USAID Compliance With the E-Government Act of 2002

The efficient, effective, and appropriately consistent use of Federal agency public websites is important to promote a more citizen centered government. OMB Memorandum M-05-04 (PDF) details the requirements of section 207(f) of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Pub. L. No. 107-347). The document below outlines the compliance of USAID's public website with Federal information resource management law and policy as detailed in OMB Memorandum M-05-04.

1. OMB Policy 1: Establish and Maintain Information Dissemination Product Inventories, Priorities, and Schedules

   Agencies must develop an inventory of information to be published on their websites, establish a schedule for publishing information, make those schedules available for public comment, and post the schedules and priorities on the website. Agencies should develop their website inventories based on the wants and needs of citizens as a whole and intended audiences. In establishing priorities, agencies should consider current and anticipated information needs, as well as historical, legacy materials.

   USAID's inventory and schedule of information can be found here.

2. OMB Policy 2: Ensure Information Quality

   All federal public websites must comply with Public Law 106-554, "Guidelines for Ensuring and Maximizing the Quality Objectivity, Utility, and Integrity of Information Disseminated by Federal Organizations." This law requires federal organizations to issue guidelines for "ensuring and maximizing the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of information (including statistical information) disseminated by Federal organizations." Organizations should review the Act and implementation guidance to ensure that their public websites meet the requirements

   USAID's Information Quality Guidelines can be found here.

3. OMB Policy 3: Establish and Enforce Agency-wide Linking Policies

   Agencies must now establish and enforce explicit agency-wide linking policies describing management controls for linking within and beyond the agency. These policies must appropriately limit external linking to information or services necessary for the proper performance of an agency function. Agency linking policies must also include reasonable management controls to assure external links remain active or otherwise continue to provide the level of quality (including objectivity, utility, and integrity) as intended by the agency and expected by users.

   USAID's Linking Policy states that links to pages on other web sites must be relevant to the content of the page, must be approved by a subject matter expert for consistency with agency programs and must be checked frequently to ensure that they are current and correct. Links to external sites must pass through a script that informs visitors they are leaving the USAID web site.

4. OMB Policy 4: Communicate with the Public and with State and Local Governments

   USAID is required under OMB Circular A-130 4 to establish and maintain communications with members of the public and with State and local governments to ensure your agency creates information dissemination products meeting their respective needs. USAID is required under the Paperwork Reduction Act to manage information collections from the public or State and local governments (including website surveys or questionnaires) in the manner prescribed in OMB's guidance in 5 CFR section 1320.

   Visitors are encouraged to provide feedback via the Comment page, which can be found here.

5. OMB Policy 5: Search Public Websites

   USAID is required under OMB Circular A-130 to assist the public in locating government information. USAID must now ensure that the agency's principal public website and any major entry point include a search function. This search function should, to the extent practicable and necessary to achieve intended purposes, permit searching of all files intended for public use on the website, display search results in order of relevancy to search criteria, and provide response times appropriately equivalent to industry best practices.

   The USAID Search engine can be found here. This engine permits searching of all document formats on the USAID site, provides sortability by relevance and date, and can be accessed on the home page and major entry points.

6. OMB Policy 6: Use Approved Domains

   Your agency must use only .gov, .mil, or Fed.us domains unless the agency head explicitly determines another domain is necessary for the proper performance of an agency function. This requirement recognizes the proper performance of agency functions includes an obligation for clear and unambiguous public notification of the agency's involvement in or sponsorship of its information dissemination products including public websites. It also recognizes in certain limited circumstances other domains may be necessary for the proper performance of an agency function.

   USAID has a policy mandating the use of .gov domains for all USAID web sites containing official agency information. The USAID Branding requirements mandate the marking of USAID web sites with the official USAID brandmark.

7. OMB Policy 7: Implement Security Controls

   USAID is already required to implement security policies in OMB Circular A-130, Appendix III; OMB memorandum M-04-25 (PDF), “Reporting Instructions for the Federal Information Security Management Act and Updated Guidance on Quarterly IT Security Reporting;” National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-44 (PDF), “Guidelines on Securing Public Web Servers;” and other associated guidance from NIST. USAID is already required to provide adequate security controls to ensure information is resistant to tampering to preserve accuracy, remains confidential as necessary, and the information or service is available as intended by the agency and expected by users. Agencies must also implement management controls to prevent the inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information.

   USAID employs security and management controls to prevent unauthorized alterations of the USAID web site, as noted in the USAID Privacy Policy.

8. OMB Policy 8: Protect Privacy

   Your agency is already expected to protect the privacy of information about members of the public by continuing to implement OMB Circular A-130 Appendix I and OMB memorandum M-03-22, "OMB Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002".

   USAID's Privacy Policy and Privacy Program pages detail USAID's policy to protect the privacy of visitors to the USAID web site.

9. OMB Policy 9: Maintain Accessibility

   USAID is already required to ensure accessibility for individuals with disabilities by implementing Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d). Federal agency public websites must be designed to make information and services fully available to individuals with disabilities. USAID is already required to provide appropriate access for people with limited English proficiency by implementing Department of Justice guidance for Executive Order 13166, “Improving Access to Services for People with Limited English Proficiency.” Agencies must determine whether any individual document on their Federal agency public website(s) requires translation.

   USAID strives to meet or exceed the accessibility requirements of Section 508 on its public website. Where appropriate, content of many USAID Mission sites is available in the primary language of the host country.

10. OMB Policy 10: Manage Records

    USAID is already required to meet records management requirements by implementing OMB Circular A-130 and guidance from the National Archives and Records Administration. See 36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 1220-1238.

    USAID's Records Management Policy can be found here.

Annual USAID E-Government Report

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), like many other federal agencies today, realizes that the demands on federal government information technology (IT) organizations have never been higher. The U.S. Legislative and Executive Branches have stressed how E-Government is critical to the success of realizing business objectives and strategies. Although USAID participates in activities on a global basis during unprecedented times of natural disasters, terrorism, and political unrest, we strive to create more internal efficiencies and improve the services that we deliver. As reflected in this report, USAID tries to achieve these goals through innovative use of information technology, strategic alignment of programs, and implementation of cost effective, value-driven solutions.

USAID E-Government Act Report FY2008 [.pdf, 76kb]

USAID E-Government Act Report FY2007 [.pdf, 190kb]

USAID E-Government Update FY2006 [.pdf, 633kB]

International Trade Data System

The International Trade Data System Initiative aims to make trade more secure and efficient. USAID, though generally not directly involved in exporting, funds many contractors who export goods to nations that USAID supports. Because of its involvement in trade, USAID will participate in this cross-governmental initiative, to the extent described in its Plan for Using the International Trade Data System [pdf, 17kb].