RPA in Federal Agencies: How Federal Agencies Achieve More Through Robotic Process Automation

RPA in Federal Agencies: How Federal Agencies Achieve More Through Robotic Process Automation
Developed by the Intelligent Automation Working Group (ACT-IAC Emerging Technology Community of Interest) and Management Concepts
Released: March 15, 2021

How would you respond to an invitation to give a presentation about robotic process automation (RPA)? If you dread the thought of it, you have plenty of company. It has only been a few years since the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued the first federal contract for RPA development.

The project team set out to create this report to explore the significant challenges that federal agencies face in their quest to deliver more effective, efficient, modern services across a wide range of programs. The previous administration’s management agenda contained goals to improve productivity and shift resources to higher-value work to meet those challenges. Fortunately, a relatively recent emerging technology — Robotic Process Automation (RPA) — has the potential to help achieve those goals.

ACT-IAC and Management Concepts, with oversight from government sponsors Veronica Villalobos, former Principal Deputy Associate Director, Office of Personnel Management and Andrea Brandon, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of Interior, collaborated on this report to help agencies better understand the challenges, approaches, and solutions they face in adopting RPA. Both organizations interviewed personnel from nine federal agencies that were already using RPA. This report contains lessons learned and recommendations from the experiences shared in those interviews.