Current Projects
U.S Department of Energy (posted 5/5/08)

Review of Acquisition, Human Resources, and Financial Management

Client/Funder:
U.S. Department of Energy

Purpose and Scope:
In accordance with the expressed interests of the House and Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittees, the Academy’s evaluation will focus on assessing the delivery mechanisms and how support is provided Department-wide in three primary and interconnected areas:  (1) procurement/acquisition; (2) human capital/human resources; and (3) financial management.  The study will take place over a 13-month period, during which time the Academy plans to develop an interactive relationship with DOE so that advice is provided throughout the study period and does not await the final report.

Project Director:
Al Kliman

Panel:
 
The Academy has appointed the following individuals to a Panel to oversee and direct the study. The public may send comments on the composition of the panel for a period of seven (7) days after the posted date to mditmeyer@napawash.org.

Panel Chair:

Jonathan Breul* — Executive Director, IBM Center for The Business of Government and Partner, IBM Global Business Services; Former positions with U.S. Office of Management and Budget: Senior Advisor to the Deputy Director for Management; Chief, Evaluation and Planning Branch, General Management Division; Senior Management Analyst. Former Senior Grants Policy Specialist, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management and Budget, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Potential Conflict of Interest and Source of Bias
Jonathan D. Breul: As chair of the Academy project panel on the “Department of Energy: Review of the Offices of Procurement, Human Resources and the Chief Financial Officer,” I wish to disclose a potential conflict of interest and a potential source of bias:
 
Potential conflict of interest:  I work for the IBM Corporation as Executive Director of the IBM Center for The Business of Government which is a research “think tank.”  In that role I provide thought leadership on a wide range of issues dealing with government management and governance.  For purposes of compensation, I am a Partner in IBM Global Business Services.  However, I am not involved in selling or providing consulting services to DOE or other federal government departments and agencies  IBM sells hardware, software and services to the Department of Energy.  IBM has supported work on the Department’s Integrated Management Navigation System (iManage) Program.  iManage is comprised of seven major Department of Energy Corporate Business Systems Initiatives that are either under development or have been deployed and are operational systems. These systems are enterprise-wide servicing various DOE user communities providing information in the areas of Finance, Business and Human Resources. The iManage Project Portfolio contains information on: the Standard Accounting and Reporting System (STARS), iManage Data Warehouse (IDW), Standard Budget System (SBS), Corporate Human Resource Information System (CHRIS), Strategic Integrated Procurement Enterprise System (STRIPES), and the E-Travel System (eTS).
 
Again, I am not personally involved in any of this contract work with any portion of the Department of Energy.
 
Potential source of bias:  I have authored a number of books and articles on federal and public management issues, including: Ten Challenges Facing Public Managers (2008 IBM), Integrating Performance and Budgets: The Budget Office of Tomorrow (2007 Rowman & Littlefield) and Managing Public Dollars: New Rules, New Roles, New Opportunities for Federal Financial Managers (2007 IBM).  I have not written about the Department of Energy in particular.

Panel Members:
 
Allan Burman* — President, Jefferson Solutions.  Former positions with U.S. Office of Management and Budget: Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy; Acting Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy; Deputy Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy; Chief, Air Force Branch; Coordinator for Research and Development Programs, Air Force Branch.  Former Federal Executive Fellow, Brookings Institution; Special Assistant to the Director of Defense Education, Office of the Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense.
 
Dwight Ink* — President Emeritus and former President, Institute of Public Administration. Former Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, U.S. Agency for International Development; Acting Administrator, U.S. General Services Administration; Director, U.S. Community Services Administration; Assistant Director for Executive Management, U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Assistant General Manager, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission; Assistant Secretary for Administration, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Director, College of Public Affairs, Office of Continuing Education and Research, The American University; Director of several Presidential Commissions and Vice President of two government corporations.
 
C. Morgan Kinghorn, Jr.* — Chief Operating Officer, Grant Thornton Global Public Sector. Former President, National Academy of Public Administration; Partner, IBM Business Consulting Services; Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Commissioner and Controller, U.S. Internal Revenue Service; Assistant Director for Financial Management and Deputy Chief Financial Officer (Acting), U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Former Positions with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: Deputy Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management; Assistant Administrator (Acting).

Explanation of answers to the Conflict of Interest Document for Participation on the DOE Panel of the National Academy of Public Administration
 
I am aware of a potential conflict of interest but I do not believe it is significant and in the spirit of full disclosure want to be sure the Academy is aware of such a potential.
 
As the Chief Operating Officer for Grant Thornton Public Sector, I sometimes become involved as an expert advisor in engagements primarily as a former Federal Executive. I have advised a Grant Thornton consulting team that was involved with examining issues within the Office of the CFO of DOE.  However, my compensation is fixed and not derived from or dependent upon any expert advice that I provide to DOE or any other Federal department or agency.  That engagement has now ended.  
 
Grant Thornton Global Public Sector practice does now and may have future contracts with the Department.  However, given the public nature of the products of the engagement that have been completed and the public nature of the Academy’s work, I do not see any significant or real conflict of interest and will so act as a member of the panel.

C. Morgan Kinghorn

Janice Lachance* — Chief Executive Officer, Special Libraries Association (SLA); Strategic Planning and Organizational Development Consultant, Analytica. Former positions with U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Director, Deputy Director, Chief of Staff, Director of Communications and Policy. Former Director of Communications, Congressional and Political Affairs, American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO; Communications Director, Congressman Tom Daschle; Director and Counsel, Subcommittee on Antitrust and Restraint of Trade, Committee on Small Business, U.S. House of Representatives; Legislative Assistant, Congressman Jim Mattox; Administrative Assistant, Congresswoman Katie Hall.  Current Member of the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Public Administration and The Center for Association Leadership.

Peter Marshall* — Rear Admiral (retired), U.S. Navy Civil Engineer Corps. Former Deputy Chief of Civil Engineers, U.S. Navy; Senior Vice President, Parsons Brinckerhoff Construction Services Corporation; Vice President of Operations, Burns and Roe Services Corporation; Vice President, Dewberry; Fellow, Society of American Military Engineers; Licensed Professional Engineer, Virginia and California.

Statement of Peter W. Marshall regarding potential perceived Conflict of lnterest May 27, 2008: I do not believe that I have any personal Conflict of lnterest to be applied to the study: Department of Energy, Review of the Offices of Procurement, Human Resources, and the Chief Financial Officer, Project 2126. However there is one area that may be perceived or have an appearance as a Conflict of lnterest by an outside party. Details are as follow:
 
I am a former officer in the Civil Engineer Corps of the US Navy. The current Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management (and former Director of the Office of Engineering and Construction Management), Mr. Jim Rispoli is also a former officer in the Civil Engineer Corps of the US Navy. Jim and I have known each other personally and professionally since 1978. Since Jim's employment began at DOE he has hired many former Navy Civil Engineers and former NAVFAC civilians. I know many of these personnel; in many cases I have worked with them in my former career. While I know that my knowledge and association with these individuals will not compromise my ability to fairly and objectively participate on this Panel, there may be a perception of conflict of interest to a third party.
 
I have now completed two other studies of the Department of Energy, one for NAPA and one for the National Research Council. Since both efforts required
public review and comment regarding my participation and both were completed without such comment, I do not believe that the above associations hold any
significant Conflict of Interest, real or perceived.
 
Peter W. Marshall

Howard Messner* — Former President, National Academy of Public Administration; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, American Consulting Engineers Council; Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Comptroller, U.S. Department of Energy; Assistant Director for Management Improvement and Evaluation, U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
 
Deborah J. Spero — Former Deputy Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security; Lead Executive, Transition Management Office, U.S. Customs Service; Assistant Commissioner, Office of Strategic Trade, U.S. Customs Service; Assistant Commissioner, Office of Human Resources Management, U.S. Customs Service.
 
* Academy Fellow
 
Meetings:
 
Meeting 1: June 30, 2008, Time: Open to public from 9:30 am - noon. Closed from noon onwards.

Meeting 2: October 10, 2008, Time: Open to public from 9:00 am - noon.  Closed from noon onwards.
 
Project Staff:
 
Alethea Long-Green - Program Area Director
Al Kliman - Project Director
Rebecca Wallace-  Senior Advisor
Craig Durkin - Senior Advisor (Procurement)
Ken Hunter - Senior Advisor (Human Resources)
Ken Ryder - Senior Advisor (Financial Management)
Joanna Lange - Senior Advisor   
Jeremy Arensdorf - Research Associate
Morgan Clark - Research Associate
Kate Shinberg - Research Associate
Pam Creek - Senior Advisor (Human Resources)

Relevant Past Academy Studies:

Revitalizing Federal Management: Managers and Their Overburdened Systems (published November, 1983)

This report, sponsored by a consortium of 16 federal agencies with a Panel chaired by current Panel member Dwight Ink, dealt with the concern that cumbersome and overgrown federal management procedures are increasingly interfering with effective government action.  The Panel made recommendations to simplify administration, encourage more effective management, and preserve accountability. While the thrust of the report was directed at the requirements of the central management agencies—OMB, OPM, and the General Services Administration—there are many lessons applicable to individual departments.  In the view of the Panel Chair, parts of this study are as applicable to federal departments as they are to the central management agencies, and are as applicable now as they were in 1983.  Of particular note are chapter one of the report, "Diagnosing the Problem,” and a section on “Streamlining Budget Execution,” (chapter 3, pgs. 23-25) dealing with line item controls and reprogramming restrictions among other issues, which appears particularly applicable to DOE in today’s context.

Read the report