| E-Gov: The GSA's Internet Initiative and Navigating Through the GSA
Guest: Stephen Perry, Administrator of the General Services Administration
Wednesday, July 31, 2002 President Bush's administration has directed federal agencies to use the Internet and cutting edge information technology tools to communicate with people outside of the Beltway. Mark Forman was named last year to head the e-government effort within the Office of Management and Budget. The main thrust of Forman's campaign has been to streamline communications within government and with citizens, including using the Internet and embracing "paperless" communications. Meanwhile, other agencies have been developing policies that help use the Internet to interact with citizens. Last week, the General Services Administration created an Office of Citizen Services and Communications to help people gain access to information about government services. A number of resources are under the umbrella of the new office, including the Office of Communications, Federal Consumer Information Center, Office of Intergovernmental Solutions, the Office of Information Technology and FirstGov operations. Stephen Perry, the administrator of the GSA, was online to take questions about what the new office can do to streamline information about the GSA as well as offer some advice about what resources the GSA has for both citizens and government contractors. Perry was appointed by President Bush to the GSA post in May 2001. He previously served as a senior vice president at The Timken Co., an Ohio-based international manufacturing company. In 1991, Perry was appointed by the governor of Ohio to serve in the state cabinet as director of the Department of Administrative Services, a state department similar to the GSA. An Edited Transcript Follows: Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. 
Cynthia L. Webb: Thanks again for joining us to today. Can you start by explaining why the GSA has created the new Office of Citizen Services and Communications? And how will the services offered by the office be different from what the GSA already has available through its Web site? Stephen Perry: The overall purpose of the Office of Citizen Services & Communications is to help carry out President Bush's plan to improve the delivery of good government services to the American people by having each agency become more "citizen-centered." This includes improving the means by which federal agencies interact with the public.
The Office of Citizen Services & Communications will help to make it easier for citizens to interact with government agencies to obtain information about government services or to complete transactions.
Today citizens who want to get information from the government or complete transactions with a federal agency often encounter delays and difficulties. The Office of Citizen Services & Communications will facilitate effective communication between citizens and government by adding more use of Internet technology to make it easier and more convenient for citizens to interact with their government. The Office of Citizen Services & Communications working with all the federal agencies will streamline and modernize the process of interacting online, by telephone, e-mail, and print.
Falls Church, Va.: I'm curious about specifics about what the new Office of Citizen Services is going to do -- manage e-government initiatives such as the e-benefits Web site? Set standards for other agencies that run such initiatives? How is the office going to make it easier for people to gain access to and deal with the federal government? Stephen Perry: The new Office of Citizen Services & Communications is designed to make it easier for citizens to link to agency Web sites such as the Department of Labor's e-benefit Web site. The Office of Citizen Services & Communications assists agencies with regard to standards and best practices for developing and managing their Web sites; however, we do not manage other agency Web sites directly.
Falls Church, Va.: A follow-up question: Will the GSA be able to require other agencies to be more responsive to the public through e-government initiatives or will it simply offer advice and hope other agencies follow it? Stephen Perry: We expect an improvement in agency responsiveness to citizen inquiries because this modernized and streamlined process will remove some of the barriers that currently impede responsiveness.
Cynthia L. Webb: Does the new office entail new staff members or is it a combination of existing offices? How many people and units are under the umbrella of the new office? Stephen Perry: The new office results from the consolidation of existing GSA offices. Namely, the Office of Communications, the Federal Consumer Information Center, FirstGov.gov, Intergovernmental Solutions, and Information Technology. Each of these offices had special expertise and a good track record with respect to citizen interaction. Combining them enables us to maximize existing resources and meet the growing citizen demand for interaction.
The new office, led by Mary Joy Jameson, Associate Administrator, will consist of two major units: citizen services under the leadership of Casey Coleman, Chief Technology Officer, and Communications under the leadership of David Bethel, Deputy Associate Administrator. Within the Office of Citizen Services we have three sub-units: Federal Citizen Information Center, e-Gov Solutions Support, and Intergovernmental Solutions.
Arlington, Va.: What is the timeline for phasing out the old offices and this new office really taking over? Is this something I will have to wait another couple of years for to truly reap benefits? Stephen Perry: As indicated by the previous answer, this has already been accomplished.
Arlington, Va.: Mr. Perry, how far will this new office extend into the other offices and branches of the U.S. government? Would I still have to contact the IRS separately or does it depend on topics I am interested in? Stephen Perry: What this new office will provide is a single portal of entry for online inquiries. However, those inquiries are linked to the Web sites of individual agencies, such as the IRS. Therefore, your contact would be a seamless contact from our portal to the agency or multiple agencies necessary to respond to an inquiry.
Mclean, Va.: My company has created technology that is ideal for bringing applications to the Web, part of the core mission of the e-government project. We are small company, but have real customers. What is the best way for us to work with government agencies like yours with this need? Stephen Perry: As a general statement, companies that are interested in doing business with the government should find information on this subject at www.gsa.gov. to get specific information about how to do this or www.fedbizopps.gov to get information about specific contracting opportunities. There are 24 e-government initiatives currently underway. I recommend that you contact GSA's Federal Technology Service and Federal Supply Service to get specific information on the e-gov initiatives.
Falls Church, Va.: What sort of Internet technology will be used to make agencies more responsive to citizens? Also, how can the GSA get agencies to be more responsive to phone calls and e-mail. It sounds good in theory, but unlikely. Stephen Perry: The issue of tracking customer inquiries and agency responsiveness is a part of overall customer relationship management (CRM). CRM technology will play a key role in helping agencies to be more responsive to citizens. We have a federal-wide initiative, USA Services -- one of President Bush's 24 e-gov initiatives--with the core mission of connecting agencies within a CRM framework.
Washington, D.C.: Mr. Perry, you refer to a single port of entry that citizens could use for online inquiries. How do they access it? Is it just the GSA's main Web site? What about citizens who do not have Internet access? Stephen Perry: The single entry portal address is www.FirstGov.gov. Citizens without Internet access may also call 1-800-FED-INFO (800-333-4636).
Chantilly, Va.: Thanks for being online, Stephen. I work for a large bureau in Treasury that is going through its third attempt at "modernization" -- it's not terribly successfully, I might add. What steps are being taken to encourage other, more progressive agencies to share e-communication knowledge? Stephen Perry: President Bush has called on all agencies to improve performance in part by expanding the use of e-government technology. This expanded use will require cross agency collaboration in order to be most effective. The President's Management Council with representatives from all Executive Branch Agencies is working to achieve this new level of collaboration. Additionally, Mark Forman of OMB and his team are working with all agencies to define an enterprise architecture that agencies should use in developing and creating new systems. This will make it easier for systems to communicate across agencies.
Alexandria, Va.: Will this initiative extend to streamlining the federal hiring process, perhaps through the use of online application systems? Stephen Perry: The Office of Citizen Services & Communications initiative does not specifically address the question of streamlining the federal hiring process. However, one of President Bush's other e-gov initiatives will do this. The initiative is led by the Office of Personnel Management.
Arlington, Va.: It seems to me that the biggest need in creating a truly secure and trustworthy mechanism where John Q. Public can interact with the federal government via the Internet is to provide some form of security and proof that a transaction has taken place. I believe the U.S. Postal Service has undertaken some initiatives in providing trustworthy digital certificate services, but it does not seem as though the federal government has embraced these mechanisms. What has the GSA done toward this end to look at securing individual transactions done online? Stephen Perry: You are absolutely correct: a truly secure and trustworthy environment is necessary for success for the Office of Citizen Service initiative as well as all the other e-government initiatives. GSA is leading another of President Bush's e-government initiatives, the e-authentication project intended to do just this. The project will build infrastructure to support common authentication systems governmentwide.
Cynthia L. Webb: When you mention that these efforts will make it easier for systems to communicate across agencies, it begs the question of whether all the hardware and software is in place to do this. How does the GSA keep its systems on the cutting edge?
Stephen Perry: Expertise and investment will be required to achieve and maintain this state of the art system. The Bush Administration is committed to accomplishing this over time in order to bring the power of Internet technology to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of government operations.
Washington, DC: I am the CTO of a young Web-based software design/development firm that I founded 4 years ago. We have been very interested in getting in on government contracts and all we hear about is this whole "tedious" process of form after form that we must go through in order to "get on the GSA schedule". Is this really the only way? Stephen Perry: GSA is endeavoring to streamline and accelerate the process for obtaining a GSA Schedule. Today the average application takes 90-120 days to complete. However, on occasion, it takes much longer. We are committed to reducing this cycle time. We will achieve this by continuing to have workshops to help prospective vendors and improving our processes. Getting on the GSA Schedule is a key to expanding your opportunities for doing business with government agencies.
Chicago, Ill.: With all the talk about the e-government initiatives and the freezing of funds, which projects can GSA hope to continue work on?
And wouldn't it be a best practice to combine the WAN and LAN projects rather than try to start a new project from the ground up? Stephen Perry: The President's 24 e-government initiatives were selected among several hundred candidates through a careful screening process. The only projects selected were those which have high priority and high payoff for customers/citizens, businesses, and government agencies. Because these initiatives will deliver return on investment, we believe this justifies the completion of each initiative.
DC: Are you seeing an uptick in companies trying to get products listed on the GSA Schedule? Stephen Perry: Yes. We are continuing an increased interest in becoming a GSA Schedule provider.
Cynthia L. Webb: Mr. Perry, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us today. You have covered a lot of topics and it has been a very helpful chat. We hope you can do this again in the future. Thanks again. Stephen Perry: Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this chat and talk about GSA and the new Office of Citizen Services & Communications. I enjoyed the experience and I hope it was helpful to those who submitted questions and subsequently visit the site.
Cynthia L. Webb: That concludes our chat for today. Thanks everyone for your participation and for joining us today. Have a great day.
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