“The game plan for eGovernment, here at the Department, is to make USDA electronically available any place, any time.”

Chris Niedermayer was describing the vision behind USDA’s efforts to incorporate “eGovernment” into virtually all aspects of its operations. Niedermayer, associate chief information officer for eGovernment within the Office of the Chief Information Officer, is the Department’s eGovernment executive.

He explained that “eGovernment,” or “eGov,” is defined as the exchange of products, information, and services through an electronic medium. Examples of such ‘electronic media’ are the Internet, e-mail, ‘call centers’ such as USDA’s toll-free hotlines which offer assistance to the public, and handheld wireless portable devices such as ‘Palm Pilots.’

Last year USDA developed and then published its own “eGovernment strategic plan.” Dated June 2002 and titled “eGovernment Strategic Plan, FY 2002-FY 2006,” the plan’s purpose was to “establish a comprehensive vision and direction for the Department and its agencies for the use of electronic commerce for the next five years.” The 66-page plan--which built upon presidential initiatives promoting eGov efforts governmentwide--highlighted such areas of emphasis as:

• incorporating eGovernment into USDA and agency annual performance planning, business operations, and budgeting,
• building on USDA’s current eGovernment capabilities and efforts,
• sharing USDA’s best practices, in business and information technology, with partners both internal and external to the Department, and
• avoiding redundancy and duplication--known in eGov parlance as “stovepiping”--and saving money as well, by collaborating on eGovernment initiatives across USDA agencies and with other federal departments.

Niedermayer pointed out that USDA’s eGov efforts are focused on three general audiences: USDA’s customers, USDA’s partners in public and private sector organizations, and USDA’s employees.

First, eGov efforts at USDA--which focus on USDA’s customers--are designed to improve customers’ knowledge of, and access to, USDA--in order to enhance the delivery of USDA information and services. Examples include “eLoans,” which allow customers to apply for, obtain, and manage USDA loans via the Internet; “eRulemaking,” in which members of the public can offer their comments online concerning proposed rules and regulations authored by USDA agencies; and “eEligibility,” which provides electronic “one-stop shopping”--across all USDA agencies--to help a customer determine the USDA programs or services for which he/she is eligible.

“These examples of eGov allow USDA’s customers to perform these transactions 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” added Bob Bonnet, a branch chief in the Farm Service Agency’s farm loan programs area.

Second, USDA’s eGov efforts--which focus on the Department’s partners in public and private sector organizations--are designed to enhance collaboration between USDA and those organizations. Examples include “grants.gov” or “eGrants,” which are designed to provide a centralized web-based access to organizations--such as rural businesses, state/local governments, and universities--so they can more easily access, apply for, and manage their USDA grants; and “ePermits and eCertificates,” which provide electronic options for the issuance of permits, certificates, and other regulation-based verifications to USDA’s customers and partners.

“These examples of eGov allow the public and private sector organizations to be more efficient and act in a more timely fashion,” added Bob MacDonald, the information technology policy leader for the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

Finally, USDA’s eGov efforts--which focus on its employees--are designed to improve internal efficiency by promoting Departmentwide, or ‘enterprise-wide,’ solutions. Examples include “eAuthentication,” in which employees, customers, and/or public/private sector partners rely on privacy-protected user authentications in order to transact business within the Department; “human resources online,” in which employees manage human resource-related issues online--and assist in human resource planning and administration--through a common web-based tool; and “eLearning,” in which employees can register for training courses and track their progress in completing curricula online--while, at the same time, trainers and managers can track the progress of those efforts online.

“These examples of eGov allow USDA’s employees to, instead, focus more of their work day on ‘value-added activities’ in support of the Department’s mission,” added Janet Osorio, website project manager with the Risk Management Agency.

Osorio pointed out that more examples of eGov at USDA can be found at the Department’s eGov web site, http://www.egov.usda.gov

Niedermayer noted that USDA employees expressed some general sentiments regarding eGov at the Department in a December 2001 survey conducted by OCIO. According to Niedermayer that survey--which was administered via e-mail and the World Wide Web--offered the following picture:

• 47 percent of USDA employees responding to the survey use agency IntrAnet sites in their work,
• 53 percent of those employees who responded use the Internet for business purposes,
• 76 percent of USDA’s responders would like to telecommute,
• 93 percent of the responders feel comfortable using technology and the Internet to complete business tasks,
• 60 percent of the USDA employees responding to the survey either do not receive enough information electronically or do not receive appropriate information electronically, and
• employees who responded are generally aware of the eGovernment tools available for their use. But less than half of those surveyed who responded were aware of USDA eGovernment applications for customers or for public and private organizations.

Niedermayer said that USDA’s eGovernment initiatives are approved to move forward as part of the Department’s budget and planning process. Its eGov program is working with agency and staff office leadership and cross-agency teams as it implements those initiatives.

“We’ll continue our collaborative eGovernment activities with our agencies and staff offices,” Niedermayer affirmed. “This is quite an opportunity to accomplish a great deal for USDA’s customers, partners, and employees.” •