OMB issues guide on E-Government Act

The Office of Management and Budget has issued new guidance on how to achieve the administration’s e-government vision. In a to agency heads, OMB director Joshua Bolten outlined how IT managers must implement provisions under the E-Government Act of 2002, which became law in December.“The administration sees this act as a significant step forward in the way that federal agencies should consider using IT to transform agency business into a more citizen oriented and user friendly process,” Bolten said.Under the guidance, agencies must develop performance measures for e-government projects that are citizen- and product-related. OMB also is setting a timetable for agencies to migrate to an online rule-making site, . Administration officials said by March they will set the schedule for migration to the site.The guidance further requires agencies to conduct privacy impact assessments for planned IT investments and online information collection. They also must establish IT training programs. Meanwhile, the Office of Personnel Management will develop an IT exchange program between the public and private sectors. And the National Science Foundation, OMB and the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy will create a database and Web site to track federally funded R&D.