Twenty five years ago, Martha Dorris came to work in government as a GS-4 clerk typist. Today, she is GSA's deputy associate administrator in charge of the Office of Citizen Services. She is responsible for the federal government's gateway to official government information. Building on both tried-and-true communications tools and new technologies, this gateway now includes USA.gov (the web portal), the National Contact Center at 1 (800) FED INFO, and the well-known publication distribution center in Pueblo, Colorado.

A two-time "Fed 100" winner, Dorris has been a leader in the intergovernmental IT community since co-founding the GSA Office of Intergovernmental Solutions in 1996. That group, now the USA Services Intergovernmental Solutions division, reports to her in the Office of Citizen Services and (full disclosure) publishes The DotGov Buzz. Its mission was—and still is—to bring together top IT officials from different countries, cities, states, and federal agencies to share information, insights, ideas, and best practices. When the office was created, the concept of intergovernmental management was nearly unheard of, and the benefits of collaboration across government lines were unexplored. But she understood early on the value of relationships that can help governments learn from each other. It's a concept that's now gaining global recognition.

Over the years, Martha Dorris has risen in the intergovernmental IT world and, beginning this month, will head the premier organization for IT in the U.S. government, the American Council for Technology (ACT). In October, she will stand unopposed for election as head of the corresponding International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration (ICA). These positions are in addition to her "day" job at GSA.

It's appropriate that someone so steeped in information technology should lead the Office of Citizen Services. Her vision for intergovernmental management is that federal, state, and local governments, as well as others, should work together routinely to provide efficient and effective service to citizens every day.

In 2002, when the GSA Office of Communications was expanded to create the GSA Office of Citizen Services and Communications, the Office of Intergovernmental Solutions was incorporated in the new organization as part of the Office of Citizen Services. It was positioned to take on a significant role as a major player in the Presidential E-Government Initiatives, chiefly as manager of USA Services, the citizen-focused E-Gov Initiative—the umbrella for most of GSA's citizen-centered activities.

GSA and USA Services were severely put to the test in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Dorris leveraged GSA's experience with its National Contact Center to establish emergency centers to respond to the thousands of desperate callers seeking information about friends, family, donations, and government assistance.

From September to Thanksgiving of that year, the emergency contact centers worked around the clock routing1.5 million calls and e-mails to trained representatives at six locations. Information collected through 1-800 FED INFO was also channeled through a GSA-managed network to web managers across the government, who made it available on their websites.

Since Hurricane Katrina, the Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract established by GSA's Office of Citizen Services has been used numerous times by other government agencies to create emergency contact centers. In one notable example, the Department of Veterans Affairs, after only a weekend, was able to begin handling a huge influx of inquiries related to the theft of a laptop containing personal information on 26.5 million veterans.

Another major milestone was reached in May 2006, with the first meeting of the 5-Nations CIO Council in Austin, TX. The CIOs of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand meet quarterly for a two-hour discussion of issues that are relevant for all or most of them. GSA's Citizen Services Office has convened two face-to-face Council meetings, but, for the most part, the group holds "virtual" meetings using video or telephone conferences.

Commenting on an idea she had been promoting for years, Dorris said, "When it finally came together it felt amazing. CIOs of advanced countries can establish relationships" and share ideas that directly apply to them as IT leaders at a national level. "The greatest value is knowing each other and being able to reach out to discuss common issues or problems whenever the need arises."

Looking ahead, Dorris believes the biggest IT issues confronting government in the future will be in the areas of security, privacy, and government interoperability. The role of agency CIOs will continue to grow. They will be tasked to work collaboratively with other government organizations to produce enterprise solutions that can be more widely deployed across a number of government organizations.

Still, the overriding need will be for governments to continuously improve their service to citizens and to ensure that the public needs for fast and accurate official information are met. For her part, this one-time high school cheerleader will use all the tools available to get the word out. She will use edgy, annual television, radio and print public service campaigns generated by the Federal Citizen Information Center and capitalize on its close relationship with Parade magazine, "Dear Abby," and "Hints from Heloise." She will tout the wealth of government information available on USA.gov, its reputation as a website we can't live without, and the many other ways the American public can access government information.

With lots of energy, a consistently upbeat attitude, and a ready smile, Martha Dorris can also be persistent and insistent about promoting the groundbreaking work GSA is doing to make government more responsive to the citizens it serves. She even changed the license plates on her Subaru to read "USA.gov." (She's not sporting a "USA.gov" tattoo—yet.)

Even while achieving ever greater success in her career and professional life, the biggest highlight of her year was daughter Alex's graduation from high school. The graduation party she threw lit up the Virginia countryside. True to form, she'd been planning it for the past 18 years.

USA.gov, the U.S. government's official web portal, made Time's 2007 list of "25 Sites We Can't Live Without," which was posted online June 25.

The list of websites highlights USA.gov for its ease in directing users to the information they need by linking to "every branch, agency and organization involved in federal business, plus reports, guides, reference materials and other resources."

Also mentioned was FedStats.gov, a 10-year-old site that gives citizens access to statistics from more than 100 federal agencies.

Other websites that made Time's list included: Amazon.com, Google.com, NationalGeographic.com, and Wikipedia.org.

USA.gov was also ranked number one on About.com's Top 20 Essential U.S. Government Websites. The GSA Federal Citizen Information Center's website at www.pueblo.gsa.gov was ranked fifth.

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) urges state CIOs to engage in disaster recovery planning, execution, and testing to reduce the risk of system and service unavailability.

IT Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Tool-kit: Planning for the Next Disaster includes checklists to use before, during, and after a disaster and brainstorming worksheets to help cope with an IT crisis and help make the business case for disaster recovery and business continuity activities.

The six checklists are:

• Strategic and Business Planning Responsibilities
• Top Steps States Need to Take to Solidify Public/Private Partnerships Ahead of Crises
• How do you make the Business Case on the Need for Redundancy?
• General IT Infrastructure and Services
• Tactical Role of CIOs for Recovery During a Disaster
• Tactical Role of CIOs for Recovery After a Disaster Occurs

In another report, NASCIO recommends ways for CIOs and Enterprise Architects to be more engaged in electronic records management and digital preservation. These include taking the lead to:

• Understand the legal framework, institutional roles, responsibilities, authorities, and existing services for managing electronic records
• Champion digital capabilities for enterprise knowledge asset management and digital preservation
• Develop collaborative relationships with records management, archiving, library services, and digital preservation functions
• Establish the CIO office as the lead discipline for managing knowledge assets
• Establish standards for project and capital investment proposals
• Establish goals, objectives, and strategies for managing knowledge assets and leveraging national initiatives for digital preservation
• Maintain a healthy skepticism toward these initiatives
• Develop a global perspective across the enterprise relative to global sourcing

The Office of Management and Budget with the Department of Homeland Security released Common Risks Impeding the Adequate Protection of Government Information to help federal agencies improve their security and privacy programs. It outlines 10 common risks that prevent federal agencies from effectively protecting government information and provides best practices and resources to help agencies improve their security and privacy programs.

OMB and DHS address ways to avoid the following 10 common mistakes:

• Security and privacy training is inadequate and poorly aligned with the roles and responsibilities of employees.
• Interagency contracts and those operating on behalf of agencies don't describe adequate procedures for processing and safeguarding information.
• Information inventories inaccurately describe the types and uses of information and where it is stored, processed, or transmitted.
• Information isn't appropriately scheduled, archived, or destroyed.
• Suspicious incidents aren't reported in a timely manner.
• Audit trails aren't appropriately created or reviewed.
• Physical security controls where information is collected, created, processed, or maintained are inadequate.
• Information security controls are inadequate.
• Information accessed or processed remotely is inadequately protected.
• Appropriate security and privacy standards and guidelines aren't incorporated into acquired IT security products.

The CIO University, a Federal CIO Council program in partnership with the University of Maryland University College (UMUC), will begin offering an Executive CIO Certificate program "entirely online" this fall.

The online program was designed for those who are or want to become CIOs, CTOs, Senior IT staff members and planners, and IT consultants. The online environment offers a flexible schedule for senior-level IT personnel.

The program can be completed in one year by taking four six-credit courses. The cost is $876 per credit, which includes book costs.

Graduates will receive a CIO Certificate from UMUC and a Certificate in Federal Executive Competencies.

During Fiscal Year 2007, 19 of 24 assessed agencies' Enterprise Architecture programs received a "green/satisfactory" rating, according to OMB's Results of FY 2007 Federal Enterprise Architecture Assessment. One agency was rated "yellow," and four were rated "red."

The six highest-scoring, "green-rated" agencies were the Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, and Veterans Affairs, as well as the National Science Foundation.

In 2007, it became more difficult to obtain a "green" rating than in 2006, as agencies had to earn in the major assessment categories an average score of 4.0 in "Completion" (up from a 3.0 in 2006), a 3.0 in "Use," and a 3.0 in "Results." And two new requirements were added: completion of a segment architecture and achievement of IT costs savings/avoidance.

The categories with the highest average score among all agencies were Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) Planning ("Results") and Business Architecture ("Completion"), while the two with the lowest average score were Transition Strategy Performance ("Results") and Cost Savings and Cost Avoidance ("Results").

The GSA Office of Citizen Services and Communications provides the Federal/State Issues Alert series on emerging issues for quick reference by busy managers.

The demand for government to provide services electronically, with greater confidence in privacy, security and trusted identification, is a nationwide priority and requires collaboration between the public and private sectors. Originally launched in 2002 as part of the President's Management Agenda, the E-Authentication Initiative helps Federal agencies mitigate the security and privacy risks associated with electronic government and control the costs to government of authenticating large numbers of users. The E-Authentication solution provides a means for citizens, businesses, state and local, tribal and other governments to securely identify themselves when accessing federal government online applications. It also allows agencies to accept trusted credentials (e.g., Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) certificates; user IDs/passwords) issued by other agencies and commercial organizations. This eliminates the need for each agency to create and maintain a separate credentialing system for each of their online applications, and provides a simpler and more secure mechanism for individuals accessing their sites.

The initiative was built upon E-Authentication Guidance for Federal Agencies issued by OMB in December 2003 and by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Special Publication 800-63 in April 2006. The OMB guidance established and defined four authentication assurance levels as government-wide policy. The updated NIST guideline covers remote authentication of users over open networks and defines technical requirements for each assurance level in the areas of identity proofing, registration, tokens, authentication protocols and related assertions.

The E-Authentication Initiative, now referred to as the E-Authentication Solution, is managed within the GSA Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) in its Integrated Technology Service's Strategic Solutions organization.

The E-Authentication Project Management Office (PMO) in FAS is transitioning from a mandate-driven to a market-driven fee-for-service business model in Q2 FY2008. The new business model service offerings will include:

• Credential services, including identity proofing, credential issuance, credential life-cycle management services, and value-added authentication services agencies need to authenticate users of their applications;
• Compliant identity management software products;
• Integration and technical support services, including all technical and ongoing operational support agencies need to integrate E-Authentication with their applications and infrastructure; and
• Managed validation and translation services to facilitate agency use of PKI certificates among applications requiring higher level of assurance of end user identity. The translation services allow "higher assurance" certificates to be used by lower assurance applications that do not currently support PKI;
• Membership in the E-Authentication Federation based on federated identity and privacy and security best practices, as defined in the Federation's Membership Document Suite.

Implementing an E-Authentication solution automatically enrolls an agency in the E-Authentication Federation, which was established by GSA in 2005 to implement a common infrastructure for E-Authentication. The Federation has developed unified business rules and processes for electronically authenticating the identity of users government-wide.

Possessing a federated identity enables a single user to login to a service provider site and click through to the website of a fellow federation member without having to re-authenticate or re-establish his or her identity. The authenticated user can access online information provided by multiple federation member organizations without having to establish new credentials.

Additional Information

• White Paper: Benefits of Federated Identity to Government, Liberty Alliance Papers, March 2004. (http://www.projectliberty.org/liberty/resource_center/papers)
• Information about the E-Authentication Solution is located at www.cio.gov/eauthentication.

Federal agencies reported having 90.6 million customer interactions per month through 6,500 points of contact, according to the USA Services E-Government Initiative.

In a report released July 2, Government-Wide Assessment of Citizen Service Activities, USA Services reveals the results of a survey launched in 2006 to find out how and where federal agencies interact with citizens and to analyze the day-to-day issues agencies face in providing service to citizens. It is a follow-up to a 2004 OMB/USA Services survey.

More than 200 offices in 35 federal departments and agencies participated in the survey of citizen service activities in federal agencies. They reported these citizen-contact activities in 2007:

• 2,843 Telephone Numbers
• 2,283 Walk-in Facilities
• 597 E-mail and Web-based Forms
• 488 Other Activities
• 101 Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems
• 74 Kiosks
• 57 Interactive Web Pages
• 57 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Systems

The survey showed an increase in reported self-service channels since 2004. The number of reported automated FAQ systems increased to 57 from 51, the number of IVR systems increased to 101 from 51, and the number of reported interactive web pages increased to 57 from 23.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) reduced e-mail inquiries to 500 a month from 900 a month after introducing FAQs. This change permanently reduced staff time and other resources devoted to answering questions, the final report states.

In the next two years, the federal government plans to hire at least 11,562 IT experts, according to Where the Jobs Are: Mission Critical Opportunities for America, released July 3 by the Partnership for Public Service.

More than half—or 7,419—of the IT jobs are projected to be filled by the Department of Defense. Three other agencies planning to hire at least 500 each are the Department of the Treasury (930); the Department of Commerce (607); and the Department of Justice (532).

The IT jobs are among the 193,000 jobs the government considers "mission critical" to fill in the next two years, due to increased security needs and the retirement of hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

The report is based on a survey of 34 federal agencies that represent nearly 99% of the federal workforce.

The United States, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom have the strongest national environments to support a thriving IT sector, according to The Means to Compete: Benchmarking IT Industry Competitiveness, a report released July 11 by the Economist Intelligence Unit, Ltd. (EIU).

The 2007 study evaluated "competitiveness enablers" such as, "an ample supply of skills, an innovation-friendly culture, world-class technology infrastructure, a robust legal regime and well-balanced government support, not to mention a competition friendly business environment."

It compared 64 countries in all regions of the world and conducted in-depth interviews with more than 20 senior executives of IT firms and independent experts.

"These findings can serve as a roadmap for governments to capitalise on those factors which can strengthen their IT sectors and accelerate the benefits a thriving IT industry can deliver to the entire society," according to an EIU press release.

The Economist Intelligence Unit, an international research and advisory firm based in London, was founded in 1946 as the business-to-business arm of The Economist newspaper.

Three Maryland counties won first place for being advanced digital counties in three of the four population categories surveyed for the 2007 Digital Counties Survey by eRepublic's Center for Digital Government and the National Association of Counties.

The winners in each category were:

• Montgomery County, MD (500,000 or more population category)
• Richland County, SC (250,000-499,999 population)
• Frederick County, MD (150,000-249,999 population)
• Charles County, MD and Nevada County, CA (tied for less than 150,000 population).

The winners were recognized for using IT in innovative ways and improving service to their citizens. They were chosen from thousands of U.S. counties that were invited to participate in the survey in April. The county officials were surveyed on more than 100 measurements and data points about online service delivery, infrastructure, architecture, and governance models.

Fairfax County Public Schools and the U.S. Postal Service were the only government agencies named to Computerworld magazine's 2007 list of best places to work in IT. Published last month for its 14th consecutive year, the list recognizes organizations rated highest by employees and company officials in areas such as IT staff turnover rate, percentage of IT employees receiving promotions, and number of training days.

To qualify for nomination, organizations had to earn at least $100 million in revenue for 2006 and employ at least 300 people in the United States, with a minimum of 50 IT employees in the United States.

Fairfax County Public Schools' IT Leadership Development Cohort Program—which "develops promising IT employees to take on leadership roles" through 16 hours of formal classes a month on company time and 10 hours of projects on employee time—contributed to its 10th place finish.

The U.S. Postal Service's 83rd place finish is due, in part, to its IT department's management of 1.5 billion annual visits to the USPS website. The visits generated more than $425.7 million in sales.

The IBM Center for The Business of Government's report, The Blogging Revolution: Government in the Age of Web 2.0, examines "blogoneers" or blog pioneers in government and how blogging is gaining in popularity as a way for public servants to improve citizen access to public services.

The report also describes how blogging within agencies can improve internal communications and speed the flow of information. It offers lessons learned and a checklist of best practices for public managers.

The report also gives 10 blogging tips for public sector executives:

• Define yourself and your purpose.
• Do it yourself!
• Make a time commitment.
• Be regular.
• Be generous.
• Have a "hard hide."
• Spell-check.
• Don't give too much information.
• Consider multimedia.
• Be a student of blogging.

Also available in pdf 539 kb

ACT Government IT Speaker Series, Assessing and Communicating IT Risk
Washington, DC
July 25

WITC Western CIO Forum
Denver, CO
August 5-7

IT Quarterly Forum: "Who's Afraid of E-Discovery? Cautionary Tales Every CIO and Every IT Person Needs to Know To Survive Into FY 2008, and Beyond"
Washington, DC
August 14

Collaborative Expedition Workshop
Arlington, VA
August 14

AFCEA: LandWarNet Conference 2007
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
August 21-23

The 7th Enterprise Architecture Conference & Exhibition
Washington, DC
September 5-7

Collaborative Expedition Workshop
Arlington, VA
September 18

Realizing IPv6: Unleash the Benefits of the Next Generation Government
Reston, VA
September 19-20

NASCIO Annual Conference
Tucson, AZ
September 30-October 3

Emergency Preparedness Information Sharing Initiative
Atlanta, GA
October 10-12

Emetrics Summit
Washington, DC
October 14-17

ACT/IAC 2007 Executive Leadership Conference
Williamsburg, VA
October 21-23

Collaborative Expedition Workshop
Arlington, VA
October 23

MILCOM 2007
Orlando, FL
October 29-31

The New New Internet: Web 2.0 Conference
Reston, VA
November 1

11th Annual eC3 Conference
Austin, Texas
December 3-5

Comments: We welcome your feedback.

Please send your comments, concerns, complaints and questions to dotgovbuzz@gsa.gov.

Check out our previous editions at www.usa.gov/dotgovbuzz.html.

The DotGov Buzz is produced by the following individuals in the GSA Office of Citizen Services and Communications:

Darlene Meskell
Andrea Noce
Anne Hartzell
Bryant Jones