NIMA open for transformation

The National Imagery and Mapping Agency has created an Enterprise Transformation Directorate to lead the way in transforming its business and its role within the defense and intelligence communities.

The agency originally placed the "business transformation" role on the Office of the Chief Information Officer when Scott Cragg came on as the CIO earlier this year. But officials recently created the new directorate because they discovered that transformation cannot happen without direct control of program funding, which the NIMA CIO does not have.

"If you're going to transform, you'd better have the resources and the ability" to provide incentives, Cragg said Oct. 22 at a CMA Executive Forum in McLean, Va.

NIMA also created a Business Executive Office about a month ago to oversee and integrate the transformation efforts with the agency's other functions, Cragg said. And the CIO now serves as a primary adviser in the effort, he added.

The Enterprise Transformation Directorate is headed by Roy Combs and includes a "transformation program manager" whose sole responsibility is to oversee the agency's transformation initiatives. It also has specific groups to work on architecture and data standardization issues.

Agencywide control is crucial because "everything is on the table within NIMA in regard to transformation," Cragg said.