Client: Office of the Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of State

Project Title: Fiscal Year 2003 Performance Plan Revision Project Project

Description: The Department of State drafted its FY 2003 Performance Plan as required by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), due after the submission of the President’s budget to Congress. After receiving proposals from over 200 offices, embassies and consulates worldwide, the Chief Financial Officer, heading the Resource Management Bureau, reviewed and created a new draft based on two basic objectives:

1. To create a document that better analyzes and communicates to external and internal readers the Department's Performance Plan.
2. To develop a document that can be used as a foundation for the development of the Department's Strategic Plan for FY 2004.

Suss Consulting was then asked to assist in the revision of the Performance Plan for FY 2003, which involved four key activities:

• Evaluate and recommend appropriate changes to the new draft of the Performance Plan.
• Draft “Strategic Goal Summaries” compiled from previous drafts and other Department planning and reporting publications.
• Assist in drafting other major sections of the Performance Plan.
• Provide final substantive and technical editing of the entire plan prior to final publication.

Suss Consulting assigned a senior consultant with Department of State experience and a vast knowledge of strategic performance planning and budgeting for the project to oversee the aforementioned tasks. All recommendations made to the Department were accepted and incorporated into the final FY 2003 Performance Plan.

Client: Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP)

Project Title: The Federal Financial Management Workforce Of the Future

Project Description: JFMIP is an organization that was chartered by the federal government in 1950. Its mission is to improve government financial management practices through the joint and cooperative efforts of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), the General Accounting Office (GAO), the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), and all federal agencies. Since the passage of the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act in 1990, OMB, GAO, and Treasury have worked collaboratively with the CFO Council, which represents the interests of the federal agencies.

Directed by its leading officials, JFMIP published a report in 2002 on the Federal Financial Management Workforce of the Future to identify and analyze critical issues regarding the effectiveness of the financial management work force. This work force transitioned from transaction processing to strategic planning, project management, capital investment decision-making and decision support, which requires more analytical skills. Also, the federal financial work force needed to meet the mandate of the President's Management Agenda by identifying strategic management of human capital issues as central to accomplishing government business.

Suss Consulting assigned a senior consultant with an extensive financial management background and with strengths in human resources to the JFMIP project. Additionally, the consultant had a firm grasp on financial management core competencies and training programs in federal agencies. The senior Suss consultant assigned to the project served as the principal writer for the project report and developed a list of the following procedures:

• Analyze core competencies in the financial management workforce to transition from transactional processing to analytical reporting on processed data.
• Research, collect and analyze information on future competencies and qualifications for federal financial personnel.
• Identify potential gaps in functional areas that result from inadequate human resources.
• Develop options to close gaps and minimize future risks of achieving financial management goals.

Client: Office of Research and Development (ORD), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Project Title: Information Technology Investment Review Process

Project Description: The Office of Research and Development (ORD) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is mandated under the Clinger-Cohen Act to execute an Information Technology (IT) Investment Review Process for each IT investment.

Suss Consulting developed an IT Investment Review Process designed to capture essential planning and review information. By adapting existing ORD management processes, Suss helped ORD to avoid creating separate administrative reporting cycles and duplicating reported information. The process developed by Suss Consulting uses the planning activities of lower organizational levels in the initial stages. All subsequent levels are given visibility into ORD’s IT investments and use the same information to support the management and reporting needs of higher organizational levels. Suss Consulting developed the IT Investment Review Guide that aids ORD in accomplishing the following objectives:

• Improve management of ORD IT resources
• Provide the best possible IT support to ORD's mission by identifying program and project drivers while determining the full scope of IT investments.
• Create an IT investment portfolio and engages stakeholders in managing this portfolio in order to create a consolidated view of IT needs across the organization
• Comply with Clinger-Cohen Act and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) reporting requirements. The ORD IT Investment Review Process was a collaborative decision-making process that provided management oversight for the strategic planning, budgeting, procurement, and project management of IT investments that ensured the support of agency business objectives.

Client: Office of Research and Development (ORD), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Project Title: Information Management (IM) Study

Project Description: The Office of Research and Development (ORD) of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) faced major challenges in managing an enormous volume of scientific information generated by a large number of concurrent R&D projects. More than thirty (30) ORD Laboratories, Centers and Offices (L/C/Os) conduct the most critical EPA R&D projects in-house. Additionally, universities and private laboratories perform R&D projects under ORD guidance.

Suss Consulting designed and carried out a research project for ORD that focused on two objectives:

1. Identify and prioritize ORD’s challenges related to the management of scientific information

2. Develop a strategy based on top practices in other commercial and government R&D environments to improve ORD’s operations related to the management of scientific information.

Project results included a strategy that provided ORD with the necessary positive control of information within its complex organizational environment. Suss Consulting’s project included a thorough assessment of the current baseline of formal and informal Information Management procedures and operations, along with an evaluation of support systems and Information Management requirements.

Following the IM evaluation, Suss Consulting conducted over 250 interviews with ORD scientists and managers. These interviews centered on identifying and designing solutions for ORD’s information management requirements. Additional interviews were also conducted at a dozen other government agencies, academic and commercial R&D institutions to address similar Information Management challenges. The study resulted in providing specific recommendations and guidance for effective strategies and tactics to address ORD's IM challenges.

Client: Center for Strategic Planning, Federal Technology Service (FTS), General Services Administration (GSA)

Project Title: Strategic Planning for New FTS Technology Initiatives

Project Description: FTS provides over $3 billion annually in information management, information technology, and telecommunications services to agencies throughout the federal government.

Suss Consulting was awarded contracts to perform research and analysis for the FTS Office of Strategic Planning, which resulted in recommendations by Suss Consulting for promising new FTS initiatives.

After initially gathering background information, Suss Consulting conducted interviews within FTS to analyze the organization’s strategies. Following this analysis, Suss Consulting identified offerings that showed promise for meeting federal needs, zeroing in on FTS’ services, which are widely used in Corporate America yet underutilized in the federal government.

The Suss Consulting team initially identified over 50 promising new offerings. Following further analysis of these offerings and comparing them with FTS and agency needs, the Suss Consulting team narrowed the list of candidates. The Suss Consulting project team recommended three major commercial technologies:

1. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems and Services.
2. Call Center Systems and Services.
3. Technology Enhanced Training Systems and Services.

As a result of the Suss recommendations, senior FTS management officials set up three committees to implement recommendations guided by the Suss Consulting project team. Suss Consulting assisted the committees with presentations, and top FTS officials accepted the Suss Consulting recommendations for new initiative implementation. FTS established offices to institute the three new initiatives: FMSSC, FedLearn, and the Call Center office. Currently, they are using these new technologies to address the needs of agencies throughout the government.

The Center for Strategic Planning also asked Suss Consulting to prepare a step-by-step methodology for future technology planning. New technology planning processes also incorporated elements of academic and corporate planning methodologies relevant to challenges at FTS. Suss Consulting completed the overall strategy and it was accepted by FTS. Suss Consulting also provided the client with the final planning methodology.

Client: Financial Management System Services Center (FMSSC), Federal Technology Service (FTS), General Services Administration (GSA)

Project Title: Research on Federal Agency Requirements for Financial and Administrative Management Systems and Services

Project Description: FMSSC provides consulting, systems, and services that address the needs of Federal Government agencies for financial and administrative support.

Suss Consulting was awarded a series of task orders to help identify agency requirements for FMSSC's services.

After categorizing federal agencies according to their needed support from FMSSC, the Suss Consulting team conducted in-depth research on top priority FMSSC targets. The project team assembled and analyzed an array of documentation to support this market research, including agency strategic plans, agency budgets, and data on relevant agency programs. The Suss Consulting team prepared a series of comprehensive reports outlining the requirements of the top targeted agencies. Additionally, a white paper was prepared on emerging federal requirements for administrative and financial management systems and presented this paper at a government-wide conference sponsored by FMSSC.

Under related Task Orders, Suss Consulting took full end-to-end responsibility in the preparation of program descriptions, brochures, and other materials that FMSSC uses to introduce their services to other federal organizations. This included strategy sessions, working sessions, and assistance in the graphic design and final production of the materials.

Client: Office of the Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of State

Project Title: Recommend Enhancements to the Department of State's Performance and Accountability Report for Fiscal Year 2002.

Project Description: Suss Consulting reviewed strategic planning activities of the State Department to make further improvements on the planning and reporting functions required under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA).

Suss Consulting recommended appropriate changes and drafted instructions on how domestic and overseas offices should prepare mission performance plans for the Washington, D.C. headquarters for fiscal years 2005 and 2006. For the first time at the Department of State, all of Suss Consulting’s instructions, training materials, and plans were made available through the State Department’s internal web site, allowing on-line, real-time planning development to embassies and consulates overseas.