FITARA Implementation Symposium III

FITARA Implementation Symposium III 

Theme: Assessing the Financial Management Impact

Transparency is a key element of FITARA. Agencies will need to trace plans, investments, budgets, procurements and resources to business and mission outcomes. The approaches pioneered to enhance visibility across the CxO communities can benefit all areas of Government.

Initial Scorecards

On November 4 the House Oversight and Government Reform, Information Technology and Government Operations Subcommittees, held a hearing on Measuring Agencies’ FITARA Implementation. Prior to the hearing the Committee released its initial Scorecard on agency performance under four implementation areas:

• Data center consolidation
• IT portfolio review savings
• Incremental development
• Risk assessment transparency

During the hearing it was revealed by OMB that new data centers had been discovered, bringing the total to 11,700. It is largely thought that data center consolidation offers the largest cost savings, but that it is also essential in providing infrastructure for application and data strategy modernization.

Listen to the November 4 hearing on FITARA Scorecards Here and download the testimony and scorecards.

Purpose
This symposium is the third in a series of Government – Industry discussions of the implementation of FITARA and its implications for Federal IT Acquisition reform. The series will address various aspects of how FITARA will be implemented and the changes this will bring to the Federal IT acquisition landscape, and will feature talks from both Government and industry leaders on various aspects of the legislation.

Background

On June 10 OMB released its guidance for FITARA implementation in a memo from Shaun Donovan: M-15-14, Management and Oversight of Federal Information Technology. Download the memo here.

Read Federal CIO Tony Scott's June 10, 2015 blog post, A New Foundation for Technology Management, on CIO.Gov here.

The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) is one of the key elements of the current administration's efforts to improve Government information technology. FITARA outlines specific requirements related to:

1. Enhanced Authority for Chief Information Officers (CIO)
2. Increased Transparency and Improved Risk Management
3. Expanded Portfolio Reviews
4. Expansion of Training for IT Personnel
5. Consolidating Data Centers
6. Maximizing the Benefit of the Federal Strategic Sourcing
7. Government-wide Software Purchasing

FITARA changes the Chief Information Officer’s (CIO) role significantly, and will impact the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO), Chief Acquisition Officer (CAO), Assistant Secretaries for Management (ASAM), Chief Operating Officers (COOs), and IT Program Management communities.

AFEI is hosting this series to help Government agencies and their industry partners understand more about how the legislation affects them, examine the challenges they will face, and help agencies take steps to implement FITARA using an agile and outcome driven approach. The events will showcase best practices and benefits, and help agencies develop a road map to successful implementation and demonstrable results. The events will also provide industry a better understanding of how to support agency efforts.