Government Information Quarterly
Volume 13, Number 1, 1996
Disintermediation and the Internet
Robert Gellman
.................................................... 1
SYMPOSIUM on
The Role of Information Technology
in the Federal Government
Policies, Strategies, and Issues
Edited by
Charles R. McClure and Stephen H. Holden
Introduction
Charles R. McClure and Stephen H. Holden ............................
11
Managing Federal Information Technology:
Conflicting Policies and Competing Philosophies
John C. Beachboard and Charles R. McClure ........................... 15
The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995: A Second Chance
for Information Resources Management
David Plocher
.................................................... 35
Information Management in Federal Agencies:
The Neglected Piece of the IRM Puzzle
Katie Lewin and J.
Timothy Sprehe ................................... 51
Managing Information Technology in the Federal
Government:
Assessing the Development and Application of Agency-wide Policies
Stephen H. Holden
................................................ 65
Strategic Information Resources Management: Fundamental
Practices
Sharon L. Caudle
.................................................. 83
Contributors .......................................................... 99
REVIEWS
Agenda for Access: Public Access to Federal Information
for Sustainability through the Information Superhighway,
prepared by the Bauman Foundation
Reviewed by Larry Schankman ..................................... 101
Cataloging Government Publications Online,
edited by Carolyn C. Sherayko
Reviewed by Bert Chapman ........................................ 103
Diary of a Dream: A History of the National Archives
Independence Movement, 1980-1985, by Robert M. Warner
Reviewed by Norman D. Stevens ................................... 103
Electronic Contracting, Publishing, and EDI Law,
by Michael S. Baum and Henry H. Perritt Jr.
Reviewed by Ronald J Palenksi ...................................... 104
50 Ways to Fight Censorship & Important Facts to Know
about the Censors, by Dave Marsh
Reviewed by Susan M. Ryan ........................................ 105
Government CD-ROMS: A Practical Guide to Searching
Electronic Documents Databases, edited by John Maxymuk
Reviewed by Maurie Caitlin Kelly ..................... .............. 106
Knowledge-Based Systems for General Reference Work:
Applications, Problems, and Progress, by John V. Richardson, Jr.
Reviewed by Peter Hernon ........................................ 107
John C. Beachboard
Charles R. McClure
Despite congressional initiatives and the Clinton administration's increased attention to information technology (IT) mangement policy, as part of its reinventing government and National Information Infrastructure (NII) initiatives, it is not evident that current IT policy initiatives will effectively address IT management poblems. Nor is it evident that these efforts will result in the IT management improvements required to improve significantly Federal agency performance. This may be true because the government fails to recognize fundamental conflicts in the conceptualization of Federal IT management-- conflicts perhaps best exemplified by the National Performance Review's (NPR) simultaneous call for reductions in bureaucratic red tape, reductions in the Federal workforce, limited support for IT education and training, and improved integration and oversight of IT management. After identifying some representative issues related to these program initiatives, the authors offer recommendations to improve Federal management of IT.
David Plocher
The continuing transformation of our society by information technology presents many opportunities to improve government operations and services. Unfortunately, significant management improvements are required for Federal agencies to take advantage of those opportunities and to avoid wasting billions of taxpayer dollars. Enactment of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (P.L. 104-13) represents congressional endosement of a revised approach to information resources management (IRM). The question is whether agencies will be able to discipline themselves to manage their information resources to improve program performance as required by the Act--and as increasingly demanded by Congress, the President, and the public. This article reviews the origins of IRM in the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, the Act's implementation and its 1995 reauthorization of appropriations, and current challenges confronting IRM.
Katie Lewin
J. Timothy Sprehe
In an attempt to highlight the importance of managing information as a corporate resource, this article presents several examples of recent attempts by Federal agencies to cope with information management issues. These examples include the Department of Defense's Corporate Information Management (CIM) program, the Federal Aviation Administration's Operational Data Management System (ODMS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Aspects of these information management activities are highlighted that demonstrate differential agency responses to system development needs and requirements.
Stephen H. Holden
Growing interest in Federal agencies' management of information technology (IT) has prompted an cxamination of possible causes for problems in managing information technology. Members of both the Executive and Legislative Branches believe the problems result from ineffective OMB policies. Recent research shows, though, that agency management problems have resulted, in part, from the ineffectual application of OMB policy by agencies. This article examines what factors support or impede agency application and enforcement of IT management policy.
Sharon L. Caudle
How can we best manage our information resources? In these days of shrinking government budgets, increased workloads, and demands for better service, government managers no longer pose this question rhetorically. This article highlights six fundamental information resources management practices in successful organizations that can improve government service delivery performance.
John C. Beachboard is a doctoral student and research associate at the School of Information Studies, Syracuse University. In collaboration with Charles R. McClure and John Carlo Bertot, he has recently completed research on a National Science Foundation grant that resulted in the report Internet Costs and Cost Models for Public Libraries. Prior to beginning his graduate work in information management, Beachboard had 15 years' experience in government and industry, designing and implementing large-scale telecommunications and information systems. He received an MS in Business Administration from Boston University and completed an MS in Information Resources Management at Syracuse University.
Sharon Caudle is a senior analyst with the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO), specializing in strategic information technology management, performance management and measurement, and reengineering. Widely published, she has led major research studies with GAO, the National Academy of Public Administration, and Syracuse University. She earned her Master's and Ph.D. degrees in public management from the George Washington University.
Robert Gellman served as counsel to the House of Representatives' Subcommittee on Information, Justice, Transportation and Agriculture from 1977 to 1994. He is now a Privacy and Information Policy Consultant.
Stephen H. Holden served as senior policy analyst in the Information Technology Management Branch, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), at the time of the research resulting in this article. OMB sponsored this research as part of its efforts to revise its government- wide policy for managing information technology.
Katie Lewin is a senior professional staff member at SRA Corporation. She has 20 years of experience in information resources management (IRM) in the Federal government. She has provided senior technical support for the reengineering of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) information management functions and assisted the Departments of Labor and Commerce in developing IRM architectures. Formerly, she held positions in IRM at the General Services Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Office of Management and Budget. She holds a Master's degree in library and information science from Rosary College.
Charles R. McClure is Distinguished Professor at the School of Information Studies, SyracuseUniversity, where he teaches courses in U.S. government information management and policies, information resources management, library/information center management, and planning and evaluation of information services. He completed his doctorate in library and information services at Rutgers University. He has authored numerous monographs and articles, reports, and chapters on topics related to library and information center planning, evaluation, management, information resources management, networking, and government information. He is the associate editor of Government Information Quarterly and was the founding editor of the joumal Internet Research: Electronic Networking Applications and Policy. His latest book is Libraries and the Internet/NREN: Perspectives, Issues, and Challenges (Meckler, 1994).
David Plocher is a Democratic Counsel to the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs. He was the primary staff person working on the reauthorization of the Paperwork Reduction Act for then-chairman and currently ranking minority member, Senator John Glenn (D-OH). Before joining the committee staff in 1990, he was Counsel to OMB Watch, a non-profit public interest organization.
J. Timothy Sprehe is president of Sprehe Information Management Associates. His firm offers consulting in the Federal marketplace on information issues. Now retired from the Office of Management and Budget, he was the principal author of the 1985 government-wide information policy directive, OMB Circular No. A-130, "Management of Federal Information Resources." He writes frequently in the field of Federal information policy, including a regular column for Federal Computer Week, a newspaper specializing in the Federal information technology market. He holds a doctorate in sociology from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
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