President
Bush’s E-Government Initiative reflects
his commitment to employ the latest technology
to create a more efficient, citizen-centered Federal
government. E-Government makes good business sense
by making it simpler for citizens, business and
government to receive timely, quality services.
Through the use of Web-based technologies, government
and citizens can now be closely linked, rapid
access to the government information realized,
and real efforts undertaken to streamline agency
operations to eliminate bureaucratic waste by
consolidating duplicative services and programs.
The
E-Travel Initiative, launched in response to
the President’s Management Agenda to
improve the internal efficiency of the Federal
government, addresses the challenge of reengineering
the government’s travel function.
Today’s
Environment
Today’s highly decentralized model for
handling travel operations within the Federal
Government
has produced an administrative structure that
is labor intensive, inconsistent in its ability
to deliver common processes & procedures,
and unable to effectively monitor travel operations
at an agency-level. Individual agencies, in
fact, operate standalone travel information
systems
that are duplicative in functionality and, in
many cases, unable to handle integrated electronic
voucher processing. Other agencies, by contrast,
rely heavily on antiquated, paper-based systems
for travel planning, vouchering, and reimbursement
-- all of which can lead to errors, approval
delays and payment delinquencies.
The Vision
for E-Travel
E-Travel is leveraging proven industry practices
with best-of-breed technologies to deliver a
common, automated approach for managing the
Government’s
travel function. The new E-Travel service will
significantly improve the efficiency of the Government’s
travel management function by:
- Eliminating inefficient, stovepipe
systems
- Broadening
the range of travel-related services available
to federal employees
- Providing immediate agency costs savings through
on-line transaction processing
- Creating a self-service environment that
is both easy-to-use and customer focused
Embracing the
Future
E-Commerce has enabled the creation of a common,
government-wide travel management service where
direct connections to Global Distribution Systems
for booking reservations and direct payments to
banks and suppliers is possible. Even now, related
Web technologies are supporting the expansion
of commercial on-line self-service environments
for travel management.
E-Travel promises to
streamline government travel administration through
a highly automated, unified
Web-based environment that will track every
step of the travel process – from travel
authorization & reservations
to payment of travel claims & voucher reconciliation.
Both federal travelers and travel arrangers
will be able to prepare and submit travel information
electronically through a PC, laptop, or handheld
electronic device—anytime, anywhere. On-line
budget information, standardized audit reports
and expedited approvals will now be possible.
In sum, the E-Travel Service provides significant
value through its consolidation, standardization,
and automation of federal travel planning and
management.
|