Africa and five

missions in Asia “going live” on GLAAS in March and July 2009, respectively. Deployment 

continued, with the addition of Ethiopia and the “Non Pillar Bureaus and Independent Offices 

within USAID/Washington obtaining access to GLAAS in November and December, 2009, 

respectively. Deployment to the remaining seven offices within USAID/Washington will be 

completed in phases January through March 2010. Deployment to overseas missions that 

currently don’t have access to GLAAS will be done on a regional basis starting in February 2010 

and continuing through June 2011. To date, GLAAS has been fully deployed to eight offices 

within USAID/Washington, and 21 missions worldwide. 

USAID’s Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) is defined as policy in the Agency 

Directives System (ADS). The process ensures that IT investments meet business goals, 

objectives, and plans including schedules and budgets. Proposed investments are initially 

reviewed by the sponsoring organization and then sent to the CPIC committee. Results are 

passed to an Information Technology Systems Sub-committee (ITSS) headed by a Deputy 

Assistant Administrator and the CIO. ITSS recommendations are forwarded to the Business 

Transformation Executive Committee composed of Assistant Administrators. Their 

recommendations are, in turn, passed to the Administrator for approval and funding. Existing 

investments are subject to the same scrutiny annually. 

The GLAAS system adheres to the capital planning policies and its defined process for 

reviewing, approving and monitoring investments to ensure that investments are not redundant 

and support mission goals. It also is in full compliance with Section 508 of the U.S.

Rehabilitation Act. Therefore, GLAAS web pages will be delivered in compliance with Section 

508 requirements; as well as the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and other web maintenance 

standards, ensuring the availability of government information and services for those without 

access to the Internet and for those with disabilities. 

GLAAS is partially funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA). As 

required under ARRA, USAID has established a Senior Risk Management Council (SRMC) and 

Risk Management Team to monitor the GLAAS project. The SRMC is accountable for the 

reconciliation, transparency, and reporting on the use and outcomes of the ARRA funds used on 
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GLAAS. The RMT has responsibility for identifying and controlling risks through monitoring 

and assessment of risks, development and implementation of mitigation strategies, 

implementation of any corrective actions necessary. These groups are comprised of agency 

executives and senior managers. Obligations and expenditures of ARRA funds are reported 

through both USAID’s and the Recovery Act’s websites. USAID program and acquisition and 

assistance staff manage contract and grant activities. A single integrated solution significantly 

benefits these existing combined business processes.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

The Department’s E-Government Act Report is available at: 

• www.ocio.usda.gov/

The USDA Market News has been helping market participants make informed marketing 

decisions since 1915. Although USDA Market News reports are used every day as an 

authoritative benchmark for contract pricing, dispute resolution, insurance settlements, etc., the 

industry still needed better tools to fully leverage this rich information source. To address this 

need, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) created the first USDA Market News Portal in 

2005. Since then, the Portal has significantly enhanced the delivery of Market News information 

over the Internet.

The Portal is now the Department’s one-stop website for accurate and authoritative agricultural 

market information. It is used by producers, consumers, shippers, wholesalers, and market 

analysts each day, both in national and international markets, and it has added new value to the 

time-tested market news service. The Portal is available to any public user and is located at: 

marketnews.usda.gov. 

Market News reports had been formerly available via the Internet on a limited basis. Hundreds of 

daily, static market reports could be obtained along with a simple archive of those reports. Static 

market reports were designed to be inclusive of information that customers might find useful, as 

there was no practical way to customize the data reported to meet each individual need.

Because of the portal, Market News report information is no longer limited to the traditional 

market report. The Market News Portal gives users real-time access to daily and historical 

reports on agricultural commodities. Market information is gathered at offices nationwide and 

stored in the Market News Information System (MNIS) database. MNIS users are able to extract 

data on an ad hoc basis and fine-tune needed information. The objective of this investment is to 

provide a Web portal that: (a) allows the public to access Market News’ current and historical 

data; (b) gives users the option to download reports in various formats; and (c) provides user 

friendly search options.

The Market News Portal offers market participants many benefits. For example, users previously 

had to wait for days to access customized historical data. Market News program specialists 

prepared reports and requestors were assessed a fee in order to recoup the associated report 

preparation costs. With the advent of the Market News Portal, customers are now able to access 

market information to create Market News reports that are tailored to their needs. This results in 

a savings of both time and money for the customer. In addition, an estimated $450,000 is saved 

each year by not having to prepare traditional composite market reports.
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Several tools are also available on the Portal. For example, users can go to the Portal and request 

to receive market reports via email when they are released. Users can also choose to receive 

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds to keep up with news and information that they consider 

important. The RSS information is sent directly to users without cluttering their inbox with email messages. This helps users avoid the conventional methods of browsing or searching for 

information on websites. Two other tools that are available on the Portal provide metric and 

currency conversion. The metric conversion tool enables users to convert length, weight, volume, 

and temperature measurements. Similarly, the currency conversion tool enables users to obtain 

currency conversion rates against the U.S. dollar. Users are also able to access their local forecast 

by City and State or U.S. Zip Code. The weather feature is particularly beneficial as weather is 

one of the key factors affecting prospects for crop production and commodity prices.

The Market News Portal was developed through a process involving a user community. This 

user community consisted of industry print media, market reporters from other commodity 

groups, government analysts, shippers, growers, and marketers. The community approach was 

utilized for system design, in testing an early prototype, and in final user acceptance testing. 

Through the user community, the public was directly involved in each step of the process to 

create the Portal. This inclusion helped to ensure that the final product met the information needs 

of the customers of Market News programs.

There is an ongoing effort to ensure that the Portal remains a valuable source of information for 

its users. To ensure that the Portal effectively addresses its customers’ needs, market news 

representatives directly solicit feedback from users to ensure that the information provided on the 

Portal is accurate, timely, and easily accessible. An independent survey of portal users was 

recently conducted in order to obtain user feedback across the following areas: (a) Time required 

to retrieve information, (b) Quality of information retrieved (one stop shop), (c) Functionality of 

the system, (d) User friendliness and, (e) Capability to ensure that program information is 

maintained in accordance with required Federal guidelines. The result of the survey revealed that 

users find the information provided on the Portal to be useful and easy to access.

One of the measures of the success of the Portal is its growing number of users. To date, the 

Market News Portal has been accessed 38,931,440 times by 94,327 visitors. Millions of Market 

News records and data elements are now available to customers throughout the United States and 

the rest of the world. Customers can now directly access a highly robust database for the latest 

market information, can create an infinite number of customized reports, and can tailor their 

view of the Market News website to their personal interest. Market News report information is 

no longer limited to the data used by traditional market report. Using the portal, visitors can 

create customized reports that show only selected markets of interest and obtain information for 

only specific product varieties and sizes. Once a customer has refined a data search or query, the 

search can be saved and run again as needed. The Portal gives customers much greater access to 

a universe of market information delivered in minutes rather than days for no fee at all. 

USDA Market News reports and information has long been a staple in radio broadcasts. It is 

common for radio stations in rural or agriculturally oriented communities to run segments 

several times a day on current commodity prices as reported by Market News. Additionally, 

telephone recorders are widely used by Market News to enable the public to access market 
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information at a time of their choosing. Secondary disseminators are also an important means for 

Market News to get information out to the public. These disseminators include some the world’s 

largest news agencies, such as Associated Press, key trade publications, and local newspapers. 

Other disseminators include universities and colleges, county extension agents, commodity 

groups and associations, local markets who post USDA market information at public access 

points, and occasionally television. Lastly, some market reports are still available to the public 

by mail or fax for a subscription fee.

One key partner in the further development of the Market News Portal is the Risk Management 

Agency (RMA) at USDA. Both AMS and RMA entered into several interagency agreements for 

the enhancement of the Portal to meet the information needs not only of RMA, but of the shared 

customers of AMS and RMA. The primary focus of the enhancements was to add the capability 

to segregate organic data from conventional, and to make that data readily available to the 

public. The Market News databases had to be enhanced before they could provide the data to the 

Portal, and the Portal had to be modified to make the data quickly and easily accessible. With 

RMAs support, Market News also developed an organic snapshot of retail prices that became a 

widely followed component of the National Fruit and Vegetable Retail Report. 

There are a large number of partners in the dissemination of USDA market reports and 

information. One of the most significant is the Mann Library at Cornell University. The library 

manages an email delivery service, or “push” technology, for several of the information and data 

agencies of USDA. Those agencies include AMS Market News, the Economic Research Service, 

the National Agricultural Statistics Service and the World Agricultural Outlook Board. The self 

subscription service allows the public to select from hundreds of reports and publications to be 

delivered to the subscribers’ email address upon release – free of charge. The public can add or 

delete the reports they wish to receive at their will. Other informal partners include the many 

secondary disseminators, both within and outside of the U.S. Some of the disseminators are 

value added resellers, or companies that add commentary, enhanced graphics or other features to 

meet the needs of their paying subscribers.

The USDA Market News Portal investment meets the requirements of USDA’s Integrated IT 

Governance Process (IGP) which includes capital planning and investment control, cyber 

security, and enterprise architecture. The IT investment management components of the IGP 

were defined, documented, and implemented in order to ensure proper management of all IT 

investments. The review process allows all knowledgeable elements within OCIO to bring their 

particular level of insight to the table on each investment before it is allowed to proceed farther 

into the development process. The information and recommendations that stem from these 

reviews provide feedback to the agency planning team and are incorporated into the agency’s 

project development plan.

The role of the CIO is to develop, maintain, and facilitate the implementation of a sound and 

integrated Information Technology architecture. The centralization of these responsibilities 

within the Office of the CIO provides USDA with a comprehensive understanding of IT 

initiatives throughout the Department. USDA will leverage this familiarity with the IT portfolio 

to identify future initiatives.
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The information products of Market News have always been viewed as “in the public good”, as 

they served to provide critical market transparency. The information is made available to the 

public in many ways including radio, newspapers, secondary disseminators, and printed market 

reports. Prior to 1981, printed market reports were available free to anyone upon request. The 

Food Security Act of 1981 required that subscription fees be charged for users requesting mailed 

or fax versions of USDA market reports in an effort to recover the costs of the service. In 

essence, while the market information provided by Market News is in the public good, individual 

access to the information in a printed format would be a user fee activity.

There are two types of user fees paid by the public to access Market News reports and 

information: subscription fees and fees for specialized data runs. While subscription fees totaled 

tens of thousands of dollars after the Act of 1981 was first put into law, the total paid by the 

public declined dramatically with the development and use of the internet for the free 

dissemination of market reports. It is estimated that the public paid approximately $20,000 

annually by fiscal year 2006 for both types of user fees. However, the public would often restrict 

the data they requested from specialized data runs to minimize their cost.

Government-wide Research and Development Website

The E-Government Act requires the establishment of a single Federal website to display research 

and development activities across the Federal government. Such a website was developed, 

named Research and Development in the U.S. (RaDiUS), and maintained for several years under 

a contract with the Rand Corporation. In 2008, the contract expired and was not renewed by the 

previous Administration. Plans are currently under development to replace this capability in the 

future.
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Section V: E-Government Fund

In FY 2009, the Electronic Government Fund was funded at $0. Unobligated balances of 

$1,591,000 in FY 2008 funds were used to fund FY 2009 electronic government activities. In FY 

2009, these funds were obligated or committed to support priority Administration electronic 

government initiatives including:

1. Improving Access and Information for Citizens and Government ($1,224,448.45) which 

included work on USAspending.gov and the IT Dashboard and Data.gov. These efforts 

focused on developing the capability to make information more open, transparent and 

accessible to the public. These efforts were very successful at making more Government 

information available to more people than ever before. The amount of ongoing use of 

USAspending.gov and Data.gov is significant and is transforming the way agencies 

manage their data with increased attention to quality, metadata and data stewardship. The 

activities and benefits related to the IT Dashboard and Data.gov are described in more 

detail earlier in this report.

2. Cybersecurity ($152,125.64) including providing cybersecurity training to Government 

IT managers and assuring the security of high visibility CIO Council on-line services 

(certification and accreditation).

At the end of FY 2009, the Electronic Government Fund had an unobligated balance of 

$1,682,000 due to recovery of unexpended balances from prior obligations.
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Section VI: IT Workforce

Rapid advances in IT are driving strong demand for highly skilled employees to manage IT 

projects and systems needed to improve program performance. Qualified personnel

with the necessary competencies are required to help ensure agency IT systems are well planned, 

managed, operated and maintained. The need for skilled IT professionals, including experienced 

managers for major IT investment projects, has steadily increased. According to the Office of 

Personnel Management, there were about 70,000 IT professionals (GS-2210 Federal job series) 

in the Federal workforce as of March 2009. Increasing demands will conflict with anticipated 

retirements of current IT professionals projected by the Center for Workforce Information at 

OPM to continue at a rate of over 2,500 annually (or about 4% of the workforce) for the next 

seven years.

In 2010, the Federal CIO Council will conduct a government-wide IT workforce survey to 

enable agency managers to identify future workforce needs. Streamlined hiring processes will 

help agencies to attract and retain the best talent in the future. The 2010 IT workforce survey will 

be conducted in all agencies, under the CIO Council Workforce Committee’s oversight, and 

agencies will use the information collected to assess their workforce needs, current skills, and 

gaps to support their IT workforce planning and future workforce management efforts. OPM, the 

CIO Council IT workforce committee and the cybersecurity community are working together to 

conduct an inventory of cybersecurity professionals government-wide and create competency 

models with performance metrics for the cybersecurity workforce.