Expanding Electronic Government: Bringing Services to the People

In his February 2002 budget submission to Congress, President Bush outlined the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) for making government more focused on citizens and results.  One of the top five initiatives in the PMA was to expand Electronic Government – or e-Government (e-Gov).

 

The goal of expanding e-Gov is to harness Internet-based technology to make it easier for citizens and businesses to interact with the government, save taxpayer dollars, and streamline citizen-to-government communications.

 

Several high-payoff, government-wide initiatives have been identified to integrate agency operations and information technology investments.  The goal of these initiatives is to eliminate redundant systems and significantly improve the government’s quality of customer service for citizens and businesses.

 

E-Gov is not just putting forms online.  E-Gov is about using technology to its fullest to provide services and information that is centered around citizen groups.  If the U.S. government could harness the power of technology, it would meet the expectations of an increasingly wired citizenry.

 

 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Federal agencies identified 24 e-Gov Initiatives.  Operated and supported by agencies, these initiatives provided solutions for tax filing, federal rulemaking, and e-training, among others.

 

The 24 initiatives are divided among four key portfolios: Government to Citizen, Government to Business, Government to Government, and Internal Efficiency and Effectiveness.  Samples of some of the e-Gov initiatives include:

 

 

Disaster Management has helped citizens and members of the emergency management community at the local, tribal, state, and Federal levels by improving public safety response through more effective and efficient interoperable data communications and has served as a unified point of access to disaster preparedness, mitigation, and response and recovery information.

 

There are 60,000 law enforcement, fire and emergency medical service (EMS) agencies nationwide.

 

 

E-Rulemaking has allowed citizens to easily access and participate in the rulemaking process.  One hundred percent of all regulations have been posted for searching, downloading, and commenting.

 

 

Grants.gov created a single portal for all Federal grant customers to find and apply for grants online, with over 1,000 grant programs offered by all Federal grant-making agencies.

 

 

The IRS’s Free File program has allowed eligible taxpayers to prepare and electronically file their tax returns over the Internet using commercial software for free.  About 70 percent of all filers, or nearly 95 million Americans (those with an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $52,000 or less) were eligible for Free File in the 2007 filing season.

 

 

The Recreation One-Stop initiative has made it easier for citizens to plan a vacation (or a brief recreational break during a business trip), and make a reservation for a campsite, cabin, or tour at Federal recreation sites.  The audience includes all U.S. citizens plus potential tourists (>300 million), as well as recreational data sharing partners including 11 Federal agencies, 50 states, and assorted travel providers.

 

The performance of e-Gov initiatives is monitored and measured as part of the President’s Management Agenda.  The initiatives are rated on the following metrics:

 

Adoption/Participation – The degree to which the relevant community (agencies, bureaus, other organizations) participates in the initiative.  Participation is demonstrated by contribution of information and involvement in governance.

 

Cost Savings/Avoidance – The degree to which the initiative results in cost savings, cost avoidance, and reduction in burden from both a government and citizenry perspective.

 

Customer Satisfaction – Measures end user satisfaction with the initiative’s products or services.

 

Efficiency – The degree to which the initiative results in process improvements, such as a decrease in time or an increase in productivity.

 

Usage – The level of use by the targeted end users.