IF It's Overseas, It's 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. 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 innovations that were fundamentally transforming how governments and people interact. In Australia, for example, immigration is a particular challenge, because the nation 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. 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 had 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 further reduce processing time for incoming passengers to 20 seconds per person.

A key element of the strategy is a system known as electronic travel authority, under which passengers are cleared for entry prior to landing in Australia, instead of after they arrive. Passengers can apply for an electronic visa by providing passport, citizenship and other information to their travel agent or airline when booking passage to 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.

The challenge in the United States is different. We have large land borders and a different philosophy about immigration. Nonetheless, aspects of the system are exciting.

We can learn a great deal from what other countries are doing, but 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. We have adopted the concept of benchmarking, but we seldom benchmark against other governments.

When I served on an OECD committee 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 other countries were doing. Within their own governments, it was important to be able to compare themselves against OECD norms.

I was hard-pressed to recall any federal 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 U.S. delegations are too rarely sent overseas to visit with their counterparts. 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.

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:

• Insist that the analysis of options presented to you answers the question: "What are other countries doing?" If someone tells you, "We are unique," you've got a problem.
• Tap into existing networks, electronic and otherwise. Good sources for information are Frank McDonough, General Services Administration deputy assistant administrator for 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. If you cannot be there, make sure your concerns are on the agenda. Give those who are going lists of people to seek out and information to get.
• The Internet has made finding people easier and has certainly allowed for at least limited exchange of information. Use it.
• 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. And even though English is widely used, much of the best information on the Web is often not in English. 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.