In March 2004, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) initiated a government-wide analysis of five lines of business (LoBs) supporting the President's Management Agenda goal to expand Electronic Government.
Interagency taskforces examined business and information technology data and best practices for each line of business – financial, human resources, grants, health, and case management systems. The goal of the effort is to identify opportunities to reduce the cost of government and improve services to citizens through business performance improvements.
The Case Management LoB is the business and technology foundation upon which new solutions for the Department of Justice and other agencies will be built. It will also provide a blueprint for sharing information and best practices across the Federal government. The goal of this LoB is to improve effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement, investigation, and civil and criminal litigation case management business processes.
Federal Health Architecture (FHA) is focused on improving the efficiency, standardization, reliability, and availability of comprehensive health information solutions through a common framework. FHA is working within the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology in the Department of Health and Human Services to improve the safety and health of citizens by providing easier access to health-related information and services.
Cross-agency teams analyzed opportunities for integration and consolidation in the areas of Financial Management, Human Resources Management, and Grants Management. They have recommended the establishment of government-wide service providers in the areas of Financial Management and Human Resources Management. The Grants Management team is developing plans for the consolidation of Grants Management activities across the government.
The analysis suggested savings of more than $5 billion can be realized over a ten-year timeframe through the consolidation of Financial Management and Human Resources Management systems and the standardization and optimization of associated business processes and functions. To realize these benefits, the Administration asked agencies with the skills and capabilities to function as government-wide service providers in the areas of Human Resources Management and/or Financial Management to submit business cases for doing so as part of the Fiscal Year 2006 budget process. The business cases were evaluated using a due diligence checklist developed in conjunction with third-party industry groups. This checklist assessed potential service providers’ abilities in terms of past performance, current capabilities, and ability to operate a customer-focused organization. On the basis of the review, the agencies have been designated as eligible to enter into competitions to become cross-agency service providers.
Rather than expend significant effort and resources modernizing existing agency-specific systems, agencies will select, through a competitive process, beginning in Fiscal Year 2005, a government-wide service provider for Human Resources Management and/or Financial Management services. Upon migration to common, government-wide solutions, agencies will shut down existing systems — which will not only save money but also make available resources for agencies to better focus on achieving their core missions.
In March 2005, OMB kicked off a task force to address the Information Technology (IT) Security LoB. The IT Security LoB task force will identify problems and propose solutions to strengthen the ability of all agencies to (1) conduct training, specialized training and knowledge sharing; threat awareness and incident response capability; program management; security lifecycle; selection, evaluation, and implementation of security products; and (2) defend against threats, correct vulnerabilities, and manage resulting risks (including those specific to a single agency or shared among other agencies).
