1. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program February 25, 2003 USDA Presidential Initiatives Meeting Chris Niedermayer, USDA eGovernment Executive

2. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 2  Welcome  FY 2003 Presidential Initiative Funding  GAO Study  PI Quarterly Reports  Roles & Responsibilities  Next Steps & Wrap-up Agenda

3. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 3 FY 2003 Presidential Initiatives Funding e-Loans$397,000 Recreation One Stop$50,000 GovBenefits$1,019,000 Geospatial Information One Stop$670,000 1 Disaster Management$1,480,000 e-Grants$675,000 SAFECOM/Wireless$1,431,000 Integrated Acquisition Environment$740,000 e-Authentication$1,212,000 e-Travel$1,665,000 Total:$9,339,000 2 FY2003 Presidential Initiative Contributions 1 GIS is a combination of FTE and financial contributions. In addition to this amount USDA/FS still owes $45K from ’02. 2 The passback also includes a $12 million USDA contribution for ePayroll for FY2003; however, based on our current understanding, this amount will be recouped through payments from clients of the new ePayroll service. 11 investments must be funded in ’04. OMB, in its budget passback for FY 2004, requested $9.339 million from USDA to support 10 Presidential Initiatives in FY 2003. The passback also included preliminary amounts for FY2004 totaling $8.6 million. The eGovernment Executive Council has developed a strategy to meet USDA’s obligation and obtain the $9.339 million in funding. The funding will be obtained though contributions from each mission area, as well as Departmental Administration and the Staff Offices.

4. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 4 Agenda  Welcome  FY 2003 Presidential Initiative Funding  GAO Study  PI Quarterly Reports  Roles & Responsibilities  Next Steps & Wrap-up

5. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 5 GAO Study on Presidential Initiatives In November, the General Accounting Office released a study on the 24 Presidential eGovernment Initiatives, including analysis of both their selection and their implementation. GAO voiced some concern about the initiatives, particularly how the documentation available did not contain enough specifics on addressing customer needs and government-wide collaboration. To ensure successful implementation and that the initiatives meet their goals (of improving customer service and increasing efficiency), GAO recommended that the Presidential Initiatives leads:  Focus on customers by soliciting input from the public and conducting user needs assessments;  Work with all partner agencies to develop and document effective collaboration strategies; and  Provide more detailed cost, schedule, and performance measurement information to OMB.

6. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 6 Agenda  Welcome  FY 2003 Presidential Initiative Funding  GAO Study  PI Quarterly Reports  Roles & Responsibilities  Next Steps & Wrap-up

7. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 7 Quarterly Reports on Presidential Initiatives The quarterly report for the first quarter of FY 2003 (October to December) was recently submitted to OMB  The report reflects our activities to support the initiatives, including contributions of funds and staff time the Department and its agencies have made  Submitted by the Deputy Secretary to Mark Everson at OMB  Thanks for your time and effort in helping us compile the data To ensure that we provide the next quarterly report on time, we are beginning the process of preparing it now  On the next slide is a template with some initiative update information for you to fill out  At our next meeting, we will have a round of updates on each initiative based on this template; these updates will serve as an input into the quarterly report  We may also send out a short, supplementary data call; we appreciate your time in assisting us prepare this information

8. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 8 Presidential Initiative Update: Participating USDA Agencies/Offices: Recent Achievements/Accomplishments: Any major changes in scope since last report? Upcoming Major Milestones (’03 and ’04): Recent USDA contributions (funding, staff, hardware/software, expertise, etc.): As the PI Liaison for this initiative, I’ve found doing _____ has really made a difference… Challenges (internal and external) /Help Needed (by you):

9. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 9 Agenda  Welcome  FY 2003 Presidential Initiative Funding  GAO Study  PI Quarterly Reports  Roles & Responsibilities  Next Steps & Wrap-up

10. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 10 Roles & Responsibilities Coordinate and lead USDA’s involvement in a given Presidential Initiative, including:  Facilitating meetings and other coordination activities between all USDA agencies involved in the initiative.  Responding to queries, data calls, and other info requests from the initiative managing partner  Ensuring USDA’s missions and needs are included in planning for the initiative.  Ensuring that USDA systems are adequately integrated with the initiative, including coordination between USDA technical staff and technical staff for the initiative’s systems.  Sharing USDA’s expertise/knowledge with other partners in the initiative. Act as the main point of contact for all inquiries related to the initiative, both to USDA personnel and individuals in other Federal agencies. Provide overall stewardship and accountability for the initiative at USDA, including measuring performance—both overall and of individual participants/agencies—as well as value received from the initiative (we’re making monetary contributions). Presidential Initiative Liaison:

11. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 11 Roles & Responsibilities (continued) Highlight PI success stories to fellow PI liaisons and share best practices. Publicize the initiative to USDA staff, including potential partner agencies, future users/beneficiaries, and anyone else who would benefit from becoming informed about the initiative. (e.g., cc: eGov@usda.gov, contribute to the eGovernment Monthly Newsletter)eGov@usda.gov Refer any requests for funding, staff, resources, or in-kind contributions, as well as any formal requests from OMB, to the eGovernment Program. Continually review and recommend improvements to the eGovernment Program to ensure that it provides both sufficient support to the PI leads and successful coordination of USDA’s overall participation in the Presidential Initiatives. Promote training, conferences and meetings related to the PI initiative to expand the understanding of eGovernment management and related activities throughout the Department. Provide input and coordination for the development of the quarterly Presidential Initiatives Status Report to be sent to the Deputy Secretary and OMB.

12. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 12 Roles & Responsibilities: Best Practices Several PI leads have shared some of their best practices and lessons learned:  Focus on people, not on technology. Technology is not the problem; the tools are readily available to solve our problems. Instead, the most serious challenges for the initiatives will be bringing people together across agencies, each with its own processes.  Stay current and stay flexible. Some initiatives have changed direction somewhat from their original vision. As such, it is important to stay current with the activities taking place with each initiative; otherwise, it can take quite a bit of time and effort to catch up and bring USDA’s participation back on track.

13. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 13 Roles & Responsibilities Coordinate USDA’s overall involvement in the Presidential Initiatives, including:  Ensuring overall integration between the Presidential Initiatives and USDA’s eGovernment strategy.  Facilitating meetings and other activities between USDA Presidential Initiative leads to ensure coordination between initiatives; encourage sharing of best practices and other tools that support the success of the initiatives.  Responding to queries, data calls, and other information requests from the Deputy Secretary and OMB, and coordinating preparation of quarterly reports  Coordinating requests for funding or other contributions for review by the Deputy Secretary Provide overall stewardship and accountability for the Presidential Initiatives at USDA, including measuring performance and value received across all 19 initiatives in which USDA is participating. Act as a central resource/point of contact for Presidential Initiative leads for any questions, concerns, or issues Promote and publicize the Presidential Initiatives across USDA eGovernment Team:

14. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 14 How Can We Help You Better Fulfill Your Role?  What actions can the eGovernment Team take to help support you as a Presidential Initiative Lead?  Is there anything hindering you, or the initiative you are leading, from moving forward?  Do you have any other general concerns that you would like to discuss?

15. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 15 Agenda  Welcome  FY 2003 Presidential Initiative Funding  GAO Study  PI Quarterly Reports  Roles & Responsibilities  Next Steps & Wrap-up

16. U.S. Department of Agriculture eGovernment Program 16 Next Steps & Wrap-up Please complete the PI update template provided in this presentation, and return to the eGovernment Mailbox (egov@usda.gov) by Tuesday, March 4. If requested, please provide any data necessary to complete the upcoming Presidential Initiatives Quarterly Report. Next USDA Presidential Initiative Leads meeting will be in early March.  Details will be provided soon