Last Updated: May 3, 1994 _________________________________________________________________________ Government Service Delivery: Reengineering Through Information Technology DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT PART I: What Is the Application Arena? Description of Government Service Delivery and Information Dissemination President Clinton has spoken often about the "trust deficit" -- the sad reality that the American people lack confidence that government will do the right thing. Improving customer service is the most direct way to attack this trust deficit. In the National Performance Review (NPR) report, Vice President Al Gore recommended an executive order to create a customer-driven government. The President signed this order on September 7, 1993. It sets the standard for government services to equal the best in business, and it requires federal agencies to survey their customers on what they want and whether they are satisfied. In announcing the NPR on March 3, 1993, the President said: "... We intend to redesign, to reinvent, to reinvigorate the entire national government..." These comments were motivated in part by the lack of public confidence in the federal government's ability to deliver services. Focusing on "Putting Customers First" as one of the four major themes in the NPR, Vice President Al Gore, in one of his many town hall meetings had this to say: "... we are going to make the federal government customer friendly. A lot of people don't realize that the federal government has customers. We have customers. The American people." One of the NPR teams, Reengineering Through Information Technology (IT), examined ways to better serve customers through the use of IT. The findings and recommendations contained in the IT report form the basis for this Application Paper. The NPR IT Team confronted the fact that dealing with the Federal government is often complicated, slow, and confusing. Compounding the problem is that public access to government services is uncoordinated, cumbersome, and paper based. Further, if more than one agency is involved, an individual or business entity usually goes through two or more rounds of inquiries just to find a cognizant office. Contrast this maze with credit card companies who can resolve an issue at 1:00 AM, or an express delivery company which can find your package anywhere on earth -- why can't the government do as well? Although a big part of the problem is due to the large amount of information that the government processes and files, it is equally true that where technology solutions do exist, the government is falling far behind the private sector in using technology to deliver services. What is the Public Interest/Benefits in Promoting the Application? Information technology has brought the convenience of revolutionary change to everyday life, from bank Automatic Teller Machines to global transfers of funds, from 800 telephone services to personal home computers, "e-mail," and the world-wide Internet computer telecommunications system. Whatever its problems, the information revolution is upon us. Many authors call such technology the most powerful tool for change in the modern era. American businesses, particularly the smarter ones, are taking notice. The Clinton Administration wants to reengineer governmental processes using information technology to improve Americans' quality of life and reinvigorate the economy. The administration has identified technology as the "engine of economic growth." Further, public expectations for good service in a service based economy are at an all time high. Providing high quality government service to Americans is no exception. Good service includes good access to information. Government information is a public asset. The government should make information available to the public on timely and equitable terms. It should foster the existing diversity of information sources, in which the private sector, along with State and local governments, libraries, and other entities are significant partners. These principles apply whatever the medium, printed or electronic, in which the information has been collected or stored. The development of public networks such as the Internet and NREN (National Research and Education Network) will contribute significantly to this diversity. They will enable government information to be inexpensively disseminated to a broad range of users. In June, 1993, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a revision to its Circular A-130 that sets forth these principles and provides specific management guidance to agencies regarding their implementation. Evidence of the Benefits of an Electronic Government Today, information technology can create the government of the future, the electronic government. Electronic government overcomes the barriers of time and distance to perform the business of government and give people public information and services when and where they want it. It can swiftly transfer funds, answer questions, collect and validate data and keep information flowing smoothly within and outside government. In electronic government, high speed telecommunications links (information highways) will carry the data necessary to support government operations. These information highways will connect federal, state, and local governments, and help form a National Information Infrastructure (NII) made up of public and private transmission circuits and information services. The development of this infrastructure will enable the creation of "virtual agencies" which will give citizens access to integrated program information and services organized around service "themes" (e.g., unemployment assistance), rather than bureaucratic -- and often -- idiosyncratic -- structures. In a virtual agency, several interconnected intergovernmental entities will be able to provide information and services in a seamless manner. Examples of some of these services and the associated benefits are: - Citizen Services -- One-stop shopping for common government information and services, kiosks in shopping centers, electronic town hall meetings. - Healthcare Services -- Remote diagnostics and expert consultations, more efficient sharing of healthcare resources, improved access to medical records, realtime training on new medical procedures. - Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice -- Arraignments and parole board hearings via video technology, near real-time fingerprint identification via a national law enforcement public safety network. - Research and Education -- Distance learning, more efficient sharing of super computing and educational resources, improved access to large volume data libraries, and others such as tax law training. - Human Resources Management -- Job assessments and training via video technology at convenient locations, increased accessibility for individuals with disabilities, and flexible work place. PART II: Where Are We Now? The NPR validated the lack of a cohesive approach to service delivery. The NPR report emphasized that citizens and government workers contend with an increasingly complicated array of federal agencies, organizations, processes and forms. The existing service delivery system is largely based on hierarchical design structures developed in the 1930s. The result is slow, inefficient service that may not satisfy actual customer needs. The information needed for sound decision-making and high-quality customer service is not coordinated across government agencies, thus increasing cost and time to provide services. In short, today's government structures, processes, and business practices which were designed for a different era, cannot keep up with the existing types and volumes of customer demands. Information technology will be the key to providing more cost-effective and user-friendly government services. Industry examples illustrate how exploiting technology can provide superior customer service, significantly decrease costs, increase quality, and improve overall effectiveness and competitiveness. For various reasons -- some regulatory, some legislative, some cultural -- the federal government lacks appropriate access to the most efficient, cost effective information technology products and services. The government has lacked not only strong leadership in this area, but also a coherent plan on how to most effectively tap information technology's potential for service to the public. When it comes to applications of information technology, the federal government is woefully behind the times, unable to use even the most basic technology to conduct its business in some cases. To correct this problem, the NPR IT Report focused on three areas where improvements must be made in order for the government to reap the full benefits available through the use of information technology. These include: - Strengthening Leadership in Information Technology - Creating an Electronic Government - Establishing Support Mechanisms for Electronic Government Leadership The recently created Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) can provide leadership in integrating information technology into systems that support government's operation. This task force is responsible for articulating and implementing the President's vision for advanced telecommunications and computing technology. It is uniquely positioned to help develop the governmental aspects of America's information infrastructure. The IITF's Committee on Applications and Technology has established a Government Information Technology Services (GITS) Working Group which, in turn, will collaborate with state and local governments as well as the private sector. The GITS Working Group is developing a strategic vision and an implementation plan for using government information resources across and within agencies, and developing steps to improve how government provides information and services to the public. In addition, the GITS Working Group is developing strategies to empower information technology management in federal agencies and setting priorities for sharing information among agencies. Creating an Electronic Government As the NPR IT Team recognized, information technology, with its ability to electronically store and rapidly access, sort, and transmit information, is the key to improving information dissemination and service delivery. When used to its full potential, information technology goes beyond the automation of paper processes -- it allows agencies to rethink and redesign work processes to eliminate steps and make them more effective. The vision of "electronic government" extends the idea first seen in electronic banking. Just as ATMs, plastic access cards, and nation wide networks have made banking more convenient, electronic government will make communicating with government easier and faster. To inaugurate the concept of "electronic government," the NPR IT Team identified seven illustrative IT initiatives, which if implemented, will provide substantial return on investment through increases in productivity. These include: Integrated Electronic Benefit Transfer -- Electronic benefit transfer will use information technology present in the financial industry to deliver, nationwide, fast and efficient government assistance -- including Food Stamps, Social Security benefits, and veterans benefits. Integrated Electronic Access to Government Information and Services -- Access to government is a right of Americans. Existing technology makes possible the integrated electronic access to government information and services. The use of a single nationwide 800 telephone number would simplify access to government agencies. Electronic government kiosks that use technology similar to that in ATMs can provide "one-stop shopping" for both government information and services. Personal computers may also be used to access electronic bulletin board systems, databases, and agency directory services. National Law Enforcement/Public Safety Network -- A National Law Enforcement/Public Safety tactical network will improve coordination and communications among federal, state, and local law enforcement and public safety agencies, and will save money. It must focus on establishing standards for sharing information and implementing appropriate privacy and security measures. Intergovernmental Tax Filing, Reporting, and Payments Processing -- The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) already has on file all the tax information to calculate the taxes due for about 60 million taxpayers because financial institutions and employers are required to report this information. Yet IRS and state tax agencies still require taxpayers to compute what the IRS already knows. If IRS computed taxes and sent a statement, and if electronic filing were used for all others, IRS could forgo the mailing of 75 box cars of forms to taxpayers -- and certain classes could ultimately not need to file. For others, they will need to file only once. Enormous administrative savings would accrue to government and the burden on taxpayers would be reduced. International Trade Data System -- To help ensure the nation's competitiveness in global markets, the Treasury Department should create an all-inclusive database for disseminating international trade data, for use by the government and the trade community. National Environmental Data Index -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should create a National Environmental Data Index to coordinate the development and use of environmental data gathered by various government agencies. Its goal -- to give government, the private sector, academia, and citizens easy access to environmental information. Governmentwide Electronic Mail -- In the private sector, e-mail and messaging systems are becoming as common as the desktop computer. Government wide electronic mail is a natural progression from paper-based government to an electronic government. E-mail allows rapid communications among employees across agency boundaries. The administration should work to connect all federal employees by electronic mail. Support Mechanisms The NPR IT Team also recognized that in order for "electronic government" to become a reality, support mechanisms to address specific issues must be put in place. These include: - Establishing the Government Information Infrastructure -- On a broad scale, the National Information Infrastructure (NII) will revolutionize the way we work, learn, shop, and live, and provide Americans the information they need, when they need it, and where they need it -- whether in the form of text, images, sound, or video. This capability will "enhance the productivity of work and lead to dramatic improvements in social services, education, and entertainment - The public and private sectors both must help improve the nation's information infrastructure. The Government Information Infrastructure (GII) as a sub-set of the NII must adopt forward-looking policies that promote the development of new technologies in the delivery of government information and services. - The infrastructure will allow the government to consolidate and modernize its data processing centers and standardize many of its basic administrative functions ranging from payroll to management information systems. The GITS Working Group is developing an implementation plan for consolidating data processing installations and reengineering common application systems. - Developing Systems and Mechanisms to Ensure Privacy and Security -- Success in implementing electronic government also depends on public confidence. Electronic government must protect the information it processes and insure individual privacy. It must also protect national security interests, permit legitimate law enforcement activities, enhance global competitiveness and productivity for American business and industry, and ensure civil liberties. The government must define uniform privacy practices and generally accepted principles for information security. It must adopt a digital signature standard, and it must promulgate encryption standards for sensitive information. - Improving Methods of IT Acquisition -- The government also must expedite and simplify how it acquires information technology. The market for computer hardware and software involves products for which the shelf life can be as short as a few months. In this environment, the government needs to establish more aggressive, innovative purchasing methods. - Provide Incentives for Innovation -- The administration recognizes that initiatives to bring electronic government to the public require strategic relationships between government and the private sector. These relationships must include necessary incentives for innovation. Agencies should be able to retain a portion of savings produced through information technology for reinvestment, and use multi-year funding for information technology projects. The government should promote performance-based contracting for information technology products, allow the private sector to increase its profits if it can find ways to make government run more efficiently and cost effectively. It should create an innovation fund to finance innovative information projects within agencies. - Provide Training and Technical Assistance in IT to Federal Employees -- Federal, state, and local employees must get training and technical assistance in information technology. The government should create a program to train nontechnical senior executives and political appointees. Moreover, the Office of Personnel Management and GSA should establish information resources management (IRM) competencies for federal employees pursuing appointments to IRM management positions. Current Actions Information technology must not be applied haphazardly or sporadically. It also must not be used simply to automate existing practices. Instead, information technology must be used to exponentially improve business practices in the government of the 21st century. FedWorld One operating example of an integrated electronic access service exists today within the marketplace called FedWorld, established by National Technical Information Service. FedWorld is an online information service which provides the general public with a user-friendly, central resource for government information. FedWorld offers both dial-up and Internet access, thus serving the needs of those using the developing "information highway" as well as those operating with current dial-up technology. Since FedWorld was established eighteen months ago, NTIS has received over 400,000 calls from nearly 75,000 registered users, who have downloaded files over 330,000 times from the system. It currently serves many in the policy community as one of the primary points of dissemination for White House information. For example, over a gigabyte-worth of copies of the President's Report to America and the Health Security Plan were downloaded from FedWorld within 48 hours of the President's address to Congress. FedWorld also allows users to "gateway" through the system to over 130 other publicly available government information systems, effectively providing "one-stop shopping" for many types of government information. As a result of the gateway, many of these systems are accessible from the Internet for the first time. NTIS does not charge agencies for these services. Moreover, the public is not charged to use basic FedWorld services. Instead, NTIS is recovering system development and maintenance costs through the sale of products online and through subscriptions to a small number of specific data bases and files in the system. FedWorld also provides information dissemination services on behalf of other agencies, for which NTIS charges the agencies based on their costs. The incremental cost of adding another agency's information, even in a highly customized way, is substantially lower for the agency than it would be for the agency to create its own stand-alone system with comparable support and customer service. FedWorld is currently handling about 3,000 calls each day, but is in the process of a series of hardware and telecommunications upgrades that will allow a peak of 6,000 to 10,000 calls a day. The Administration's plan for expanding FedWorld's capacity are included in an overall one-time $18 million request for FY 1995 to support three initiatives developed by NTIS that are aimed at expediting the transition to full electronic dissemination of scientific, technical, and other government information to all users. The request targets $6 million specifically for FedWorld to gain capacity and other enhancements that will permit FedWorld to serve the tens of thousands of daily callers that a fully operational system ought to be able to handle. Government Information Technology Services The Government Information Technology Services (GITS) Working Group is chartered to provide clear, strong leadership to integrate IT into government business processes to make government a customer-driven enterprise; define a vision and oversee implementation; encourage and facilitate cooperation; and serve as a catalyst for change. The GITS Working Group has begun work to develop an action plan that will address the following: - Develop a strategic vision for using information resources within the federal government. This vision will define an overall strategy and master plan for information technology in the federal government and should include goals and objectives for improving government use of technology in mission performance -- both across and within agencies -- and measures for assessing service improvements to the public. - Develop strategies to improve leadership and authority within federal agencies, and to continually benchmark against the best of private and public sector business practices. - Set priorities for federal information resources management and assess the adequacy of resources to support and facilitate important goals. - Develop an implementation plan for the IT recommendations in the NPR report and overseeing the execution of the plan across the government. - Work with state and local governments and private sector advisers to promote cooperation and information sharing. - Establish a continuous improvement process to design, develop, and implement technology-enabled governmentwide business initiatives -- the electronic government. - Identify additional opportunities and oversee follow-up on additional opportunities for sharing information resources across agencies to improve program performance. - Use existing interagency groups such as the Federal IRM Policy Council (FIRMPoC) for assistance where applicable. Working Group In addition to the work being done by GITS, a sizable portion of the government services area being handled by the Information Policy Committee of the IITF in the areas of privacy, intellectual property rights, and information dissemination. One item in the information dissemination area -- the government information locator service (GILS) illustrates the potential in this area. On July 2, 1993, OMB revised Circular No. A-130, Management of Federal Information Resources, to strengthen polices for managing government information. Circular A-130 encourages agencies to utilize new technologies to make government information available to the public in a timely and equitable manner, via a diverse array of sources, both public and private. It states that availability of government information in diverse media, including electronic for mats, permits the public greater flexibility in using the information, and that modern information technology presents opportunities to improve the management of government programs to provide better service to the public. It also notes that the development of public electronic information networks, such as the Internet, provides an additional way for agencies to increase the diversity of information sources available to the public. In the spirit of the above polices, OMB has committed to promote the establishment of an agency-based GILS to help the public locate and access government information. Being a locator, GILS will be an information resource that identifies other information resources, describes the information available in those resources, and provides assistance in how to obtain the information. A key concept of GILS is that it uses network technology to arrange information to support many different views. GILS will be a collective set of agency-based locators that is decentralized in order that ongoing maintenance responsibilities stay as close as possible to those who understand and care for the information. Each agency is responsible for assuring that its GILS are continuously accessible to GILS direct users on the network, whether through agency computer resources or through other arrangements. Among the agency GILS are those designated as part of the GILS Core. The GILS Core is comprised of high-level descriptions of agency holdings in a specific format and maintained by the various agencies. These agency locators can be aggregated by direct users of GILS to provide a view of all Federal Government holdings, and they can be supplemented by non-GILS information sources of all kinds, or by non-Federal locators that are interoperable with the GILS Core. Many people will use GILS by accessing resources directly on networks, but many others will use GILS through intermediate services. A researcher interested in government operations may access GILS directly over the Internet and explore issues from a variety of perspectives. Network service providers may offer GILS access to users as an option to their bulletin board services. An educator interested in education materials may access GILS once a month over a dial-up connection to the Internet. An information service may access GILS hourly and construct a value-added directory for sale to users with specific needs. When accessed directly as it exists on the network, GILS will provide maximum flexibility to create specific views of the full complement of available information. It should be noted that GILS will include some redundancy and will present information from a variety of perspectives. Casual users and those lacking network access facilities will be serviced typically through products created by agency or non-government intermediaries such as public libraries and private sector providers. Participants in GILS will use formal standards processes to promote interoperability of search and retrieval mechanisms, network communications, user authentication, and server descriptions, among other essential components. Although near-term implementations of GILS may utilize the Internet and TCP/IP communication protocol for practical reasons, the GILS core will be based on the international Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model and is designed to be compatible with other network technologies. GILS will take advantage of the network technology known as client-server architecture, which allows information to be distributed among multiple independent information sources. Applications can then be constructed to allow a user to question many sources concurrently and have the answers automatically combined. Because GILS will adopt existing information search and retrieval standards, direct users of GILS will gain access to a wide range of additional Federal sources. Other major Federal government information systems, such as the proposed Government Printing Office Access System, the NTIS FedWorld systems, the National Geospatial Data System, and the Global Change Data and Information System, can also be made readily accessible to GILS users. In fact, the Department of Commerce already has a prototype Commerce Information Locator System (CILS), in operation and available to the public, on NTIS' FedWorld. PART III: Where Do We Want to Be? Since formation, the GITS Working Group has adopted the vision of creating a Government that "uses Information Technology to interact with and to serve its customers on their terms." To achieve this vision, the GITS Working Group will strive for the following goals: - Develop a national vision which includes an institutionalized process that ranks IT priorities for the Administration, provides support and funding to achieve them, and coordinates partnerships with industry and state and local governments. - Provide our customers with a modernized, electronic government to give them responsive and efficient access to information and services. - Develop and implement information technologies, policies, procedures, and standards that empower leadership and support and enable customer-driven government, rather than constrain it. Critical Success Factors To achieve the vision and goals, the GITS Working Group will promote total customer satisfaction and make the U.S. Government a model and leader in the use of information technology in service delivery. Success can be measured based on performance criteria established for the following areas: Customer Satisfaction -- Is the product the "right" product? -- Is the service level adequate? -- Is service delivery timely, accurate, accessible, affordable, ubiquitous, discreet, reliable, and easy to use? Productivity/Efficiency -- Are there any cost reductions and/or improvements in the level of service? -- Has customer demand for IT services to solve business problems increased? -- Has the government eliminated unnecessary paper-based services? Leadership -- Has the government become a model and leader in the use of information technology? -- Is IT being recognized as a strategic resource in agency plans? -- Has electronic access to information and services become more available? Infrastructure -- Has easy and effective government-wide electronic mail communication been achieved? -- Are federal/state/local government services interoperable? -- Is service delivery integrated? Partnership -- Is government/industry partnership working? -- Is federal/state/local government partnership working? Continuous Improvement Program The continuous improvement program is a "shared vision" of the GITS Working Group to provide a cross-agency environment for "open" communications and feedback within the government enterprise. Feedback coupled with a road map to the future being developed by the GITS Working Group will ensure a customer and stakeholder focus on an interactive basis. Customer suggestions will be evaluated and acted upon. Performance goals will be established and met. The GITS Working Group is focusing on system thinking, guiding principles, critical success factors and teamwork to form a cohesive way of approaching intergovernmental systems and services. Critical success factors that measure the "to be" state require continuous monitoring with obstacles quickly handled. Stakeholder involvement in the overall improvement process is also required. Performance based contracting will reward contractors for continuous improvement in technology furnished to the government under contract. Agencies will be rewarded for identifying and implementing innovative customer-driven services in concert with the GITS Working Group strategic vision. PART IV: How Are We Going to Get There? To facilitate discussion in this area, this paper ends with three questions for the reader to consider in the development and deployment of the NII. How can the government fund innovative IT projects? Resource constraints, incremental budgeting practices, and a lack of incentives often discourage federal managers from investing in innovative information technology applications that might yield long-term benefits and that cut across program and agency boundaries. How could the government provide a source of financing for projects that might not otherwise receive agency funding due to the experimental nature of the technology, long payback periods, benefits that accrue to a number of agencies, or funding needs that exceed the normal one-year funding cycle? What steps should the government take to issue a final digital signature standard? A digital signature standard is considered a prerequisite for an electronic government. Initiatives such as electronic filing of tax returns depend on such a standard that can provide assurance of the integrity and authenticity of messages. Other applications such as financial transactions between governments, business and the public, equally depend on the establishment of such a standard. Patent problems and the cryptography debate have thus far stalled this initiative. One element that can be addressed independently of these concerns is the establishment of a "public key infrastructure" to support digital signatures. What are the appropriate next steps to making that infrastructure a reality? How should the government use its buying power to promote investment in the national and local information infrastructure? The federal government is a major purchaser of IT, spending over $25 billion on commercial IT goods and services. As a major buyer, it can sometimes influence the market place and thus the direction of the NII. For example, the vision of electronic government requires high levels of interoperation and integration among diverse networks. Although integrated voice and data services, can be provided through a technology called Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), interoperable ISDN service between networks remains elusive. The root of the problem is the lack of a common standard and reluctance in the private sector to invest in building the infrastructure to support ubiquitous ISDN service. The government has had limited success, through its FTS2000 network, in influencing the adoption of common standards and the building of this infrastructure. The FTS2000 contract put in place the first, national, multi-net work intercity ISDN service. However, the infrastructure of the local carriers does not support extending this service beyond major metropolitan areas. This infrastructure deficiency severely limits the utility of ISDN service for government applications such as telecommuting and training. On a broader scale, the inability of the local carriers to support ISDN service to communities located at the outer edge of metropolitan areas and rural areas deprives the citizens a vital communications tool for accessing government services of the future. This example illustrates both the potential and the limitations of the using the government's buying power to influence markets. More strategic attention may be needed in using this tool to leverage investment in the NII. .