July 18, 2001

M-01-28

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

Electronic government is one of the five key elements in the President's Management and Performance Plan. The President's Budget outlined how we will focus our e-Government initiatives on reforming the Government so that it is citizen-centered. This memorandum describes our plan to establish a task force to begin implementing the President's initiative and asks for your assistance and support in these efforts.

 

 

Within our organizations, staff already know of many potential opportunities for using information technologies to improve the service we provide to citizens. Our approach, modeled on the best practices of the private sector, is to tap into that knowledge and use it to identify applications of Internet technologies to reform the way our organizations do business.

 

 

Because e-Government is at the core of the President's management agenda, I recently created the position in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) of Associate Director for Information Technology and e-Government to lead the effort in achieving the President's e-government vision. I have asked Mark Forman, the new Associate Director, to lead an interagency task force to define an action plan and road map. We ask your help in establishing this task force of knowledgeable individuals to identify high payoff e-Government opportunities and set in motion a transformation of government around customer needs. The task force will identify priority actions to achieve strategic improvements the following four areas of service:

 

• Service to individuals: deploy easy to find one-stop shops for citizens, including single points of easy entry to access high quality government services;

   

• Service to businesses: reduce burden on businesses by using Internet protocols and consolidating the myriad of redundant reporting requirements;

   

• Intergovernmental affairs: make it easier for States to meet reporting requirements, while enabling better performance measurement and results, especially for grants; and

   

• Internal efficiency and effectiveness: improve the performance and reduce costs of Federal government administration by using e-business best practices in areas such as supply chain management, financial management, and knowledge management.

 

The task force will operate as an interagency working group over a period of five to six weeks, beginning later this month. I have asked Mark Forman to act as the project executive for the task force and report progress to me and an executive steering committee. The task force will be successful only if it comprises individuals knowledgeable in their agency programs and experienced in government reform initiatives.

 

 

To assist in this effort, I ask that you identify a senior e-Government leader who reports directly to you, to work with Mark in establishing the task force. Specific time commitments for individuals participating from your Department or agency will be determined on the basis of a discussion between your e-Government leader and Mark. Please have your Department or agency provide names and contact information for your e-Government leader to Mr. Alex Wilson (mailto:(wwilson@omb.eop.gov) at 202-395-3787. If you would like more detailed information, Mark Forman can be reached at 202-395-1148.