The largest Federal agencies as a group made some notable progress on a range of IT-related performance categories in the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s FITARA Scorecard version 12 released by the committee on July 28.
At the top line, four agencies earned higher grades on the new scorecard, two agencies saw their grades decline, and 18 agencies hung steady with the grades they received on the 11th version of the scorecard issued in December 2020.
As a group, 22 of the 24 agencies earned overall scores in the “B” and “C” range. No agency received an overall failing grade, although the Department of Justice (DoJ) came close to that with a “D-” mark. The General Services Administration (GSA) took the top spot with an “A+” grade – the only “A” in the entire group of agencies.
The scorecard is compiled by the House committee with help from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and since 2015 has been issued twice per year.
The latest edition of the scorecard ranks the 24 CFO Act Federal agencies across eight metrics: 1) progress in transitioning to the GSA’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS) communications services contract; 2) CIO authority enhancements; 3) transparency and risk management; 4) portfolio review; 5) Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI); 6) Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act; 7) cybersecurity; and 8) whether the CIO reports to the agency head or deputy.
Despite some hints earlier this year from Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. – chairman of the House Government Operations Subcommittee and a prime mover behind the FITARA Scorecard – of possible further grading category changes, the categories for the 12th version of the scorecard matched those of the prior scorecard issued late last year.
The easiest way to make sense of the committee’s multicolored scorecard is to view MeriTalk’s FITARA Dashboard
Here’s a quick look at the gainers, the decliners, and everyone in between:
Four Agencies Improved
GSA notched a full-grade increase, to “A+”;
Department of Interior jumped by a full grade, to “B+”;
Social Security Administration went up a full grade, to “B+”; and
State Department rose to “C,” from the previous mark of “C-.”
Two Agencies Declined
Department of Justice dropped a full grade, to “D-”; and
Department of Veterans Affairs also fell a full grade, to “C+.”
18 Agencies Held Steady
The remaining 18 agencies held onto the same grades they earned from the previous scorecard issued in December 2020:
Agriculture Department – “B+”;
Commerce Department – “C+”;
Defense Department – “C+”;
Education Department – “B+”;
Energy Department – “C+”;
Health and Human Services Department – “B”;
Homeland Security Department – “C”;
Housing and Urban Development – “C+”;
Labor Department – “B-”;
Transportation Department – “C+”;
Treasury Department – “B”;
Environmental Protection Agency – “B+”;
NASA – “C+”;
National Science Foundation – “B+”;
Nuclear Regulatory Commission – “C-”;
Office of Personnel Management – “C+”;
Small Business Administration – “C+”; and
U.S. Agency for International Development – “B.”
