The Edinburg Housing

Authority (EHA)A Research Study on Transparency

EPIFANIO REY GARCIA, PROJECT LEAD, EDITOR

CLAUDIA SERRANO, DATA CONTRIBUTOR, POWER POINT

DAISY LOPEZ, DATA CONTRIBUTOR, POWER POINT

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

PUBA 6306: Past, Present, & Future – Dr. Zemrani

This research will demonstrate…

That the EHA’s e-government has been afforded very

limited strategic planning which may ultimately be a

barrier for the people it serves. This research will also

indicate that there is a need of analysis for EHA’s

strategic plan(s) on its IT administration and gauge the

organization overall understands the importance of

having a strong strategic model for e-government in the

form of transparency and citizen engagement.Koh, C. E., Prybutok, V. R., Ryan, S., & Ibragimova, B. (2006). The importance of strategic readiness in an emerging e-government environment.

Business Process Management Journal Vol 12 No.1, 22-33.

Over 278,000 low-income households in

Texas use federal rental assistance to rent

modest housing at an affordable cost; at

least 68 percent have extremely low

incomes (30 percent of area median

income or less)

Rental assistance supports low wage

working families: in 2014, 70 percent of

non-elderly, non-disabled households

receiving HUD rental assistance in Texas

worked, had worked recently, or likely

were subject to work requirements

through another program.

Rental assistance helps families in urban

and rural areas. More than 13 percent of Texas households receiving federal rental

assistance live in non-metropolitan areas.

How information is accessible to

the public is important because of

who it serves!

Hypothesis

If a strategic plan for the EHA’s information technology (IT) is lacking

for implementation or even structure, it can be deduced that if a

strategic plan with IT infrastructure is put into motion, then transparency and e-government service will occur. The goal is to

isolate the variables that create passive versus active websites with

a generalization that poor strategic plans may result in poor IT

infrastructure.

Literature Review

Purpose

The purpose of this research study is to examine the Authority’s strategic goals to

implement transparency via its website/content management system and

execute continuous citizen engagement. True transparency, whether in the form

of e-government or open government, must be stated and reflected through the

organization’s mission statement, it must align itself with continual administrative

support and therefore, initiate a successful array of networking practices with its clients.

Recognition & Awards

National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO)

Best Annual Report; Best Newsletter; Best Media Recognition; and Best Other

Publications.

Literature Review - Continued

Previous Research Studies / Strategic Plans

Strategic Plan (2014-2018) – Goals: Strengthen Housing Markets, Meet Client Needs, Improve Quality of Life, and Build Strong Communities

Strategic Plan 2015-2020 – Goals: Empowering Citizens, Improving Programs,

Acknowledging Staff, and Expanding Services

Transparency - Promotes citizen engagement, via mobile devices, apps, web,

social media, email, text, network and cloud computing, with complete and

total access to open documents via the agency’s information technology

encrypted data servers that provide secure access to the community. Types of

transparency include: Open Government or government actions; Gov 2.0 or use

of technology to collaborate; E-Government or the agency’s communication

relations between citizens, businesses, and other governments.

Literature Review - Continued

Citizen Engagement - Is what open government is all about. It is a vital

link between transparency and accountability.

Findings & Recommendations - After reviewing the organizational profile, previous studies and findings, the research team has outlined the following strengths and weaknesses of

the Authority.

Strengths - Award winning and recognized by the National Association of Housing and

Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO) and the media; Recently developed two realistic

strategic plans.

Weaknesses - Not much initiative at the local-level on transparency, open government or

e-government efforts; The current strategic plans do not include transparency and lack

citizen engagement tools; The organization has two strategic plans already in place,

which in the long run can be confusing when trying to focus on the goals.

Methodology

Research Methods

Mixed Approach / Secondary Data: The research team uses mixed approach with mostly secondary or quantitative data that has already been collected, such as previous case studies and reports. The use of qualitative data (verbal) is also used if unable to collect data via previous findings.

Organizational Analysis

A deep organizational analysis of the information by the research team (Group 9) of the Authority’s website/content management system does not provide very much depth or scope for the EHA’s internal workings in terms of chain of command, E-mails or phone numbers. There is also a lack of interactivity that could be improved with the use of citizen engagement tools, such as mobile web, online forms, walkthroughs or even explanations to a person’s rights when it comes down to housing, such as clean water, electricity, fair housing or strategic plans for inclusive housing. In fact, there is little information to prove that the website was restructured at all; rather it maintains itself as a gallery of accomplishments lending itself to more superficial versus useful tools for information. This creates barriers for the clients EHA serves and thus, should be analyzed for proper strategic government planning, which sets transparency and citizen engagement as a goal.

Methodology

EHA’s Strategic

Plan Passive Website

Attitudes, Staffing,

Available

Infrastructure

Independent

Variable Dependent

Variable

Extraneous Variables

Figure 1

Methodology

Data collection will be primary and secondary in nature, where

primary data is collected via online surveys of EHA employees and

clients on attitudinal scales of e-government in public

administration. Secondary data collection will analyze other

housing authority websites of similar size and scope to understand

what the fundamental differences or what commonalities these

organizations share with one another. Additional data will be

gathered from secondary journal articles to infer potential success

rates for successful IT implementation in e-government.

Federal rental assistance programs have not kept pace with growing need Funds for public housing in Texas in 2014 were $75,243,000 less than in 2010, and 7,072 fewer Texas households were using housing vouchers as of December 2014 than two years earlier due to sequestration funding cuts. When housing costs consume more than half of household income, low-income families are at greater risk of becoming homeless. The single-night census in 2014 found that 28,495 people in Texas were homeless or living in shelters, including 2,718 veterans and 9,318families with children. Another 86,785 school-age children lived in unstable housing, such as doubled up with other families, during the 2012-2013 school year

Data Collected Showed…

Lack of Funding for EHS directly

affected

Lack of Funding for EHS directly

affected

With available funding agencies will only be able to

restore in 2015 about one-fifth of the housing vouchers

lost due to sequestration. Congress must provide

additional funds to restore the remaining vouchers in

2016.

On a single night in Texas in 2014, 28,495 people were

homeless, including 5,873 children and 2,718 veterans.

Another 86,785 school age children lived in unstable

housing, such as doubled up with other families, during

the 2012-2013 school year.

Equation

REDUCTION IN FUNDS ABILITY TO FUND BETTER E GOVERMENT

Findings and Recommendations

After studying and analyzing the Edinburg Housing Authority (EHA),

based on our finding, the research team has determined that EHA

lacks transparency efforts (E-government, Open Government, or Gov 2.0), and has strategic planning that does not promote citizen

engagement. The research team proposes an analysis of EHA’s

existing strategic plan(s).

Findings and Recommendations

An update or amendment to the existing plans should consist of thoughtful planning of a transparent strategy with an E-government approach that will achieve the goal of true citizen engagement that will shape and guide the Edinburg Housing Authority (EHA) for a better future. The purpose of a five year transparency strategy, is to help EHA engage, collaborate, share, and be continuously involved with the community by focusing on aligning the needs of the public with the goals of the organization; therefore, allowing for both to share a vision of an organization that is known for its world-class transparent customer service via any method accessible to the public 365 days a year.

The goal(s) must be realistic and have the support of the community and the Administration of the Edinburg Housing Authority (EHA). The update or amendment to the plan needs to establish attainable goals and objectives that are in relation with the variables.

Update Strategic Plan(s) to include:

References ”Building an open and innovative government for better policies and service delivery” - OECD Guiding Principles for Open and Inclusive

Policy Making. (2010, June 9). Retrieved July 16, 2015, from http://www.oecd.org/gov/46560128.pdf

Definition of E-Government-The World Bank. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2015, from http://web.worldbank.org

DiMaio, A. (2009, November 13). Government 2.0: A Gartner Definition - Andrea DiMaio. Retrieved July 16, 2015, from

http://blogs.gartner.com/andrea_dimaio/2009/11/13/government-2-0-a-gartner-definition/

Edinburg Housing Authority in Texas. (n.d.). Retrieved July 8, 2015, from http://affordablehousingonline.com/housing-

authority/Texas/Edinburg-Housing-Authority/TX062/

Edinburg Housing Authority Wins 11 Texas NAHRO Awards. (2015, July 11). Retrieved July 12, 2015, from

http://www.themonitor.com/life/edinburg-housing-authority-wins-texas-nahro-awards/article_90369afc-2752-11e5-8ee9-

63c6cda85421.html

Koh, C. E., Prybutok, V. R., Ryan, S., & Ibragimova, B. (2006). The importance of strategic readiness in an emerging e-government

environment. Business Process Management Journal Vol. 12 No.1, 22-33

Section 8 Is Broken. (n.d.). Retrieved July 8, 2015, from http://www.nhi.org/online/issues/127/section8.html

Texas Fact Sheet: The Housing Choice Voucher Program. 2014. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Retrieved July 12, 2015 from

http://www.cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/3-10-14hous-factsheets_tx.pdf

UTPA Business Students Develop Strategic Plan for Edinburg Housing Authority. (2015, May 13). Retrieved July 13, 2015, from

http://www.themonitor.com/life/utpa-business-students-develop-strategic-plan-for-edinburg-housing-authority/article_e08730ca-f8ef-11e4-

ae69-ab9af7b75105.html