	Improved, Businesslike Operations Should Better Position FAA to Implement and Manage NextGen, but Further Work Remains

During the last few years, FAA has made significant progress in  implementing businesslike processes and procedures for managing and  acquiring air traffic control systems. The implementation of these businesslike operations has  improved FAA’s management of the current system and should better  position the agency to manage the enormously complex transition to  NextGen. However, further work remains to fully address past problems  and institutionalize these changes throughout the agency, especially given  the changing leadership within both FAA and ATO. One outcome of the implementation of the changes in program  management and operations is that for the past three fiscal years, FAA has  reported exceeding system acquisition goals. FAA’s air traffic  control modernization program has been on GAO’s high-risk list since  1995. JPDO Has Made Progress in Planning NextGen, but Continues to Face Challenges with Its Organization

JPDO has continued to make progress in furthering its key planning  documents, but still faces challenges in institutionalizing its collaborative  practices. As we previously  testified, JPDO is focusing on the right types of key documents for the  foundation of NextGen planning. Nonetheless, according  to a JPDO official, as of May 4, 2007, the MOU has been signed by the  Departments of Transportation and Commerce and NASA, but remains  unsigned by the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. These  types of efforts will be critical to JPDO’s ability to leverage its partner  agency resources for continued JPDO planning efforts. As we noted in our  November 2006 report, JPDO is working with OMB to develop a process  that would allow OMB to identify NextGen-related projects across the  partner agencies and consider NextGen as a unified, cross-agency  program. FAA and JPDO Continue to Face a Number of Challenges in Moving Toward NextGen

FAA and JPDO continue to face a number of challenges as they move  toward the implementation of NextGen systems and procedures, including  assessing FAA’s technical and contract management expertise, sustaining  the current air traffic control system, identifying which entities will handle  necessary research and development, addressing JPDO’s leadership  challenges, conducting human factors research, and ensuring the  involvement of all key stakeholders. In November 2006, we recommended that FAA examine its strengths and  weaknesses with regard to the technical expertise and contract  management expertise that will be required to define, implement, and  integrate the numerous complex programs inherent in the transition to  NextGen. JPDO believes the total federal cost for NextGen infrastructure through  2025 will range between $15 billion and $22 billion. While FAA and JPDO have begun to release estimates for FAA’s NextGen  investment portfolio, questions remain over which entities will fund and  conduct some of the necessary research, development, and demonstration  projects that will be key to achieving certain NextGen capabilities. JPDO Faces A Continuing Challenge in Ensuring the Involvement of All Key Stakeholders

Some stakeholders, such as current air traffic controllers and technicians,  will play critical roles in NextGen, and their involvement in planning for  and deploying the new technology will be important to the success of  NextGen. The Next Generation Air Transportation System Institute (the Institute)  was created by an agreement between the National Center for Advanced  Technologies and the Federal Aviation Administration to meet Vision  100’s requirement that JPDO coordinate and consult with the public. 3).
Why GAO Did This Study

The nation's current air traffic control system is reaching its capacity limits as demand for air transportation grows. The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) represents a new system that will use state-of-the-art technologies and procedures. Transitioning to NextGen will require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to continue to sustain the current air traffic control system while acquiring new systems on schedule and on budget. In 2003, Congress authorized the creation of the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), housed within FAA, to plan NextGen and coordinate the transition. GAO's testimony focuses on the progress FAA is making in implementing businesslike operations that could provide a foundation for managing the transition to NextGen, the status of JPDO's planning and facilitation of NextGen, and some key challenges that FAA and JPDO need to address in moving toward NextGen. This statement is based on GAO's November 2006 report and recent testimonies as well as ongoing work. GAO's November report recommended that FAA study its technical and contract management expertise and that JPDO take actions to institutionalize its collaborative practices. FAA and JPDO said they would consider our recommendations.

What GAO Found

During the last few years, FAA has made significant progress in implementing businesslike operations and procedures for managing and acquiring air traffic control systems. These operations and procedures have improved FAA's management of the current system and should better position the agency to manage the enormously complex transition to NextGen. One outcome of these changes is that FAA has reported exceeding its system acquisition goals for the past 3 fiscal years. However, further work remains to fully address past problems in acquiring systems and institutionalizing changes throughout the agency. JPDO has continued to make progress in furthering its key planning documents. JPDO has experienced delays in the release of key documents, but currently plans to have initial versions of these documents released by July 2007. JPDO has been working since 2005 to establish a memorandum of understanding between its partner agencies, although as of May 4, 2007, the memorandum had been signed by the Departments of Transportation and Commerce and NASA, but was not yet signed by the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. JPDO is also working with the Office of Management and Budget to establish mechanisms to identify NextGen-related projects across the partner agencies and consider NextGen as a unified, cross-agency program for funding decisions. FAA and JPDO continue to face a number of challenges in moving toward NextGen, including questions about FAA's technical and contract management expertise; FAA's ability to maintain a number of existing systems, including monitoring and addressing equipment outages to ensure the safety of these existing systems as it transitions to NextGen; and conducting necessary human factors research. In addition, while JPDO recently estimated that the total federal cost for NextGen infrastructure through 2025 will range between $15 billion and $22 billion, questions remain about which entities will fund and conduct the necessary research, development, and demonstration projects that will be key to achieving certain NextGen capabilities. Also, JPDO faces a continuing challenge in ensuring the involvement of all key stakeholders, such as active air traffic controllers and system technicians, in its NextGen planning efforts.