Same problems, new day

Not all information management challenges are created equal. Mark Day, the deputy chief information officer for technology at the Environmental Protection Agency, says his agency -which counts among its "partners" universities, American Indian tribes, state governments and industries-has a more complicated information management mission than, for example, the Social Security Administration, which has a more clearly delineated mission and a firmer grasp on what its stakeholders and clients need.

EPA collects reams of environmental data-on everything from air quality to pesticide levels-from a range of regulatory agencies and businesses. EPA must disseminate that information to those groups and to the public. At any given time, the demand for EPA's information could be high or low. The agency's approach to information management still is evolving, Day says. But Day's explanation of why it's more difficult for an agency such as EPA to manage information and implement electronic government programs-which involve sharing information among agencies and constituents-isn't likely to satisfy the Bush administration. The Office of Managenent and Budget is on a mission to hold agencies accountable for failing to have effective management controls over their information technology investments and the way in which those systems handle data.