Case Study
U.S. Department of Agriculture creates a single interface for conservation
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Unified disparate systems into a single, consistent interface
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Reduced manual work through automated task management and geospatial mapping
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Provided simplified conservation delivery for landowners and employees
“With the new Conservation Delivery Streamlining Initiative (CDSI) program, our Field Office staff are able to spend significantly more time in the field supporting our customers and conservation, and less time in the office working on manual, administrative work.”
The Business Issue
The goal of Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs is to sustain farming, ranching, private forest lands, and wildlife for both current and future generations.
Staff at NRCS were spending large amounts of time logging into disparate systems and disparate databases to provide technical and financial assistance requests from customers. To improve overall customer service for private landowners receiving technical and financial assistance, including those participating in Farm Bill programs, NRCS introduced the Conservation Delivery Streamlining Initiative (CDSI) program.
The Solution
NRCS partnered with Pega to develop the integrated Conservation Desktop (CD) application, which implements streamlined business processes, improved IT services, and enhanced financial management and accountability.
The CD application provides foundational services including document management, task management, and audit history throughout the lifecycle of technical and financial assistance request processing. It also provides technical assistance through creation of a science-based conservation plan, built with the creation of a geospatial map-driven process with enhanced geospatial layers and tools.
The Results
- The CDSI program is projected to allow NRCS to redirect a total of 1,523 staff years from inefficient administrative work to higher value work.
- CDSI estimates, conservatively, that the new processes and tools will save customers more than 750,000 hours annually.
- The new approach embraces agile methodology to help reduce risk and increase speed of delivery.
Read the full USDA NRCS article in Governments Building for Change.
All text sourced directly from Governments Building for Change.
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