Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC)

CPIC is a structured approach to managing IT investments. CPIC ensures that IT investments align with the IHS mission, strategic goals, and objectives, and support business needs, while minimizing risks and maximizing returns throughout the investment’s life cycle. CPIC relies on systematic selection, control, and continual evaluation processes to ensure that the investment’s objectives are met effectively.

Investments in IT can dramatically enhance organizational performance. When carefully managed, IT becomes a critical enabler to improve business processes, makes information widely available, and reduces the cost of providing essential Government services. As IT rapidly evolves, the challenge of realizing its potential benefits also becomes much greater.

Congress and OMB have clearly stated that each executive agency must actively manage its IT program to provide assurances that technology expenditures are necessary and shall result in demonstrated improvements in mission effectiveness and customer service. The Clinger-Cohen Act (CCA) of 1996, Public Law 104 – 106, legislatively mandates that IT investments be prudently managed.

One key CCA goal is for divisions to develop policies and processes that implement systems at acceptable costs, within reasonable and expected time frames, and that contribute to tangible, observable improvements in mission performance. Therefore, CPIC processes shall be institutionalized throughout IHS, shall ensure compliance with the IHS Enterprise Architecture, and shall be used for all IT-related decisions.