Over the years, hundreds of requirements have been placed on agencies which may be outdated or no longer cost-beneficial. As mentioned at our recent Council meeting, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is looking for ways to reduce requirements on agencies to free up agency capacity for higher value activities. OMB is launching a two-phase burden reduction process:
- Phase I: Agencies identify quick wins, which would provide agencies relief within a little over 2 months.
- Phase II: Agencies will have additional time to provide more extensive input.
In support of Phase I, OMB is asking for your thoughts and ideas by Monday, April 17, 2017 in the following areas:
- Requirements which should be paused (e.g., requirements which have value, but should not be conducted in 2017 due to the transition in leadership or to allow prioritization of other higher value activities in 2017).
- Requirements which should be eliminated (e.g., reporting requirements to OMB or other agencies which are no longer valuable)
- Requirements which should be refined or clarified (e.g., places where guidance is creating confusion, duplication of effort, or inconsistencies with other reporting requirements).
When submitting proposals, agencies should identify the source of the requirement (e.g., the specific number and date of OMB or other guidance), and to the extent possible, whether the requirement is based in a statutory mandate. To facilitate OMB's review, no more than one submission should be sent by each Department or agency CXO office.
We look forward to working with you to identify quick wins and longer term solutions for relieving burden so you can devote a greater percentage of taxpayer dollars to mission achievement. If you have questions on this effort, please reach out to Brad Golson, Director, Enterprise Initiatives
Office of the Executive Councils, at brad.golson@gsa.gov.
Please send your proposals to chcoc@opm.gov by Monday, April 17th.