Program and Management Support Services for the Office of Justice Programs (DOJ-OJP)

Published April 2011

The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was being faced with rising numbers of research grant applications due to the increase in federal spending for biomedical research. Expedited processing of the more than sixty thousand research grant applications each year then became a top priority for NIH.

Challenge

The Department of Justice – Office of Justice Programs (DOJ-OJP) was looking for reliable contractors to assist its Bureaus and Offices in program and management support activities. Previous companies had difficulty finding suitably qualified, security-cleared staff within the short timeframes DOJ required. The agency needed contractors that were professional, committed to the overall mission of the agency, and could seamlessly work with the DOJ workforce. One specific area in which DOJ required immediate assistance was in grants processing where there was a significant backlog of grants to be closed-out in the grants management system.

Solution

²İİ®tv (²İİ®tv Inc.) designed a recruiting and staffing solution specifically for DOJ. Our Program Management Office took advantage of the company’s unique position of having pools of cleared personnel “floatingâ€� on existing contracts or awaiting placement on a contract. Our solution gave DOJ access to qualified personnel who were already cleared at the Secret Level or higher. With their clearance already in hand, our staff had a greater chance of receiving the DOJ-specific clearance within a relatively short period. ²İİ®tv also realized that many potential contracting staff lost valuable time waiting to be cleared by the Agency. As such, we ensured that all of our candidates for positions at DOJ complete a pre-screening questionnaire to help evaluate their “clearability.â€� As an added benefit, during periods of interruptions in building services at DOJ, our staff are able to work from our PMO which is within walking distance from DOJ.

Results

²İİ®tv’ first task at DOJ was to take care of the grant close-out backlog in the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The ²İİ®tv team worked diligently to complete all of the close-out work within one year. ²İİ®tv responded to all of DOJ’s requests for contract staff and quickly provided staff that in most cases exceeded the qualification and skills requirement for the position. In addition, the ²İİ®tv presence has grown steadily from initially supporting one Bureau (BJA) to supporting over ten Bureaus and Offices. Our personnel have received several certificates of appreciation, certificates of special recognition, and letters of commendation for outstanding performance from DOJ’s Branch Chiefs, Administrators, Directors, and the Assistant Attorney General.

Grants Management and Peer Review Support for NIH

Published April 2011

The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was being faced with rising numbers of research grant applications due to the increase in federal spending for biomedical research. Expedited processing of the more than sixty thousand research grant applications each year then became a top priority for NIH.

Challenge

The contractor staff that CSR had hired from several companies to assist with grant application processing were not motivated to perform at the high level required. Staff turnover rates at CSR for the contractor companies were high, resulting in valuable time being lost to training new staff. The productivity levels and quality of the grants application processing were at best mediocre.

Solution

²İİ®tv Inc. tailored its recruitment and project management approach to meet the unique needs of CSR and the NIH. We placed emphasis on recruitment of staff with experience working in biomedical environments and interacting with scientists and biomedical research professionals. We hired motivated, well-qualified staff and provided them with relevant NIH database training, mentoring, outstanding benefits, incentives and awards to build a stable and highly efficient workforce for NIH. Our project management team periodically evaluated all processes looking for ways to gain efficiencies and then documented the results and changes for training the incoming staff. In addition, we regularly solicited feedback from our NIH clients to ensure that our personnel were dedicated to providing the best service to NIH.

Results

The ²İİ®tv Team, within the first 2 years of the project, significantly improved the productivity standards for grants and research application processing by more than 30% without any loss of data integrity and accuracy. The ²İİ®tv recruitment and project management approach resulted in high levels of staff retention. Our retention rate for the NIH project averaged 91% over the life of the contract, ranging from 88% to 96% during the contract period. The average length of service for our staff on the NIH project was just over three years for the five-year project. Within the first 2 years at CSR the range of tasks we were responsible for broadened to include executive administrative support, administrative support for the operations of the Peer Review Groups, accounting and travel management, and management of committees governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

In less than 3 years, ²İİ®tv’ presence at NIH grew from one Institute/Center (IC) to over eight ICs, expanding to additional complex tasks such as grants management. Our project manager became the first contractor to receive the CSR Director’s award which recognizes individuals whose superior achievements or service warrant special honorary recognition. Later, the Assistant project manager and many other ²İİ®tv staff became recipients of the CSR Director’s award and Employee of the Month awards. Our staff even received the prestigious NIH Director’s Award for their outstanding performance.

Financial management Case Study for INS

Published April 2011

In FY 2000 INS consolidated the accounts payable workload of five finance units into a national payment center supporting an agency that had doubled in size during the previous 8 years (going from an 18,000 to 36,000 staff size and from a $3 billion to $7 billion budget). Simultaneously, the INS was deploying a new financial system.

Challenge

The consolidation was failing – many payments were not being made; critical services, such as phone service and janitorial service in field locations, were being terminated; in San Diego, a lessor had repossessed a trailer storing computers at a border patrol site; the amount of prompt payment interest being paid was huge and growing; and the number of accounting transaction errors had reached 33,000 and was climbing. As a result, agency managers did not have access to accurate financial reports to monitor the status of the agency’s funds. The INS realized that the center had not been staffed properly to assume the extra workload created by the consolidation.

Solution

INS needed to stabilize the situation. Highly experienced in accounting operations and technology, ²İİ®tv, Inc (²İİ®tv) was engaged by INS to quickly hire 105 accountants and system analysts over a 2-week period. The ²İİ®tv team quickly assimilated itself into the center by working side by side with the Federal workforce to pay the outstanding invoices with the appropriate amount of prompt payment interest, as required by law.

At the same time, the staff began to analyze the transaction errors in order to allow them to both process in the financial system and to also determine the cause of the errors. This two prong approach not only facilitated the cleanup of errors, but also minimized the number of errors going forward. Feedback was provided to the center staff explaining what steps should be taken to minimize future errors. The ²İİ®tv team also analyzed the invoice payment process to ascertain why invoices were paid late and recommended changes to the business process to provide better control over invoices to ensure the timely payment of them.

Results

A failing financial center became one that was respected by its customers. The blended workforce of roughly 50% Federal employees and 50% contractor became a seamless team. Payments were made on time; prompt payment interest was reduced 90%; and INS received an unqualified audit opinion on its Fiscal Year 2001 financial statements with the support of ²İİ®tv. Eight years later, in FY 2009, ²İİ®tv, Inc. continues a presence in this financial center.

Case Study of User Fee Audit & Collections

Published April 2011

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Challenge

The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was required by law to collect user fees from airlines when airline passengers disembarked at a United States port-of-entry. The user fees were to pay for the inspection of the passengers by immigration inspectors. The airlines were responsible for collecting the user fees from the passengers and then remitting the user fees on a specific time schedule to INS. The airlines collected the user fees when the tickets were sold to the passengers and it was up to the airlines to remit the proper user fee amount to INS. On the remittance to INS, the airlines stated that they sold a certain number of tickets during a specific time period and remitted the user fees. INS did not have any program in place to verify that the airlines were remitting the proper user fee amounts to INS. The airlines were self-policing themselves and could be costing the United States government millions of dollars.

Solution

INS needed to put an improved system in place where airline user fee remittances could be verified and validated. Highly experienced in technology, financial accounting, and auditing, ²İİ®tv, Inc (²İİ®tv) was contracted by INS to develop a database to keep a record of the airline user fee remittances and to audit the airlines to ensure the accuracy of the remittances. ²İİ®tv developed an Access database for user fee remittance tracking. This database kept track of airline remittances in order to verify that all airlines remitted in a timely fashion. Additionally, the data that was compiled in the database could be used for trend analysis as well as comparisons with other airline traveler databases such as the Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. Customs Service to verify the accuracy of the number of passengers traveling. ²İİ®tv also initiated an airline audit program where ²İİ®tv staff visited airlines to audit the airline’s financial and accounting records to ensure accurate user fee remittance.

Results

The seamless launch of the user fee remittance database paved the way for enormous success during the inaugural year as well as subsequent years. INS with the support of ²İİ®tv was able to keep better track of airline user fee remittances, which increased from $228 million to over $428 million per year. Additionally, analysis was initiated on the data so that ²İİ®tv could determine which airlines should be audited. Based on the implementation of the database and initiation of regular airline audits, INS was able to recover under-remittances from the airlines worth tens of millions of dollars per year. This program was so successful that ²İİ®tv was also asked to audit airlines for the U.S. Customs Service and the Department of Agriculture.

Case Study for Transportation Security Administration

Published April 2011

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Challenge

During the FY2006 Financial Statement Audit, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) received a material weakness in budgetary accounting. One of the major items identified in the TSA Financial Statement Audit stated that TSA did not maintain documentation supporting Undelivered Orders (UDOs) and related purchase information in a manner that was readily available to management and auditors. TSA was unable to provide sufficient documentation to support a sample of UDO balances at yearend prior to the completion of the Department of ²İİ®tvland Security FY2006 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR).
The audit report recommended that TSA initiate an Undelivered Order Verification and Validation to include development and implementation of policies, procedures and processes to ensure outstanding obligations are valid, reconciled and properly stated on the financial records.

Due to audit weaknesses, system issues, as well as regulatory and business driven changes, the TSA was faced with invalid Undelivered Orders and outstanding Obligations.

Solution

TSA needed to put an improved process in place where the Office of Finance could verify and validate all Undelivered Order balances in a timely manner to avoid having old and invalid payable balances on its accounting records. Highly experienced in both technology and auditing, ²İİ®tv, Inc (²İİ®tv) was engaged by TSA as a subcontractor to perform a top to bottom Verification and Validation (V&V) of all open obligations.

The ²İİ®tv Team approached the V&V strategy with the intention of maximizing the benefit to be obtained from the V&V process. Purchase orders greater than $5 Million and expiring appropriations were reviewed first constituting greater than 50 percent of the open obligation dollar amount. Additionally, open obligations that had not had any activity since their conversion from the previous financial system were reviewed. Since these obligations had no activity for over two years, there was a very good chance that these obligations could be deobligated, thus returning funds to TSA. In the long term, a quarterly undelivered order V&V process needed to be established so that open obligations can be reviewed on a regular basis.

Results

The implementation of the V&V paved the way for enormous success during the FY2007 and FY2008 Financial Statement Audits. TSA with the support of ²İİ®tv was able to reduce the material weakness to only a reportable condition in FY2007 and then reduce the reportable condition to no deficiency. Based on the implementation of the reconciliation and the initiation of regular UDO reviews, TSA was able to reduce Undelivered Orders by tens of millions of dollars per year. This program was so successful that ²İİ®tv was also asked to review Property, Plant, and Equipment for TSA.

Asset Management Case Study for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Published Aprill 2011

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Challenge

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the largest investigative arm of the Department of ²İİ®tvland Security, was faced with the daunting task of having to streamline its approach to asset and portfolio management. The Agency was experiencing difficulties accounting for its assets including portfolio analysis, conducting facilities condition assessments, asset pricing and valuation, planning and reporting, tracking of supporting real property documentation (e.g. architectural drawings), and providing timely, accurate real property data for its consolidated financial statements.

Solution

²İİ®tv, Inc. (²İİ®tv Inc.) was able to efficiently and accurately monitor all of ICE’s assets and provide a focused and strategic oversight of the Agency’s vast portfolios. ²İİ®tv Inc. trained ICE’s staff in all aspects of real property management including how to conduct site visits for condition assessments, assessing environmental factors and local economy impact on property values, real estate market analysis and property valuation to determine adequacy of rates and charges. Our professionals analyzed information on the number, values, and characteristics of ICE’s real properties and other assets as necessary to assist with planning and usage strategies. We also developed a central database repository for real-time management of all of ICE’s asset management data. Our database generated various weekly and monthly reports for ICE including management and operational reports on transactions, valuations, and portfolio characteristics such as duration and geographic characteristics; Repair and Alterations (R&A) Reports, Operations and Maintenance Reports, Facilities Management Reports, Rent Expenditures, Space Utilization by Location, Cost per square foot/capita, Expiring Leases etc. We developed a standard operating procedures manual for leasing acquisition and portfolio management for use by ICE staff. The asset/portfolio management training material and courses we developed for approximately 50 of ICE’s asset management staff proved invaluable.

Results

²İİ®tv Inc. was able to provide ICE’s auditors with a financial accounting of all the records for their entire asset portfolios, including the market value of all assets contained in them, in accordance with applicable GAAP. We were able to provide necessary staff and other resources to the auditors to support the ICE officials responsible for the Agency’s budgetary and other accounting functions and in the preparation of the entity’s consolidated financial statements. Our comprehensive solution to asset management services for ICE covered approximately 400 projects/portfolios in excess of 2.9 million square footage, valued at $427 million, and impacting more than 8,600 of ICE’s staff. Additionally, we provided financial analyses and strategic management support for 18 capital investment projects for ICE valued at over $47 million.

U.S. Food and Administration: Operations and Maintenance (O&M) and System Testing for FDA Newly Developed and Legacy Applications

Published Aprill 2011

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Challenge

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) required operations and maintenance (O&M) and system performance testing support for its newly developed and legacy applications. The FDA Information Systems model the Health and Human Services (HHS’s) Enterprise Performance Life Cycle (EPLC) management process – a process-driven IT life cycle management approach emphasizing enterprise integration based on development of sound business and technical requirements. Some of the FDA legacy applications did not have appropriate documented artifacts and therefore, required experienced systems development personnel to analyze the design and implementation of these applications and prepare the appropriate documentation to align these systems with the EPLC. Additionally, the FDA needed to develop and implement a performance testing methodology and a performance testing environment.

Solution

²İİ®tv, Inc. (²İİ®tv) worked closely with the FDA IT project managers, consultants, subject matter experts and user groups in developing a project plan with a structured and targeted approach to delivering the project objectives. ²İİ®tv established and executed two distinct project activities for: (1) ongoing operations and maintenance; and (2) performance testing infrastructure implementation and test execution. ²İİ®tv provided the software maintenance and lifecycle documentation support for the O&M solution by consistently delivering products which met and exceeded customer satisfaction. ²İİ®tv provided technical support to the QA and test team and participated in systems migration planning activities. In addition, ²İİ®tv played a major role in test tool acquisition and the implementation of the test environment. ²İİ®tv also took the leadership role in conducting the performance testing of applications which were targeted for migration to the FDA’s Contractor Hosted Data Center (CHDC). To ensure continuity and institutionalize best practices, our IT staff mentored and trained FDA systems staff on testing methodologies and automated testing to FDA.

Results

²İİ®tv met the FDA’s goals of maintaining and sustaining the legacy applications and documenting the artifacts for the Enterprise Performance Life Cycle (EPLC) initiative. ²İİ®tv was the major contractor in performance testing activities and analysis for the FDA applications which were targeted for Information Computing Technologies for the 21st Century (ICT21) migration. ²İİ®tv project team successfully managed the FDA project within budget, mitigated risk to the O&M operations, and planned and performed ongoing maintenance. FDA Information System is fully operational and compliant with the HHS Enterprise Performance Life Cycle management process.

U.S. Department of Treasury: Information Technology (IT)

Published August 2017

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Challenge

Implementation of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Program required ongoing Information Technology (IT) support to design and develop user-friendly forms for State, Territory, and Municipal applicants to apply for SSBCI funding. The SSBCI Program, enacted as part of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 and administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury, provides Federal funding for eligible State and Municipal credit support programs designed to promote small business access to private capital.

Solution

²İİ®tv (²İİ®tv) successfully implemented a forms management solution for Treasury to enable States, Territories, and Municipalities to apply for SSBCI funds. ²İİ®tv’ solution included the design and development of PDF forms and accompanying attachments with fillable data fields and ensured the integrity of the data during transmission by the States to Treasury. Our approach to the development of forms incorporated data validation strategies to assure Treasury that data transmitted to the agency was correct and included only permitted characters within range and length boundaries. Our strategy ensured that data was not only validated, but also business rule correct.

Additional Information

In addition, ²İİ®tv developed a data extraction solution that enabled Treasury to store all application data within a single database to facilitate rapid data retrieval and analysis for reporting. Our staff supported the SSBCI Program’s Helpdesk that provided applicants with technical assistance as they downloaded, completed, and transmitted the forms and attachments to Treasury.

We also conducted requirements analysis for Treasury on the development of a data repository/IT platform to house loan-level raw data on performance and characteristics of the various SSBCI programs proposed by the States. The IT platform was required for performing risk evaluations, financial modeling, financial program reporting, loan loss reserve evaluations, and any related analysis. We provided Treasury with a completed technology survey assessment to determine vendors offering industry best practice solutions (Data Warehouse, Decision Management Tools, and Predictive Analytics) to implement the platform. Our documented assessment findings included a SWOT analysis of each vendor.

Solution

²İİ®tv was able to meet Treasury’s objectives of developing secure, user-friendly forms and attachments within the required two-week timeframe for the expedited roll-out of the SSBCI program. States, Territories, and Municipalities were able to transmit application data without any loss of data integrity 100 % of the time. As a result of our efforts, Treasury was able to approve the first couple of applications for SSBCI to fund loan programs within only one week of program initiation.