The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is working toward better visibility into departmentwide data and spending to help leaders identify shared investment needs, reduce duplicative efforts, and coordinate funding for long-term capital infrastructure projects across operating divisions, according to Gustav “Gus” Chiarello, the department’s assistant secretary for financial resources.
Speaking during a recent MeriTalk webinar underwritten by Aurigo Software Technologies, Chiarello said fragmented systems make it difficult to compare spending across the department and identify investments that could serve multiple agencies. He and Kevin Koenig, Chief Technology Officer at Aurigo Software Technologies, discussed how agencies can connect financial and project information to strengthen long-range capital planning as funding and priorities change.
“When you’re dealing with siloed information, you’re limited on the questions you can ask,” Chiarello said, explaining that the time needed to bring information together leaves decision-makers behind the latest data.
At HHS, Chiarello said gathering information to compare spending across divisions requires lengthy requests known as data calls. The department is seeking greater visibility into how dollars move across programs, so leaders can identify overlapping needs and coordinate funding where appropriate.
Connecting planning, finance, and project delivery information can help agencies adjust capital plans to conditions in the field, Koenig said. Those records often reside in separate systems among the public agencies Aurigo Software Technologies works with.
For projects spanning five to ten years, those information gaps can complicate planning, Koenig said. Agencies need to weigh delivery capacity and long-term operating costs alongside funding availability and risk, then revisit those assumptions as projects progress.
Chiarello said technology can change substantially during a multiyear investment, requiring agencies to build flexibility into program design and contracts.
More frequent reviews can help agencies reallocate available funds and adjust project priorities as delivery conditions change, Koenig said. Some Aurigo Software Technologies customers are moving from annual planning toward reviews twice a year or even monthly.
Chiarello said HHS must design projects and funding opportunities around congressional spending requirements while preserving flexibility within those limits.
To avoid losing expected reimbursements, agencies need to connect each project’s spending to eligible funding sources and maintain the required documentation, Koenig said. Drawing on Aurigo Software Technologies’ work with highway agencies, he said misallocated funding or missing records can prevent agencies from recovering money they expected to receive.
Historical project data can help agencies assess potential cost overruns, while scenario planning allows them to compare investment options as funding, schedules, or priorities shift, Koenig said. He distinguished those two approaches and pointed to artificial intelligence and simulation tools as ways to evaluate potential outcomes.
Connecting that information does not require agencies to replace every existing system, Koenig said. He advocated an open data architecture that can draw from legacy finance and project management systems, with clear ownership of the authoritative data.
Chiarello said leadership must also address duplicative efforts across operating divisions. Comparing information across divisions could help HHS identify overlapping investments, but sharing information requires accountability for its protection.
“You have to have a trusted system, and you have to have central accountability,” he said.
Koenig recommended that agencies define the outcomes they want to improve and develop an enterprise technology roadmap before making purchasing decisions.
“You can’t modernize incrementally without a big picture,” he said.
Watch the full webinar.