Dissemination of government information. Government Printing and Dissemination Changes Are Forcing GPO’s Transformation

As in private industry, printing and dissemination in the federal government  are being heavily affected by the changing technological environment. In addition, federal agencies  are publishing more items directly to the Web—without creating paper  documents at all—and are able to print and disseminate information  without using GPO services. Similarly, individuals are downloading  documents from government Web sites, such as GPO Access, rather than  purchasing paper copies of government documents, thus reducing  document sales. 2.) To assist in that process, our expert  panel developed a series of options for GPO to consider in its planning. Briefly, the panel suggested that GPO   develop a business plan to focus its mission on information  dissemination as its primary goal, rather than printing;  demonstrate to its customers—including agencies and the public—the  value it can provide;  improve and extend partnerships with agencies to help establish itself  as an information disseminator; and  ensure that its internal operations—including technology, how it  conducts business with its customers, management information  systems, and training—are adequate for efficient and effective  management of core business functions and for service to its customers. Disseminating government information to the public. GPO has applied some key practices as part of its  transformation effort, such as involving top leadership and strategically  communicating with employees and other stakeholders. 4.) On April 28, 2004, the Public Printer made his most clear and direct  statement of his vision for GPO thus far, stating that GPO has “begun to  develop a new vision for the GPO: an agency whose primary mission will be  to capture digitally, organize, maintain, authenticate, distribute, and  provide permanent public access to the information products and services  of the federal government.” GPO’s strategic plan has the potential to unite  employees around the new mission and determine what they need to do to  help GPO transform and achieve success in the new environment. Focus on a key set of principles  and priorities at the outset of the  transformation. Dedicate an implementation team  to manage the transformation  process. Involve employees to obtain their  ideas and gain their ownership for  the transformation. GPO leadership has articulated a vision to transform GPO into a world- class organization and has taken some initial steps toward this objective,  most notably with respect to human capital management. However,  because significant change efforts are difficult and take a long time,  continued leadership attention is needed. GPO’s Human Capital Office is using our October  2003 report as GPO’s roadmap for transforming its human capital  management and is actively implementing the recommendations we made. This model allows an organization to effectively choose, monitor, and  evaluate projects. results. 1. 3. emphasize training on the usefulness and understanding of financial  information to nonfinancial managers who are critical to GPO’s business  operations;  ensure that planned GPO and CFO efforts and goals in redefining the  role of finance, providing information to decision makers, and building a  team that delivers results receive the full and consistent support of  GPO’s top management;  ensure that management is receiving the financial information needed to  manage day-to-day operations and track progress against  transformation goals; and  recognize the importance of financial management and reporting in  strategic plans for transformation. Change is not optional for GPO—it is required, and it is driven by declines  in GPO’s printing volumes, printing revenues, and document sales. One of these practices, related to ensuring  that top management drives the transformation, has already been fully  applied by GPO’s leadership.
Why GAO Did This Study

The transformation of the Government Printing Office (GPO) is under way. This report captures the results of our efforts over the past year to assess and help strengthen GPO's transformation and strategic planning efforts. It is the final part of GAO's response to both a mandate requiring GAO to examine the current state of printing and dissemination of public government information and a congressional request that we conduct a general management review of GPO focusing on that GPO's transformation and management.

What GAO Found

Federal government printing and dissemination are changing due to the underlying changes to the technological environment. The Public Printer and his leadership team understand the effects of this technological change on GPO and have begun an ambitious effort to transform GPO and reexamine its mission. Federal agencies are publishing more documents directly to the Web and are doing more of their printing and dissemination of information without using GPO services. At the same time, the public is obtaining government information from government Web sites such as GPO Access rather than purchasing paper copies. As a result, GPO has seen declines in its printing volumes, printing revenues, and document sales. To assist in the transformation process under way at GPO, GAO convened a panel of printing and information dissemination experts, who developed a series of options for GPO to consider in its strategic planning. The panel suggested that GPO (1) develop a business plan to focus its mission on information dissemination as its primary goal, rather than printing; (2) demonstrate to its customers the value it can provide; (3) improve and extend partnerships with agencies to help establish itself as an information disseminator; and (4) ensure that its internal operations are adequate for efficient and effective management of core business functions and for service to its customers. GPO can also use other key practices that GAO identified to help agencies successfully transform, such as involving employees to obtain their ideas and gain their ownership for the transformation. GPO fully applied one of these practices, related to ensuring that top management drives the transformation, and has partially implemented each of the remaining eight practices. To fully implement the remaining practices, GPO needs to take actions including establishing its mission and strategic goals and developing a documented plan for its transformation. GPO has taken some initial steps to adopt the best practices of other public and private sector organizations, most notably with respect to human capital management. GPO is actively implementing the recommendations GAO made in October 2003. For example, GPO reorganized the human capital office into customer-focused teams devoted to meeting the human capital needs of GPO's operating units. Continued leadership attention is needed to build on the initial progress made in information technology and financial management. For example, GPO should implement an information technology investment management process to help management choose, monitor, and evaluate projects, and GPO should train its line managers to effectively use financial data.