Group 9: Power Point Presentation Public Affairs-Administration - Past, Present, & Future

1. 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

2. 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.

3.  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.

4. How information is accessible to
the public is important because of
who it serves!

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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.

10. Methodology
EHA’s Strategic
Plan Passive Website
Attitudes, Staffing,
Available
Infrastructure
Independent
Variable
Dependent
Variable
Extraneous Variables
Figure 1

11. 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.

12.  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…

13. Lack of Funding for EHS directly
affected

14. 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.

15. Equation

 REDUCTION IN FUNDS ABILITY TO FUND BETTER E GOVERMENT

16. 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).

17. 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:

18. 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