United States General Accounting Office GAO Report to Congressional Addressees June 2004 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE Actions to Strengthen and Sustain GPO’s Transformation GAO ^.Accountability ♦ Integrity * Reliability GAO-04-830 June 2004 k G A O GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE _ Accountability Integrity- Reliability Highlights Actions to Strengthen and Sustain GPO's Transformation Highlights of GAO-04-830, a report to the Chairmen and Ranking Minority Members, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, and Subcommittee on Legislative Branch, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate Why GAO Did This Study What GAO Found The transformation of the Federal government printing and dissemination are changing due to the Government Printing Office (GPO) underlying changes to the technological environment. The Public Printer and is under way. This report captures his leadership team understand the effects of this technological change on the results of our efforts over the GPO and have begun an ambitious effort to transform GPO and reexamine past year to assess and help its mission. Federal agencies are publishing more documents directly to the strengthen GPO’s transformation Web and are doing more of their printing and dissemination of information and strategic planning efforts. It is without using GPO services. At the same time, the public is obtaining the final part of GAO’s response to both a mandate requiring GAO to government information from government Web sites such as GPO Access examine the current state of rather than purchasing paper copies. As a result, GPO has seen declines in printing and dissemination of its printing volumes, printing revenues, and document sales. To assist in the public government information and transformation process under way at GPO, GAO convened a panel of a congressional request that we printing and information dissemination experts, who developed a series of conduct a general management options for GPO to consider in its strategic planning. The panel suggested review of GPO focusing on that that GPO GPO’s transformation and management. • develop a business plan to focus its mission on information What GAO Recommends dissemination as its primary goal, rather than printing; • demonstrate to its customers the value it can provide; To further GPO’s transformation • improve and extend partnerships with agencies to help establish itself as and build on the actions already an information disseminator; and taken by GPO's leaders, GAO is • ensure that its internal operations are adequate for efficient and effective recommending that GPO leaders management of core business functions and for service to its customers. take steps to improve planning and goal setting for the transformation. GPO can also use other key practices that GAO identified to help agencies GAO is also reconunending that successfully transform, such as involving employees to obtain their ideas GPO begin adopting leading and gain their ownership for the transformation. GPO fully applied one of practices of world-class these practices, related to ensuring that top management drives the organizations in financial management and information transformation, and has partially implemented each of the remaining eight technology management. practices. To fully implement the remaining practices, GPO needs to take actions including establishing its mission and strategic goals and developing We provided a draft of this report a documented plan for its transformation. in June 2004 to the Public Printer for review and conunent. The GPO has taken some initial steps to adopt the best practices of other public Public Printer agreed with our and private sector organizations, most notably with respect to human capital findings and recommendations and management. GPO is actively implementing the recommendations GAO noted that this report will be a made in October 2003 (see GAO-04-85). For example, GPO reorganized the major part of GPO’s transformation human capital office into customer-focused teams devoted to meeting the process. human capital needs of GPO’s operating units. Continued leadership attention is needed to build on the initial progress made in information technology and financial management. For example, GPO should implement an information technology investment management process to help management choose, monitor, and evaluate projects, and GPO should train www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt7GAO-04-830. its line managers to effectively use financial data. To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on the link above. For more information, contact J. Christopher Mihm at (202) 512-6806 or [email protected]. United States General Accounting Office Contents Letter 1 Results in Brief 3 Background 5 Government Printing and Dissemination Changes Are Forcing GPO’s Transformation 10 GPO Has Made the Case for Change, but Actions to Advance Transformation Needed 23 World-Class Management Practices Can Strengthen GPO’s Transformation 47 Concluding Observations 63 Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 63 Appendixes Appendix I: Scope and Methodology 66 Appendix II: Comments from the Government Printing Office 69 Appendix III: Executive Agency Satisfaction with GPO Services 71 Level of Satisfaction with GPO Term Contracts 73 Level of Satisfaction with GPO Procurement Purchasing 74 Level of Satisfaction with GPO Regional Print Procurement 75 Level of Satisfaction with GPO Information Dissemination 76 Level of Satisfaction with GPO Customer Services 77 Appendix IV: Panel of Experts 80 Tables Table 1: Status of GPO’s Adoption of Key Practices Associated with Transformations 4 Table 2: Printing, Binding, and Related Services Provided to the Congress and Federal Agencies for Fiscal Year 2003 6 Table 3: Executive Agency Familiarity with GPO Services 15 Table 4: Executive Agency Level of Satisfaction with GPO Services 16 Table 5: Satisfaction with Products and Services 72 Table 6: Agency Print Officers’ Ratings of GPO Term Contracts 74 Table 7: Agency Print Officers’ Ratings of GPO Procurement Purchasing 75 Table 8: Agency Print Officers’ Ratings of GPO Regional Procurement 76 Table 9: Agency Print Officers’ Ratings of GPO Information Dissemination 77 Page i GAO-04-830 GPO Transformation Contents Table 10: Agency Ratings of GPO Customer Services 78 Table 11: Agency Ratings of Most Recent Experience with GPO Customer Services 79 Figures Figure 1: GPO Retained Earnings for Fiscal Years 1998-2003 11 Figure 2: GPO Revolving Fund Activities Accumulated Losses to Retained Earnings for Fiscal Years 1999-2003 (Dollars in Millions) 12 Figure 3: GPO Revenues and Expenses from Sales of Publications for Fiscal Years 1999-2003 13 Figure 4: GPO’s Organization as of June 2004 26 Figure 5: Banner Displayed at GPO’s Pueblo Document Distribution Center 32 Figure 6: Achieving Best Practices in Financial Management 58 Abbreviations CFO Chief Financial Officer CHCO Chief Human Capital Officer CIO Chief Information Officer COO Chief Operating Officer DLC Depository Library Council ECO Employee Communications Office FDLP Federal Depository Library Program GPO Government Printing Office GPRA Government Performance and Accountability Act IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IT Information Technology NDIIPP National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program OMB Office of Management and Budget This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately. Page ii GAO-04-830 GPO TVansformation 1 4 GAO ^^^^^^^^Accountability » Integrity « Reliability United States General Accounting Office Washington, D.C. 20548 June 30, 2004 The Honorable Ted Stevens Chairman The Honorable Robert C. Byrd Ranking Minority Member Committee on Appropriations United States Senate The Honorable Ben Nighthorse Campbell Chairman The Honorable Richard J. Durbin Ranking Minority Member Subcommittee on Legislative Branch Committee on Appropriations United States Senate The transformation of the Government Printing Office (GPO) has begun. The trend towards producing government documents through electronic publishing technology and providing public government documents through the Internet has affected all of GPO's programs, reducing the production, procurement, and sales of printed products. These have historically provided GPO with a vital source of revenue to supplement its annual appropriation. GPO is making operational and cultural changes to help ensure that it stays relevant and efficient, and that it meets its customers’ needs. This report encompasses our body of work on GPO from the past year and responds to both (1) a mandate from the Senate Committee on Appropriations, included in Senate Report 107-209, to examine the current state of printing and dissemination of federal government information and provide strategic options for GPO to enhance the efficiency, economy, and effectiveness of its printing and dissemination operations and (2) your request that we conduct a general management review of GPO to focus on GPO’s efforts to transform. The Subcommittee requested that the general management review be done in conjunction with the committee’s mandated review. We have issued several products in response to and based on the legislative mandate and request, including briefings on the current printing and dissemination operations at GPO, the results of a panel discussion on the future role of GPO and a survey of executive branch agencies’ use of GPO services, and selected approaches for workforce restructuring at GPO. We have also issued a report containing Page 1 GAO-04-830 GPO Transformation recommendations to assist GPO’s transformation through strategic human capital management efforts and a congressional testimony outlining technological changes affecting GPO’s mission. This report summarizes and, as appropriate, expands upon and updates our earlier work. First, in response to the Senate Committee’s mandate, we describe the current state of printing and dissemination of federal government information, which is based on a survey of GPO’s executive branch customers and a panel of experts who discussed (1) trends in printing, publishing, and dissemination and (2) the future role of GPO. Second, our general management review focused on actions GPO’s leadership has taken and can take to transform itself and develop a strategic plan, and how GPO can work towards building a world-class organization. In completing the general management review, we used as the analytical framework for collecting data and reviewing GPO’s transformational efforts the key practices and implementation steps for mergers and organizational transformations that we had previously developed.1 We performed our work from March 2003 through June 2004. During this time we worked cooperatively with GPO leaders, meeting regularly with them about the progress of their transformation initiatives and providing them with information that they plan to use to develop GPO’s strategic plan and strengthen management. For the general management review examining GPO’s transformational efforts, we followed generally accepted government auditing standards. Because the nature of the work in response to the mandate was future oriented and focused on technological developments, not organizational management, we determined that it could not be considered an audit subject to generally accepted government auditing standards. However, in our approach to the work, we followed appropriate quality control procedures consistent with the generally accepted standards. For additional information on our scope and methodology, see appendix I. ‘U.S. General Accounting Office, Results-Oriented Cultures: Implementation Steps to Assist Mergers and Organizational Transformations, GAO-03-669 (Washington, D.C.: July 2, 2003), and Highlights of a GAO Forum: Mergers and Transformation: Lessons Learned for a Department of Homeland Security and Other Federal Agencies, GAO-03- 293SP (Washington, D.C.: Nov. 14, 2002). Page 2 GAO-04-830 GPO Transformation Results in Brief Printing and dissemination in the federal government, as in private industry, are being transformed by the changing technological environment. Documents are increasingly being created and disseminated electronically, sometimes without ever being printed on paper. Federal agencies are publishing more documents directly to the Web and are doing more of their printing and dissemination of information directly, without using GPO services. At the same time, as more and more government documents are being created and managed electronically, the public is obtaining government information from government Web sites, such as GPO Access (http://www.gpoaccess.gov), rather than purchasing paper copies of government documents. As a result, GPO has seen declines in its printing volumes, printing revenues, and document sales. The agency’s procured printing business has experienced a loss of $15.8 million over the past 5 years. The sales program lost $77 million over the same period. In addition, these changes are creating challenges for GPO’s long-standing structure for centralized printing and dissemination and its interactions with customer agencies. The Public Printer recognizes these challenges and in response has embarked upon an ambitious transformation. To assist in this effort, a panel of printing and dissemination experts that we convened provided a number of suggestions for GPO to consider as it transforms itself. The panel suggested that GPO do the following: • Develop a business plan focused on information dissemination as its primary goal, rather than printing. • Collect data to demonstrate that the services it provides—printing and publishing as well as information dissemination to the public through its library system and Web site—add value. • Establish partnerships with other agencies that disseminate information and enhance its current partnerships. • Ensure that its internal operations—including technology, how it does business with its customers, management information systems, and training—are adequate for efficient and effective management of core business functions and for service to its customers. In its efforts to transform, GPO can use the nine key practices listed below that we identified in previous work. One of these practices, related to Page 3 GAO-04-830 GPO Transformation ensuring that top management drives the transformation, has already been fully applied by GPO’s leadership, and GPO has begun to implement each of the remaining eight practices. To fully implement the remaining practices, GPO will need to take additional actions, such as establishing its mission and strategic goals and developing a plan for its transformation. The status of GPO’s efforts with respect to the key transformation practices is summarized in table 1. Table 1: Status of GPO’s Adoption of Key Practices Associated with Transformations Practice GPO status Ensure top leadership drives the transformation. GPO has fully implemented this practice through the Public Printer’s actions to make a clear and compelling case for transforming GPO. He has also established an organizational structure to help balance transformation with the delivery of services. Establish a coherent mission and integrated strategic goals to GPO has not established a mission and strategic goals; however, guide the transformation. GPO has set goals for its individual operating units, which help to create a more results-oriented culture. Focus on a key set of principles and priorities at the outset of the GPO has not adopted a set of agencywide principles or core values; transformation. however, a GPO unit has benefited from establishing core values. Set implementation goals and a timeline to build momentum and GPO has not established specific time frames and goals for its show progress from day one. transformation; however, it has planned some initial steps to show progress. Dedicate an implementation team to manage the transformation GPO’s management council focuses on transformational issues, but process. attention to the daily activities of the transformation could be strengthened. Use the performance management system to define the GPO is developing a new performance management system for its responsibility and assure accountability for change. executives, but needs to complete its strategic plan before it can align performance expectations with organizational goals. Establish a communication strategy to create shared expectations GPO leadership has communicated early and often, ensured and report related progress. consistency of message, and encouraged two-way communication. However, employees want additional information to meet their specific needs. Involve employees to obtain their ideas and gain ownership for the GPO has informed employees of changes, but has the opportunity to transformation. more fully involve them in the transformation. Build a world-class organization. GPO has taken steps to apply best practices in human capital, information technology, and financial management, but significant challenges remain. Source: GAO. Throughout this report, we make recommendations to assist GPO with the implementation of the eight practices that have not been completely implemented. Page 4 GAO-04-830 GPO Transformation