“Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, federal agencies are broadening and expediting robotic process automation efforts to deal with disruptions and drive productivity.”
“During a virtual ATARC panel Tuesday, officials from three agencies offered a glimpse into automaton use cases that are boosting operations, detailed how they’re gaining buy-in from personnel along the way and considered how the present pandemic-induced reality could transform the future of work. The officials were joined by experts with insights into industry and state governments…”
“Still relatively at the onset of some of its own RPA-deployment and implementation, [Stacy Dawn, senior adviser for cybersecurity and privacy at the Housing and Urban Development Department] said the agency is presently working to implement automation ‘to help people stay in their homes’ during the pandemic. HUD is essentially preparing and setting up the proper infrastructure, she noted ‘so that automations can run and we can make sure that people have the tools that they need so that they don’t get evicted—or if they have late payments, they’re not being kicked out…'”
“Housing and Urban Development is standing up the Digital Services Program Management Office to help centrally manage its various RPA solutions. Dawn said officials involved in the effort are pinpointing areas that could be automated to save on costs and boost operational efficiency, and have ignited some efforts…”
“As an agency at the forefront of the nation’s pandemic response, the National Institutes of Health is also leaning into RPA, according to Deputy Chief Financial Officer and director of its Office of Financial Management Glenda Conroy. In this role, Conroy oversees the accounting functions for the agency’s 27 institutes and centers—many of which, she noted—’are sticking their toe in the water and starting to look at what they want to do with [RPA]…’”
“The agency receives thousands of invoices by mail each month, but nationwide stay-at-home orders would likely keep the paper-based documents held up during the pandemic. Conroy and her team rapidly refocused to find a solution and directly engaged with the agency’s contract shop and vendors to make the digital switch.”
“’And within the month, we’re now receiving about two- thirds of our mail via email,’ Conroy said, ‘and using RPA to route it to the workforce…’”
“Internal Revenue Service Special Assistant Mitch Winans also noted that his agency’s insiders are unleashing automation, ‘as much as [they] can’ in the realm of procurement. According to Winans, officials are working (even remotely) to harness tools that enable employees to spend less time doing data entry and other time-consuming activities that do not entail high-value, strategic work…
“Also serving as government chair of the RPA project team within ATARC’s artificial intelligence working group, Winans said he’s been looking to history for learnings from crises of the past, to deal with the pandemic today…” Read the full article here.
Source: Agencies Lean Into Automation During the COVID-19 Pandemic – By Brandi Vincent, May 14, 2020. Nextgov.
