IT Reform at the National Archives and Records Administration
Posted By Michael Wash
Here at the National Archives and Records Administration, we have never been more excited about the role that information technology is playing in organizing, storing, governing, and providing access to our Nation’s records. We have been working hard to carry out the 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal IT Management. I want to share some of our accomplishments to date at NARA as we reach the 6 month mark in the IT reform process.
OMB’s TechStat process was instrumental in helping us assess and plan a successful path forward for the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) program that will allow us to conclude development at the end of this fiscal year and to focus on the challenges of implementing this complex investment, which involves stakeholders from across the entire Federal Government. As a result of the TechStat sessions and the efforts of the ERA team, system development has been accelerated by six months and life cycle costs reduced considerably. We also improved governance of the project by updating the required documentation for executive-level review and decisions.
The “Cloud First” initiative has been a focus for NARA. We are developing a cloud email pilot and using a hosted/cloud-based solution to streamline our Security Clearance Tracking System. We are also moving to a hosted/cloud solution in order to concurrently manage and track cases for mediation of FOIA cases as well as provide a public web portal to communicate to and educate the public on matters related to FOIA and FOIA disputes. This new web portal will support online submission of service requests as well as status of requests – something that is not available currently. With more than 500 cases expected in Fiscal Year 2011, NARA is expecting that the self-help portal will help solve 10-15% of FOIA requests before they are even made and reduce overall case time from 25 days to 15 days, a substantial reduction in turnaround time that will directly benefit our users – the American people.
Moving forward past the 6-month mark in the IT reform process, I am very confident that we will find more opportunities to better serve our customers, improve access to information, and maximize the value of our investments and IT budget. I look forward to the opportunity to collaborate further with my colleagues across the Federal Government.
Michael Wash is the Chief Information Officer at the National Archives and Records Administration.
