A major element of the President’s management agenda was establishment  of the Quicksilver Task Force, which was charged with identifying  (1) systematic barriers that had blocked the deployment of e-government  advances and (2) electronic government projects that could deliver  significant productivity and performance gains across government. The selected initiatives would achieve  their results by simplifying and unifying agency work processes and  information flows, providing one-stop services to citizens, and enabling  information to be collected on line once and reused, rather than being  collected many times. The initiatives are aimed at providing a wide variety of services. Recreation One-Stop is one such example, a Web portal for a  single point of access to information about parks and other recreation  venues at the federal, state, and local levels. Other initiatives strive for more  ambitious services that may not necessarily rely on the Internet for  delivery. The e-Payroll initiative is intended to consolidate the  federal government’s many incompatible payroll systems into just two that  would service all government employees. Government to government. When we reviewed project-planning documentation  collected by OMB from each of the initiatives, we found indications that  important aspects of some of the initiatives had not been addressed and  that, for many of them, funding strategies and milestones were in a state of  flux. The task force reviewed the mini business cases and the final  selections were made in October. Collaboration across agencies and other organizations is likewise a key  component of most of the initiatives, and therefore a discussion of  strategies for collaboration is essential to a complete e-government  business case. Spring 2002 Project Plans Revealed Cost and Schedule Uncertainties

OMB required the managing partners of the e-government initiatives to  prepare and submit work plans and funding plans in May 2002. However, other best practice elements  were not included in some of the plans. The updated  information we obtained from project managers in September 2002 on  estimated costs revealed significant changes—changes of more than 30  percent—for about half of the initiatives. These updated business cases should provide not only  indications of whether key topics such as collaboration and customer  focus are now being addressed, but also updated cost and schedule  information. In summary, e-government offers many opportunities to better serve the  public, make government more efficient and effective, and reduce costs. However, our review of the initial  planning documents associated with the projects led us to conclude that  important aspects—such as collaboration and customer focus—had not  been thought out for all the projects, and major uncertainties in funding  and milestones were not uncommon. Electronic Government— General

Electronic Government: Selection and Implementation of the Office of  Management and Budget’s 24 Initiatives.
Why GAO Did This Study

A key element of the President's Management Agenda is the expansion of electronic government (e-government) to enhance access to information and services, particularly through the Internet. In response, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established a task force that selected a strategic set of initiatives to lead this expansion. GAO previously reviewed the completeness of the information used for choosing and overseeing these initiatives, including business cases and funding plans.

What GAO Found

E-government offers many opportunities to better serve the public, make government more efficient and effective, and reduce costs. To achieve these goals, the 25 e-government initiatives selected by OMB's Quicksilver task force focus on a wide variety of services, aiming to simplify and unify agency work processes and information flows, provide one-stop services to citizens, and enable information to be collected on line once and reused, rather than being collected many times. For example, Recreation One-Stop is a Web portal for a single point of access to information about parks and other federal, state, and local recreation areas. Other initiatives are being pursued that do not necessarily rely on the Internet, such as the e-Payroll initiative to consolidate federal payroll systems. GAO's review of the initial planning documents for the initiatives highlights the critical importance of management and oversight to their success. Important aspects--such as collaboration and customer focus--had not been addressed in early program plans for many of the projects, and major GAO's review of the initial planning documents for the initiatives highlights the critical importance of management and oversight to their success. Important aspects--such as collaboration and customer focus--had not been addressed in early program plans for many of the projects, and major uncertainties in funding and milestones were not uncommon. As shown by GAO's comparison of the content of the initiatives' business cases with best practices, all the business cases included key information, but many elements were missing. In particular, fewer than half addressed collaboration and customer focus, despite the importance of these topics to e-government strategy and goals. Similarly, the accuracy of estimated costs in the funding plans was questionable: between May and September 2002, these estimates for 12 of the initiatives changed significantly--by more than 30 percent. Accurate cost, schedule, and performance information is essential to ensure that projects are on schedule and achieve their goals.