GovernmentExecutive.com

Four agencies should pay more heed to outside input on their electronic government projects, the General Accounting Office recommends in a new report.

President Bush's management agenda established 24 e-government initiatives aimed at providing citizens with greater access to federal agencies and improving efficiency in government.

Managers in charge of the Office of Personnel Management's e-payroll initiative, which aims to reduce the number of agencies processing federal employee paychecks from 22 to four, have done a good job of fostering collaboration among the agencies designated as future payroll providers, GAO reported.

But OPM needs to fully involve all agencies slated to use the consolidated system in the project, GAO said. The agencies need to agree upon a common set of payroll standards, the report (GAO-04-6) explained.

OPM has adequately canvassed agencies for suggestions, GAO said. Even so, reaching a consensus will likely prove challenging, the report predicted. "Unless OPM places increased emphasis on collaboration as governmentwide standards are developed and consolidation of payroll systems progresses, it will be at increased risk that the consolidated systems will not meet the needs of all federal agencies," GAO cautioned.

For instance, Veterans Affairs Department officials told GAO that OPM rushed them into choosing the Defense Finance and Accounting Service as a future payroll provider. VA later found that "migrating to the DFAS would be costly and inefficient, because VA would have to separate its payroll system from its human resources system."

OPM has the "ultimate authority in deciding how payroll operations are to be consolidated," but risks interfering with the project's overall schedule by "not fully considering stakeholder concerns," the report said. In response, OPM officials said they would continue holding discussions with VA to resolve concerns.

Three other e-government initiatives could also benefit from more outside input, GAO said. The Interior Department should encourage state and local officials to become more involved in its geospatial one-stop initiative, a project to gather geospatial data in a central location, the report recommended.

The General Services Administration should solicit advice from agency chief financial officers on its integrated acquisition environment project, designed to facilitate more efficient procurement, GAO said. And Small Business Administration were urged t get more advice from potential users of its proposed "business gateway," which would reduce paperwork for small businesses and provide them with information on relevant laws and regulations.