Forman proposes e-gov performance bonus

Managers of the two most successful of 24 high-priority federal e-government initiatives will be rewarded with a substantial financial bonus for their teams, according to a plan proposed by Mark Forman, associate director for information technology and e-government in the Office of Management and Budget.

OMB oversees the 24 initiatives, which range from FirstGov, a one-stop-shop Web portal for citizens, to Enterprise HR, an effort to electronically integrate personnel records across government and speed security clearance processing.

The two teams that have the best results in meeting cost, schedule and performance goals will share a bonus of several hundred thousand dollars as provided in the administration's fiscal 2003 budget proposal, Forman told industry executives in a budget briefing Feb. 5.

Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., praised the bonus program in a Feb. 8 letter to Kay Coles James, director of the Office of Personnel Management. Davis chairs the House Government Reform subcommittee on technology and procurement policy.

"This may be an effort that is worthy of some form of emulation in all government agencies. I am hopeful that Congress will fully fund this excellent concept, and I will be working with my colleagues to ensure its success," Davis said in the letter.