FEMA has made limited progress in improving its IT management, according to the Inspector General, despite a set of recommendations it issued to the agency in 2015. OIG is also concerned that the justification that FEMA provided, that led to closing one of those recommendations was misleading.
In 2015, OIG issued a report entitled: “FEMA Faces Challenges in Managing Information Technology”, which found that FEMA’s management approach did not adequately tackle technology planning, governance or system support challenges. It made five recommendations to the CIO, which included finalizing key planning documents and implementing an IT governance board.
Since then, however, OIG has only closed one recommendation, based on FEMA’s implementation of an IT governance board charter. OIG found that many of its recommendations remain unresolved, and are having an adverse impact on the agency’s day-to-day operations. The OIG cited particular concerns that: ” the justification that FEMA provided to support our closing recommendation 3 was misleading, as governance board procedures had not truly met the intent of the recommendation.”
The report concluded that in the light of the fact that Congress had appropriated over $24 billion towards improving FEMA’s IT systems, it will conduct a more comprehensive review of its management.
