• The Information Technology Management Reform Act (ITMRA)
• The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (PRA)
• The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA)

The NIH IT Management Guide provides guidance for the components of NIH for development of their IT management process. The basic philosophy of the NIH IT management process includes the following concepts:

• The level of management activity expended on IT should be commensurate with the size and complexity of the IT activities.
• The basic components of an IT management process are:
• An appropriate organizational structure
• A current, accurate inventory of IT resources, and
• A financial system that allows management to monitor and control IT costs.
• The Process should be integrated with the processes for making budget, financial, and program management decisions.
• The Process should provide for evaluation of the work process to determine the best place for it to be performed and the best way for it to be performed before the process is automated.
• The Process should establish effective and efficient capital planning processes for selecting, managing, and evaluating the results of all of its major investments in IT systems.

Additional guidance or regulations to implement the legislation:

• OMB Circular A-130, provides uniform government wide information resources management policies as required by the PRA
• Executive Order 13011, Federal Information Technology, highlights the need for executive agencies to significantly improve the management of their information systems, including the acquisition of information technology, by implementing the relevant provisions of the PRA, ITMRA, and GPRA
• GAO Executive Guide: Improving Mission Performance Through Strategic Information Management and Technology, identifies 11 fundamental practices that improved performance in leading private and public organizations, and addresses the overall philosophy of IT management