Veterans Affairs
The Role of the Chief Information Officer in Effectively Managing Information Technology Gao ID: GAO-06-201T October 20, 2005In carrying out its mission of serving the nation's veterans and their dependents, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relies extensively on information technology (IT), for which it is requesting about $2.1 billion in fiscal year 2006. VA's vision is to integrate its IT resources and streamline interactions with customers, so that it can provide services and information to veterans more quickly and effectively. Fully exploiting the potential of IT to improve performance is a challenging goal for VA, as it is throughout government. The Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996 addressed this challenge by, among other things, establishing the position of chief information officer (CIO) to serve as the focal point for information and technology management within departments and agencies. As agreed with Congress, GAO will discuss the role of CIOs in the federal government and in the private sector, as well as provide a historical perspective on the roles and responsibilities of VA's CIO. In developing this testimony, GAO relied on its previous work at VA and on the CIO role, including a 2004 review of CIOs at major departments and agencies and a 2005 review of CIOs at leading private-sector organizations.
In the federal government and in the private sector, the responsibilities and challenges of CIOs are largely similar. In most management areas, the federal and private-sector organizations reviewed showed little difference in the percentage of CIOs who had or shared a particular responsibility. The challenges cited by private-sector CIOs were also similar to those of federal CIOs: both groups cited improving IT management processes, developing IT leadership and skills, working with enterprise architectures, and ensuring the security of systems. Over time, VA has increased its attention to the CIO position and to information and technology management. After several years with CIOs whose primary duty was not information and technology management or who were serving in an acting capacity, the department appointed a full-time permanent CIO in August 2001. VA also recognized that its decentralized computing environment presented challenges, with a large proportion of the department's IT budget controlled by its administrations and staff offices. As a result, in 2002, the department proposed a realignment to strengthen the department-level CIO position and centralize IT management under this official. GAO has not reviewed the current status of this proposed realignment or VA's current organizational structure, but its view is that the realignment held promise for improving accountability and helping to accomplish VA's mission by increasing the CIO's oversight over IT management and spending.
GAO-06-201T, Veterans Affairs: The Role of the Chief Information Officer in Effectively Managing Information Technology
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United States Government Accountability Office:
GAO:
Testimony:
Before the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate:
For Release on Delivery:
Expected at 10 a.m. EDT October 20, 2005:
Veterans Affairs:
The Role of the Chief Information Officer in Effectively Managing
Information Technology:
Statement of Linda D. Koontz, Director:
Information Management Issues:
GAO-06-201T:
GAO Highlights:
Highlights of GAO-06-201T, a testimony before the Committee on
Veterans' Affairs, U.S. Senate:
Why GAO Did This Study:
In carrying out its mission of serving the nation‘s veterans and their
dependents, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) relies extensively
on information technology (IT), for which it is requesting about $2.1
billion in fiscal year 2006. VA‘s vision is to integrate its IT
resources and streamline interactions with customers, so that it can
provide services and information to veterans more quickly and
effectively.
Fully exploiting the potential of IT to improve performance is a
challenging goal for VA, as it is throughout government. The Clinger-
Cohen Act of 1996 addressed this challenge by, among other things,
establishing the position of chief information officer (CIO) to serve
as the focal point for information and technology management within
departments and agencies.
As agreed with the Committee, GAO will discuss the role of CIOs in the
federal government and in the private sector, as well as provide a
historical perspective on the roles and responsibilities of VA‘s CIO.
In developing this testimony, GAO relied on its previous work at VA and
on the CIO role, including a 2004 review of CIOs at major departments
and agencies and a 2005 review of CIOs at leading private-sector
organizations.
What GAO Found:
In the federal government and in the private sector, the
responsibilities and challenges of CIOs are largely similar. In most
management areas, the federal and private-sector organizations reviewed
showed little difference in the percentage of CIOs who had or shared a
particular responsibility (see figure). The challenges cited by private-
sector CIOs were also similar to those of federal CIOs: both groups
cited improving IT management processes, developing IT leadership and
skills, working with enterprise architectures, and ensuring the
security of systems.
Over time, VA has increased its attention to the CIO position and to
information and technology management. After several years with CIOs
whose primary duty was not information and technology management or who
were serving in an acting capacity, the department appointed a full-
time permanent CIO in August 2001. VA also recognized that its
decentralized computing environment presented challenges, with a large
proportion of the department‘s IT budget controlled by its
administrations and staff offices. As a result, in 2002, the department
proposed a realignment to strengthen the department-level CIO position
and centralize IT management under this official. GAO has not reviewed
the current status of this proposed realignment or VA‘s current
organizational structure, but its view is that the realignment held
promise for improving accountability and helping to accomplish VA‘s
mission by increasing the CIO‘s oversight over IT management and
spending.
Comparison of the Extent to Which Private-Sector and Federal CIOs Are
Responsible for Management Areas:
[See PDF for image]
[End of figure]
www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-201T.
To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on
the link above. For more information, contact Linda Koontz at (202) 512-
6240 or koontzl@gao.gov.
[End of section]
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:
Thank you for inviting us to take part in your discussion of the
information technology organization at the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) and the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO). In
carrying out its mission of serving our nation's veterans, the
department relies heavily on information technology, for which it is
requesting about $2.1 billion in funding for fiscal year 2006. The CIO
will play a vital role in ensuring that this money is well spent and
that information technology is managed effectively. As we have
previously reported, an effective CIO can make a significant difference
in building the institutional capacity that is needed to improve an
agency's ability to manage information and technology and thus enhance
program performance.
At your request, we will discuss the role of CIOs in the federal
government, present for comparison the results of our study of private-
sector CIOs, and provide a historical perspective on the roles and
responsibilities of VA's CIO.
In developing this testimony, we reviewed our previous work in this
area. All work covered in this testimony was performed in accordance
with generally accepted government auditing standards.
Results in Brief:
Since the Clinger-Cohen act established the CIO position in
1996,[Footnote 1] federal CIOs have played a central role in managing
information and technology within federal agencies. According to CIOs
at major departments and agencies,[Footnote 2] they generally held wide
responsibilities and reported to their agency heads or other top level
managers. In general, CIOs reported that they were responsible for key
information and technology management areas; for example, all the CIOs
were responsible for five key areas (capital planning and investment
management, information security, IT human capital, strategic planning
for information technology and information resource management, and
enterprise architecture). In carrying out these responsibilities, the
tenure of federal CIOs was often less than the length of time that some
experts consider necessary for them to be effective and implement
changes: the median tenure was about 2 years, and the most common
response regarding time required to be effective was 3 to 5 years. In
contrast, CIOs were generally helped in carrying out their
responsibilities by the background and experience they brought to the
job. Although their background was varied, most had background in
information technology (IT) or related fields, many having previously
served as CIOs; many also had business knowledge related to their
agencies, having previously worked either at the agency or in an area
related to its mission. Other factors that help CIOs meet their
responsibilities effectively are described in guidance[Footnote 3] that
we have issued; key among these are (1) being supported by senior
executives who recognize the importance to their missions of IT and an
effective CIO; (2) playing an influential role in applying IT to
business needs; and (3) being able to structure their organizations
appropriately. At the same time, CIOs cited several challenges, of
which the two most frequently mentioned were implementing effective IT
management and obtaining sufficient and relevant resources.
Private-sector CIOs reported responsibilities, challenges, and
approaches to information and technology governance that are similar
but not identical to those of their federal counterparts. Most of the
private-sector CIOs we contacted had either sole or shared
responsibility for the key management areas we explored, which
corresponded to those that we reported on in our federal agency
review.[Footnote 4] Among the areas in which most of the private-sector
CIOs had or shared responsibility, 18 or more of the 20 we
contacted[Footnote 5] cited five information and technology management
areas (capital planning and investment management, information
security, human capital for managing information resources, systems
acquisition, and e-commerce); the first three of these were also
responsibilities of all federal CIOs, and the last two were
responsibilities of 90 percent of federal CIOs.[Footnote 6] The
challenges cited by the private-sector CIOs were also similar to those
cited by federal CIOs. Both private-sector and federal CIOs noted
improving various IT management processes (e.g., IT investment decision
making), developing IT leadership and skills, working with enterprise
architectures, and ensuring the security of systems. To manage their
IT, the private-sector companies used both centralized and
decentralized organizational structures: in some, authority is
centralized in the CIO's office, while in others, it is decentralized
in the business units, depending on other events in the company such as
strategic realignments and acquisitions. Most of the private-sector
companies had executive committees with authority and responsibility
for governing major IT investments. Many private-sector CIOs also told
us that they were making efforts to move toward common business
processes, such as by instituting cross-organizational teams to work on
developing enterprisewide systems and standards.
With regard to VA, both the CIO position and IT management have
received increased management attention over time. After going for 2½
years after the passage of the Clinger-Cohen Act without a CIO,
followed by 2 years with an executive whose time was divided among CIO
and other major duties, and then 1 year with an acting CIO, the
department appointed a full-time permanent CIO in August 2001. Since
then, the department proposed further strengthening the position and
centralizing IT management, recognizing that aspects of its computing
environment were particularly challenging and required substantial
management attention. In particular, the department's information
systems and services were highly decentralized, and a large proportion
of the department's IT budget was controlled by the VA's
administrations and staff offices. To address these challenges, the
Secretary issued a memo in 2002 announcing that IT functions, programs,
and funding would be centralized under the department-level CIO.
Although we have not reviewed the current status of this proposed
realignment or VA's current organizational structure, it remains our
view that the proposal held promise for improving IT accountability and
enabling the department to accomplish its mission. The additional
oversight afforded the CIO could have a significant impact on the
department's ability to more effectively account for and manage its
approximately $2.1 billion in planned IT spending.
Background:
VA comprises three major components: the Veterans Benefits
Administration (VBA), the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), and the
National Cemetery Administration (NCA).[Footnote 7] VA's mission is
summed up in its mission statement, a quotation from Abraham Lincoln:
"to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and
his orphan." VA carries out this mission by providing benefits and
other services to veterans and dependents.
The department's vision is to be a more customer-focused organization,
functioning as "One VA." This vision stemmed from the recognition that
veterans think of VA as a single entity, but often encountered a
confusing, bureaucratic maze of uncoordinated programs that put them
through repetitive and frustrating administrative procedures and
delays. The "One VA" vision is to create versatile new ways for
veterans to obtain services and information by streamlining
interactions with customers and integrating IT resources to enable VA
employees to help customers more quickly and effectively. This vision
will require modifying or replacing separate information systems with
integrated systems using common standards to share information across
VA programs and with external partner organizations, such as the
Department of Defense. Accordingly, effective management of its IT
programs is vital to VA's successful achievement of its vision and
mission.
Table 1 shows a breakdown of VA's approximately $2.1 billion IT budget
request for fiscal year 2006. Of the total, VHA accounted for
approximately $1.8 billion, VBA approximately $150 million, and NCA
approximately $11 million. The remaining $84 million was designated for
the department level.
Table 1: Breakdown of VA's Fiscal Year 2006 Information Technology
Budget Request (in millions):
Organization: VHA;
Request: $1835;
Request: 88%.
Organization: VBA;
Request: 150;
Request: 7%.
Organization: NCA;
Request: 11;
Request:
