OPM Eyeing Working Capital Fund to Finance IT Modernization

The Office of Personnel Management plans on establishing a working capital fund, if given the authority by Congress, to support much-needed information technology modernization projects.

Setting up an IT working capital fund was one of the key recommendations by the National Academy of Public Administration in a March report focused on addressing the challenges of the OPM. The fund would be critical to resolving persisting IT inadequacies hindering the agency from prioritizing human capital needs, NAPA said.

In its report, NAPA called on the OPM to modernize its electronic official personnel folder platform, create an employee digital record, enable a modern human capital data and analytics platform and transition to a more user-centric and user-friendly website, among other things, FedScoop reported.

“OPM is committed to the policy changes and investments necessary to strengthen OPM’s role as the strategic human capital leader for the Federal Government,” OPM Director Kiran Ahuja said in a response to the NAPA recommendations.

In addition to seeking congressional approval for the working capital fund, the OPM intends to leverage the governmentwide Technology Modernization Fund for its modernization efforts.

The agency will also follow an IT modernization strategy that involves improving governance, upskilling its workforce, evaluating system risks, expanding adoption of cloud technology and enhancing federal personnel data collection.

All responses to the NAPA report will be incorporated into OPM’s strategic plan for fiscal years 2022 to 2026.