Booz Allen Works With Clients to Reinvent the U.S. Government

Two Booz Allen clients have received the prestigious Hammer Award. This honor is reserved for teams of pioneers who create an innovative and unique process or program to make government work better and achieve results. The award consists of a framed $6.00 hammer, a ribbon, and a note from former Vice President Al Gore.

U.S. Army: Protecting America's Cities

The U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) Domestic Preparedness Program was honored for transferring its immense knowledge of chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction to the civilian emergency response sector.

The Department of Defense needed to enhance the civilian emergency response sector's ability to respond to terrorist chemical, biological and nuclear attacks. Booz Allen led the effort to develop and execute a training program for first responders, including police, medical crews, fire departments, and 911 operators and dispatchers.

The Domestic Preparedness Program was implemented in 105 major metropolitan areas around the United States. "It was a monumental effort for the Booz Allen team," explained Blair Williams, the firm's SBCCOM program manager. "It included integrating not only the efforts of a number of Federal agencies - the FBI, Department of Energy, and others - but also a number of contractors." Booz Allen also took the lead in developing and conducting more than 100 tabletop exercises as well as functional chemical and biological exercises in 70 cities.

IRS: Focusing on Customer Service

Booz Allen began working on the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Modernization project in 1998 after IRS Commissioner Charles Rossotti announced plans for a massive transformation of the agency. "This is quite possibly the largest engagement we've ever had at Booz Allen, and it should really have an incredible impact," said Booz Allen Officer Roger Blond. "We are very honored to be recognized with our client work on this project."

Booz Allen recognized that private sector business models could be used to drive improvements at the IRS and evaluated four different organizational structures against agency goals. Upon obtaining approval on the best aligned organizational structure, Booz Allen developed a multi-phase program designed to create and implement customer facing business units.

Under the newly modernized IRS, operating divisions are built around different customer segments with different needs, management roles have been changed to bring decision makers closer to taxpayers, and front-end education structures have been designed to provide taxpayers with the information necessary to understand their rights and obligations.

The firm is also working with the IRS to develop a long-term vision and strategy for business processes and tax administration system needs. "We look forward to helping the IRS continue to implement its modernization organization while ensuring tight integration with the IRS technology plans," explained Booz Allen Officer David Humenansky. "Linking the business to future systems needs in order to improve customer service is critical to assisting the IRS achieve its strategic objectives."

story posted March 2001