Enhancing the impact of Technology Modernization Fund – FCW.com

Comment

Developing connections across the TMF and with larger IT investment programs will yield sustained positive outcomes for the government.

Last week, the Office of Management and Budget issued new guidance regarding priorities and processes for agencies to submit proposals for the Technology Modernization Fund that support the American Rescue Plan Act. The guidance provides important insights on how the TMF can be leveraged to address mission objectives.

The TMFs allocation of $1 billion under the ARP links technology investment to the broad set of modernization needs in agencies, with the OMB guidance focused on four critical areas that also connect with other key funding priorities in the ARP:

The OMB guidance also addresses the statutory requirement for repayment of TMF funds within five years, responding to numerous requests for flexibility in repayment so that more agencies will tap into the funds. To address these concerns, the TMF Board is requesting proposals from agencies for full, partial or minimal payback of TMF funds. Moreover, OMB is moving at rapid pace to review investment candidates and field promising practices. In the new guidance, the TMF Board asks that proposals submitted by June 2 to receive expedited consideration; the Board will continue to evaluate proposals on a rolling basis thereafter.

The four priority areas above are both distinct investment options and interconnected technology domains. Accordingly, they suggest the need for agency proposals and Board reviews that are both specific to each area and common across all four. For example, modernizing systems necessitates reviewing and improving the security posture of those assets; the public that accesses digital services relies on secure and modernized applications for good performance. Cross-agency services should embrace all of these elements.

Similarly, the ARPs investments in TMF and related technology domains should be considered in terms of how these investments connect to current agency programs, platforms and applications. The federal government will likely spend close to $100 billion on technology in 2021, if that total includes both new ARP funds and potential additional spending under the American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan (should they be enacted). If the TMF and other ARP investments are not viewed in this larger -- aka, 50-fold+ -- spending context, they may be implemented as one-off projects that embrace innovation but do not scale to promote broader technology modernization.

A strategy of linking the criteria and investment portfolio from the TMF to drive improvements in related investments across the portfolio would involve several elements, including:

During the execution of a past technology reform initiative, Project Quicksilver, OMB developed a strategy for how 24 cross-cutting e-government initiatives could pull forward the rest of the IT spend (roughly $60 billion at that time) as part of the Presidents Management Agenda launched in 2001. That framework was supported by the then-newly developed Federal Enterprise Architecture, and amplified through emerging shared services lines of business that included financial management, human resources, grants, and later cybersecurity all areas that continue as shared services LOBs today.

A similar whole of government strategy can help OMB, GSA and the agencies work individually and collectively to ensure that innovative projects awarded under the TMF and related technology lines in the ARP will have a greater impact than what could be realized at the individual project level. Such a connection to the overall IT portfolio helped contribute to the success of the 2001 PMA, elements of which still exist (like the shared services lines of business and e-government initiatives including Benefits.Gov, Grants.Gov and Regulations.Gov). Conversely, innovations lacking a connection to longer-term strategy and priorities have often failed to last beyond the tenure of the initial project period.

Over the next several weeks, we will address each of the four areas set out as priorities in OMBs guidance, as well as repayment considerations. We hope that these posts will spur additional comment and dialogue that can support the government in driving broad and sustainable implementation of the TMF.

About the Authors

Dan Chenok is executive director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government.

Margaret (Margie) H. Graves is a visiting fellow with the IBM Center for the Business of Government. She formerly served as deputy federal CIO.

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