13.2. EXPLANATION OF CHANGES SHOWN ON SCHEDULE C1 FOR DIVISION G Office of Technology Assessment General and Administration A. MANDATORY PAY AND RELATED COSTS 1. Annualization of January 1993 3.7% Cost-of-Living Adjustment 2.January 1994 2.2% Cost-of-Living Adjustment 3. Merit increases and promotions averaging 3% agency-wide 4. Annualization of January 1993 9.5% plus estimated January 1994 9.5% health benefit increases 5. Increase in retirement contributions (FERS) 6. January 1994 2.9% locality-based pay adjustment B. PRICE LEVEL CHANGES 1. Travel inflation rate of 6.25% applied to base 2. Building lease escalation based on 30% of change in CPI-W for 3. Telephone services inflation rate of 5% applied to base 7. Consultant services inflation rate of 3% applied to base 8. Other services inflation rate of 3% applied to base 9. Supplies and materials inflation rate of 3% applied to base 10. Equipment inflation rate of 3% applied non ADP equipment base C. PROGRAM TYPE CHANGES Staff Amount (000) 29 49 91 8 20 67 Staff Amount (000) 3 52 6 1 7 1 15 5 2 Staff Amount (000) 1. Legislation 2. Workload 3. Equipment, Alterations, Maintenance, Repairs, Etc. 13.3. Role of the General and Administration Division The General and Administration Division is divided into two main sections: the Office of the Director and the Operations Division. Included in the Office of the Director is OTA's Congressional and Public Affairs Office, which handles much of OTA's congressional and press liaison work, relations with the Technology Assessment Board, and relations with the Technology Assessment Advisory Council. The Operations Division is divided into 4 main sections: Budget and Finance The Budget and Finance office handles all of OTA's budget and financial affairs. The office is the focal point for tracking and reporting expenditures under the annual appropriations of the agency. It prepares financial data such as that required for the Justification of Estimates and the President's annual budget and works with Appropriations Committee staff of the House and Senate. Contracts and Building Services The Contracts Office negotiates all of OTA's research contracts and arranges for travel and compensation of OTA's advisory panelists and workshop participants. The office also administers travel for OTA staff and oversees procurements of other services and equipment. The Building Services unit ensures the habitability of OTA's leased space and provides office and courier services to the agency. Information Management and Publishing Services includes the following offices: The Telecommunications and Information Systems Office provides comprehensive computer, telecommunications, and information management support to OTA staff. This includes support for basic office automation, including user assistance, hardware installation and maintenance, software, telecommunications, and database management. A wide variety of training courses are available. The Information Center combines traditional library services with the latest information retrieval technology to fulfill the reference and information needs of OTA staff. The Information Center offers a centralized book and periodical collection, online literature search services, CD-ROM databases, and customized current awareness services in support of OTA research. The Publishing Office coordinates the publishing of OTA reports and background papers from manuscript through camera-ready copy. Editorial support, graphics production, and typesetting and design are handled in a state-of-the-art production environment. The Publishing Office also acts as the liaison for OTA with the Government Printing Office which prints OTA publications. The Information Marketing Office supports the dissemination of OTA information and products. Descriptive flyers, brochures, and pamphlets are developed by this office along with the publications catalog and the annual report. The Information Marketing Office also maintains the Publications Distribution Office for public distribution of OTA publications and for maintenance of the OTA publication inventory. Personnel Services The Personnel Office recruits personnel, processes incoming and outgoing OTA employees, maintains benefits and leave records, and handles employee relations. The office also administers the Morris Udall Congressional Fellowship Program. |