Streamlining Government: Key Practices from Select Efficiency Initiatives Should Be Shared Governmentwide

Abstract

Given continuing budget pressures combined with the focus on performance envisioned in the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, federal agencies need to identify ways to operate more efficiently. GAO was asked to (1) describe selected initiatives that federal departments are implementing to achieve efficiencies; and (2) identify key practices associated with implementing these initiatives, as well as selected state initiatives, that can be applied more broadly in the federal government. GAO reviewed agency documents and interviewed officials from the Departments of Homeland Security (DHS), Veterans Affairs (VA), Defense (DOD), and Housing and Urban Development (HUD), as well as officials from five states- Virginia, Iowa, Texas, Washington, and Georgia. GAO recommends that OMB share the key practices for implementing efficiency initiatives identified in this report, and develop proposals for funding mechanisms to support upfront investment costs of longer-term efficiency projects that could result in greater cost savings or other efficiencies in the future. OMB staff stated that the report does not give sufficient weight to its sharing of information consistent with the key practices GAO has identified. While the report recognizes a number of OMBs initiatives, GAO is unaware of the extent of OMBs efforts to share the practices identified in this report. DHS,DOD, VA and HUD had no comments on the recommendations.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2011
Accession Number
AD1176451

Entities

People

  • Amy C Friedlander
  • Andrew C Moore
  • Bernice Steinhardt
  • Brendan Kretzchmar
  • Crystal Robinson
  • Gabrielle A. Carrington
  • J. Christopher Mihm
  • James A. Reynolds
  • Jennifer C Madison
  • Latesha A Love
  • Marquita N Campbell
  • Sarah E. Veale
  • Sharon L. Pickup
  • Shvetal Khanna
  • Teakoe S. Coleman
  • Veronica O Mayhand

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Cyber
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Best Practices
  • Business Administration
  • Cloud Computing
  • Employment
  • Financial Management
  • Governments
  • Homeland Security
  • Law
  • Lessons Learned
  • Management Personnel
  • Money
  • National Governments
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Social Media
  • State Governments
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Government and Public Administration Law.