Overseas Overlooked

recently completed a study of the use of information technology in public management reform in several countries for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The findings and conclusions from that work will be the subject of future columns after the report is published, but one thought simply can't wait. As I visited with colleagues in capitals around the world, I gained a renewed appreciation for just how much we have to learn from them. Yet we are so closed to those opportunities.

In country after country, I found exciting, innovative applications of information technology that were fundamentally transforming how governments and people interact. In Australia, for example, immigration is a particular challenge to a nation that spans a water-bound continent with few official points of entry. In this era of long-range jumbo jets, Australia has experienced a dramatic growth in passenger arrivals-7.3 million in 1996 and 1997, up from 3.3 million in 1986 and 1987. The nation expects another dramatic increase during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games and the subsequent rise in tourism. The prospect is daunting, since Australia requires visas for all non-citizens entering the country.

To meet the increasing demand, Australia's Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs has already instituted administrative measures to reduce processing time to 50 seconds per passenger. But anticipating even more strain on limited facilities, it has set out to reduce processing time for incoming passengers to 20 seconds per person.

A key element of the strategy is an electronic visa, called an electronic travel authority. The system clears passengers for entry prior to landing in Australia, instead of after they arrive. Passengers can apply for a visa by providing passport, citizenship and other information to their travel agent or airline when booking passage to Australia. Linked to travel agent and airline computers, the Immigration Department can issue an electronic travel authority within seconds.

Before passengers even depart for Australia, airlines can issue passengers entry cards with relevant information preprinted and encoded onto a magnetic strip. With one swipe, an immigration officer can clear an arriving passenger in 0.5 seconds.

Share and Share Alike

Our challenge is different; we have large land borders and a different philosophy about immigration. Nonetheless, features of the system, such as engaging air carriers in the clearance process, are exciting. I trust that the State Department and INS are talking to the Aussies and others, but I do not see evidence of widespread international consultation between U.S. agencies and their foreign counterparts.

As a nation, we suffer from a heavy case of arrogance. We think that either the U.S. situation is unique or that our foreign counterparts are not as big or clever or modern as we are. Therefore, their experiences seem irrelevant.We have adopted the concept of benchmarking, but we seldom benchmark against other governments.

When I served on one of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development committees in the early and mid-1990s, I was taken aback at how eager my European, North American and Pacific Rim colleagues were to learn about what each member country was doing. I was hard-pressed to recall any U.S. government information technology project review that included a discussion of best or innovative practices from other governments. The only exceptions are the direct interconnection between our systems and those of other nations, such as intellectual property (patents and copyrights) and spectrum management.

In the U.S. government, foreign travel is considered suspect-the words "boondoggle" and "junket" come to mind. Over the course of my government career, I entertained hundreds of foreign delegations here to learn the latest about U.S. practices. But the thought of sending a U.S. delegation overseas to visit with their counterparts is all too rare. To its credit, the General Accounting Office sent a delegation to Australia in the early 1990s to look at performance management, and we are still benefiting from that work. We grudgingly send people to international meetings, such as those hosted by the OECD, but it is no substitute for visiting countries to learn the realities of their problems. The Europeans and the Japanese figured that out long ago.

It is telling that the U.S. representative to this year's annual 37-nation International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration (ICA) conference in Helsinki, is a non-government organization-the Federation of Government Information Processing Councils. GSA's Office of Governmentwide Policy has tried to gather support for government participation in the ICA and the Government Online project, an initiative by G-8 nations to promote dialogue on the use of information technology in government. But U.S. involvement remains uneven at best.

Break the Boundaries

Although it entails fighting against political tides and long-held prejudices and traditions, here are some innovative ways you can approach challenges in your organization:

• Most importantly, insist that the analysis of options presented to you answers the question: "What are other countries doing?"
• Tap into existing networks, electronic and otherwise. Good sources for information are Frank McDonough, GSA's deputy assistant administrator of intergovernmental solutions, and Jonathan Breul, senior adviser to the Office of Management and Budget's deputy director and U.S. representative to the OECD's Public Management Committee. Find out who represents the United States at major multinational meetings and how to get your concerns on the agenda.
• Ultimately, there is no substitute for on-site, bilateral exchanges. Putting out descriptive material about their systems is not, and should not be, most government agencies' highest priority. International travel is not cheap, but it can save you lots of money if you can learn from the mistakes and accomplishments of other nations.

Franklin S. Reeder consults, writes and teaches on information policy and technology issues. His recent study of "Information Technology as an Instrument of Public Management Reform: A study of five OECD countries" is to be released later this year.