SAVE Award 2011 Ideas

We in Chicago are fortunate to be surrounded by many Federal buildings housing many different agencies. We were able to participate in an office supply trade with other agencies in the area. It's amazing what supplies some agencies provide. It was like a shopping spree!! Items our office had no use for or things which we had in abundance, (tablets, pens, staplers, etc.) were brought to the "shopping" area and added... more »

Every FEMA disaster responder, whether Reservist or permanent employee, gets a rental car when they are deployed to a disaster. Many of those cars are only used to go from the hotel to the office, then back to the hotel again with a weekly trip to the grocery store or for a haircut. Other national organizations, such as the American Red Cross, share vehicles. two or more people to a car. FEMA employees who are not in... more »

There is currently no real "personal" incentive for individuals in US government organizations to save money from their annual FY budgets (other than personal pride and/or as a US taxpayer). If each individual in an organization was permitted to "share" in some pre-determined percentage of any excess remaining funds from their organization's FY budget, each individual would have a vested interest in looking for cost... more »

OPERATION FREEZE THE INK! 700 pounds and 10,000 pages is what the average worker will print in one year. A 25-30% reduction of printing by 50-60% of federal workers (1,500,000 FTE) would save $187 million in a year! It's not technology that holds us back, it's the will to use it. Implementing a printing cap would make government workers get creative in how a document is electronically delivered.

Our agency deals with many applicants that we assist for rent and many times the HUD applicants rent out the home that HUD assists them with and we pay them rental assistance! This is not only a duplication of benefits but a waste of money. I would like to have HUD do periodic checks or have a way for our agency to check on the homes and the household compositions to avoid them getting double benefits from the government.... more »

The Save Program, IRS Commissioners Cost Savings program, and the Employee Suggestion Program (ESP) ideas should be shared with CONGRESS and the SENATE with upper management stating clearly what the cost to implement these suggestions is along with the savings anticipated for the first year. I think it is important for them to know what ideas were put out here and the cost and savings. This might help get a few hundred... more »

Integrate Indian Health Service electronic medical records records with VHA records, so VHA providers can access IHS records, and IHS providers can access VHA records

This would decrease:
1) Time VHA providers and nurses spend trying to obtain IHS records
2) Time Health Information scanners spend scanning IHS records, once obtained
3) Duplication of services
4) Delays in care of Veterans, who go to both IHS and VHA providers... more »

This idea is for all government agencies and all supply managers. I would welcome comments.

To help promote cross agency cooperation and save money, create a .gov website similar to Craigslist that agencies requisition for excess property and material in a local area. Why should one agency buy new items, like desks or chairs, when another agency has excess material in a local area? After the item has been listed for... more »

Where possible, utilize desk-sharing by part-time/staggered shift employees. This will save money on building space and office equipment.