Case Summary
As part of the Budget Formulation and Executive Line of Business (BFELoB) initiative, the Federal budgeting community identified the need for multi-agency collaboration, information sharing, and knowledge management. To meet that need, the BFELoB in partnership with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established a secure government-only collaboration wiki site known as the "MAX Federal Community." The site quickly proved so useful that it was extended beyond budgeting to include a wide scope of activities and topics. Any executive branch employee can use The Community to collaborate within their organization or with other executive branch organizations. More than 7,000 people are currently using the site for everything imaginable - sharing information and approaches, collaboratively developing documents, discussing issues, posting training opportunities, conducting data calls, various council activities, and much more.
Business Challenge
Inter-agency collaboration, information sharing, and data gathering are a central activity to many agency processes and activities. This is particularly true for organizations with an oversite or coordination mission like OMB as well as countless Federal inter-agency committees and councils. Many of these activities are pre-decisional and must be conducted in a secure environment where access is limited to involved parties until the information has been sufficiently developed and vetted. Current technologies for sharing electronic data across agencies are very limited and most organizations use e-mail. The business challenge was to develop a secure capability that would enable Federal agencies to collaborate and share information to the maximum extent while taking advantage of Web 2.0 technologies that facilitate participation and enhance knowledge management
Approach Taken
The BFELoB established a secure government-only collaboration wiki site known as the "MAX Federal Community". Current participants include government employees from a wide range of backgrounds who utilize the site for both their own internal activities and to collaborate with other agencies and OMB. The Community is being leveraged to execute hundreds of specific activities, such as facilitating data collection exercises and interagency working groups, collecting feedback and comments on draft guidance, sharing job opportunities, collaboratively drafting documents, and much more.
Results Achieved (metrics)
The MAX Federal Community has grown to over 7,000 users, with hundreds more registering each month. Countless collaboration activities are occurring in the Community enabling government employees to work together for effectively and to share information easily.
Lessons Learned
Collaboration and knowledge management are integral to effective governance. Incorporating tools such as wikis into daily business activities ensures that knowledge is captured and key parties are collaborating.
References
- Budget Formulation and Execution Line of Business
- American Association of Budget and Program Analysis Spring Symbosium
- Washington Post: Agencies Share Information By Taking a Page From Wikipedia
- Four Studies in Collaboration
- A Fix for Formulating Budgets
- OMB Promotes Fiscal Cooperation
