INFORMATION ON SURVEY PARTICIPANTS

According to testimony by the Survey official, about 1, 200 individuals have worked for the Survey as of mid-September 1982. This includes 130 Executive Committee members (who have been cleared) and about 1,000 task force members. Because not all task forces are fully staffed, more individuals will join the Survey. The other staff works for the Management Office and the Foundation. The Foundation told us that it pays the salaries of 23 employees (mostly clerical). All other private sector participants are paid by their companies.

Although the above information provides an overview of participants, it does not fully meet your request. We requested that the Survey's Management Office supply us with background information on all Survey participants including Executive Committee and task force members. To date, we have received this information only for some Executive Committee members. In addition, we received, after the Survey provided them to you in late September 1982, the names and corporate affiliations of task force participants. We have recently started to research these participants' backgrounds, focusing on participating corporations' main business interests including subsidiary relationships. We will provide the results of our research to you later.

While our research is not complete, we have learned the following. The Executive Committee members generally represent top corporate executives and, therefore, information about them is available. Many task force members work at lower executive and managerial levels which makes finding background information on them more difficult.

For each corporation that contributed money or personnel to the Survey, we are verifying the corporate affiliation of the personnel, corporate interests, and parent-subsidiary relationships. From this, we will be providing perspectives on Survey participants and on relationships between the corporations' interests and their employees' Survey responsibilities.

-TASK FORCE REVIEW PROCESS

As previously discussed, the Executive Committee has delegated its review responsibility to 35 task forces. The task forces review Federal agencies, focusing on identified issues and concerns. All issues and concerns should relate to cost savings and management improvements according to Executive Order 12369.

This section outlines a general process for the task force's work. Further, it contains detailed information on how the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Personnel Task Forces have conducted their reviews.

General work process

for task forces

At a May 13, 1982, briefing to the Executive Committee, Survey officials outlined, among other things, how task forces should perform reviews. This briefing evolved from work performed by various individuals already working for the Survey.

This briefing and subsequent discussions with Survey officials provide the basis for the following steps in the task force review process.

--Select task force cochairs: Each task force has at least
two Executive Committee members who serve as cochairs.
Their responsibilities include (1) selecting task force
members, (2) providing broad direction, (3) reporting to
the Executive Committee chair and Management Office,
(4) coordinating with other cochairs, and (5) reviewing
recommendations and preparing the final report.

--Select task force members: Cochairs select these members. While cochairs usually select members from their firms, members may come from other firms. Members "phase into" the task force's work based on skills, availability, and willingness to join the task force. One member serves as the task force project manager who manages the task force and develops its work plan.

--Brief task forces: After a core group of task force members is formed, the task forces are briefed. Other members who join the task force later are similarly briefed. This briefing summarizes the Federal system, the agency, and the task force.

--Meet with agency top management: To initiate work in the agency, the task force's key members meet with agency top management to introduce the Survey to the agency and to initiate the necessary coordination for the task force's work in the agency.

--Identify key issues for review: By meeting with top agency officials and reviewing reports on the agency, the task force identifies broad issues to review.

--Develop a detailed work plan: After further agency inter-
views and study, the task force develops a work plan that
refines issues and the review steps. Also, the work plan
identifies staffing needs and milestones. The Executive
Committee Chair and Management Office review and comment
on these work plans.

--Conducting the review:

Task forces review the refined

issues over a 10-week period. While a task force has
discretion in conducting its review, similar methods exist.
For example, task forces seem to rely heavily on existing
internal and external reports. Based on these reports'
findings, task force members generally interview the re-
port writers or agency officials who work in related
areas. While these agency interviews usually focus at the
program manager level and above, interviews may occur at
lower levels. In addition, task forces may review agency
records.

--Presenting tentative findings: On about a monthly basis,
the project manager briefs the Management Office. The
project manager also briefs the cochairs on about a
weekly basis. By the third month, the task force should
have tentative findings. The task force briefs top agency
officials after completing the review and before writing
the final report.

--Writing the final task force report: The Survey's schedule
allows 3 weeks for report preparation. When we talked
to Survey officials, the exact reporting process was still
evolving. Apparently, individual task force reports will
go from the project managers, through the cochairs and
to the Management Office for review and approval on be-
half of the Executive Committee. The charter for the
Executive Committee says that the Committee will report
to the President and the Secretary of Commerce, and there-
after to other executive agencies.

--Implementing the report: This action is supposedly the agencies' and the President's responsibility. Task force officials have no responsibility for developing implementation plans. However, the Foundation and the W. R. Grace staff, after the Foundation's dissolution, will monitor implementation.

According to the Survey, by mid-August 1982, the Management Office had briefed 33 task forces. The other two task forces (Boards--Banking and Federal Construction Management) were scheduled for briefings. Of the 33 briefed, 31 had begun on-site work at the agencies. In addition, the Survey said that only three task forces (Agriculture, Energy/Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and Commerce) had begun their in-depth reviews. Our discussions with the Personnel Task Force indicate that it also had started its in-depth review.

Review process for the Social

Security and Personnel Task Force

These task forces generally follow the above-mentioned process for all task forces. For both task forces, discussions with the task forces' project managers serve as the basis for the following information.

Social Security Administration

Task Force

The task force is following the general review format suggested by the Survey's Management Office. Various corporations have contributed staff and supplies and the Government has only provided facilities (space, furniture, telephones, etc.).

The task force participants are the cochairs, the project manager, the desk officer, and task force members. These participants receive different types of clearance. Cochairs file personal data statements which the White House reviewed and cleared. Other participants received no formal clearance; however, they filed nondisclosure statements. In addition, task force participants obtained security clearance for access to classified information. However, the project manager doubted that this access would be needed.

The four cochairs provide general guidance and support to the task force. The cochairs located the private sector personnel to serve as task force members. As these personnel joined the task force, two cochairs briefed them on pertinent issues and background material.

The project manager and the deputy project manager provide daily leadership of the task force. While they have discretion, they regularly inform the cochairs and the Management Office about task force activities.

The desk officer serves as a liaison between the Management Office and the task force. He provides general oversight to the task force and coordination with other task forces. Also, the desk officer initially researched the Social Security Administration and defined broad issues for the task force based on what others (GAO, for example) had identified as key issues and cost savings areas.

Task force members are conducting the review. In this case, seven task force teams are reviewing: Old Age Security Supplements, Disability, Computer Processing, Administrative Law Judges, Aid to Families with Dependent Children/Black Lung Program/Energy, Communications, and Erroneous Payments. Each team has prepared a work plan which outlines the review. The project manager will

merge these team work plans into a task force work plan. This plan will be submitted to the Management Office for comment.

Task force members were generally chosen because of their knowledge and general skills. For example, some members provide managerial abilities rather than subject knowledge. Other criteria for selection were task force participants' willingness to serve and their availability.

Nineteen of 26 task force members represent insurance companies. The project manager explained that this is because he and two cochairs are from insurance companies.

Each task force team follows the Survey's four phase approach which includes Phase I--Orientation and Start-Up; Phase II--Diagnostic Survey; Phase III--In-Depth Survey; and Phase IV--Final Task Force Report. Although each team began at different times, the project manager estimated that the whole task force is in Phase II. They hope to finish Phase III, scheduled to last 10 weeks, by late September even though most teams began their work early to mid-August. For example, the Communications team started August 12, 1982, while the Computer Processing Work team began August 23. They may compress the suggested time frame to meet the September milestone.

The task force's review began with the task force members learning issues and facts based on reports about the agency. Next, they interviewed upper and middle agency management to clarify the issues and programs. This interviewing led to more detailed interviews with lower staff levels which may include people below the program manager level.

After data collection, mainly from interviews, each team will evaluate the data, form conclusions, and make recommendations.

According to the task force project manager, the evaluation and report writing stages were still undefined. In evaluating data, they planned to rely on members' specific skills and experiences since they will not use computer simulations or other sophisticated quantitative techniques. The project manager said this approach will be used because they lack the time to do indepth analyses.

The project manager said he planned to brief Chairman Grace, the Management Office, cochairs, chairs, the desk officer, and possibly SSA officials on the task force's tentative findings and conclusions. The task force will not be involved in implementing any recommendations.

The focus of the task force's work was on administration and management. The project manager and his deputy stated that they will not deal with any policy issues since the task force