Digital Governance Plan
The goal of AmeriCorps’ IT governance division is to align IT activities and system implementation efforts with the agency’s strategic direction. Through AmeriCorps’ Digital Governance Plan, the agency makes effective and efficient use of IT resources – including public web sites and digital services – to support our mission. Our IT governance process is rooted in IT management best practices that allow us to align IT investments with agency strategic goals, support stakeholder involvement, identify and manage investment risk, and comply with legal and policy requirements. The key elements of AmeriCorps’ Digital Governance Plan are summarized in the sections below.
IT Governing Boards
AmeriCorps’ Chief Information Officer (CIO) has chartered three primary IT governing boards that to support the agency’s overall governing structure and Enterprise Risk Management program. The boards include:
- Investment Review Board (IRB): Composed of the Chief of Staff (chair), Chief Operations Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Human Capital Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Chief of Program Operations, this senior governance body is the primary means through which the agency business and IT leadership deliberate to:
- Define business and IT strategic priorities and direction required to achieve AmeriCorps mission and objectives
- Make all IT-related budgetary decisions
- Prioritize business needs and IT investments and allocate funding across the IT portfolio
- Assess IT portfolio performance and address issues escalated by the Technology Review Board (TRB)
- Technical Review Board (TRB): The TRB is chaired by the Deputy CIO and includes the Office of Information Technology (OIT) subject matter experts from various IT disciplines. The TRB provides technical assistance and consultation to IT project managers. Voting members conduct IT investment/project/system development milestone reviews.
- Production Change Control Board (PCCB): The PCCB is chaired by the OIT Governance and Oversight Manager and is composed of key agency IT stakeholders. It is the technical body responsible for reviewing and approving changes to AmeriCorps’ production IT environment. PCCB approval is required for a system or project to become operational..
IT Governance Policy and Plans
AmeriCorps’s IT governance and execution requirements are established in official Agency policy, processes, and procedures:
- Information Technology Management Policy: Establishes AmeriCorps’ policies, programs, and procedures for IT management. The policy covers ten integrated functional areas of IT management that support the agency’s key business activities and outlines IT roles and responsibilities.
- Information Technology Governance Policy: Establishes AmeriCorps’ IT governance policy and processes for efficient, effective, ongoing IT investments and programs. It guides the agency in aligning IT activities with its strategic direction and program needs and sets forth oversight of IT systems’ implementation.
- IT Capital Planning and Investment Control Policy: Establishes the framework and processes to select, control, and evaluate IT investments to ensure they are aligned with business strategy, are coordinated across the agency, and are executed to maximize value and minimize risk.
- Systems Development Lifecycle Policy: Sets forth policies and procedures that AmeriCorps employees and contractors must follow when they procure, develop, implement, operate, and dispose of IT systems, including websites and applications. This includes requirements for IT project milestone reviews.
- Data Management Policy: Sets forth roles and responsibilities of the AmeriCorps offices and personnel involved in data and information management. The policy guides the offices as they plan, collect, process, disseminate, share, safeguard, and evaluate data and information, and establishes requirements for regularly assessing the quality of AmeriCorps data and information.
IT Governance Execution
AmeriCorps’s Office of Information Technology is responsible for executing agency IT functions, delivering IT services, and administering the IT Governance Program. OIT maintains IT policies, procedures, and plans; staffs IT governance bodies and enforces compliance; and facilitates IT processes.
Three IT governance elements interlink: The IT Strategic Plan and Enterprise Architecture Plan document strategic and tactical direction for the IT Program. IT policies, processes, and procedures define how the IT organization and its program partners execute the IT plans and establish IT management control points throughout the IT service lifecycle. The boards oversee strategic and tactical IT direction, and are positioned at multiple levels in the agency to ensure effective IT change and risk management.