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SEA Program Integrity Survey

SURVEY INTRODUCTION

Introduction: The Senior Executives Association (SEA) in collaboration with Grant Thornton is conducting a survey to assess federal employees’ understanding of fraud, waste, and abuse as it applies to program integrity efforts at their agencies. SEA will use the results of this survey to develop training materials to address awareness gaps, and any key insights will be shared, through reports and blog posts, with the broader federal community to drive a shared understanding of fraud, waste, and abuse, and program integrity efforts.

The overall goal of this project is to improve program management within the Federal government and to enable Federal program managers to effectively use program integrity tools and processes to deliver stronger mission results to the American taxpayer.

This survey should only be taken by federal government employees. The survey will take approximately 15-20 minutes to complete and gives you the opportunity to anonymously share your insights on building a program integrity-centered culture within your government agency. We hope you’ll take the time to complete the survey and sincerely appreciate any information you can provide.


 
Definitions: We have provided the following definitions for terms frequently used throughout the survey:

Program Integrity – Concept that programs should be organizationally and structurally sound and capable of achieving their mission without compromise. For example, instituting rigorous internal controls is commonly associated with program integrity.

Payment Integrity – Ensuring payments made to individuals and organizations on behalf of the government are managed correctly and program processes incorporate appropriate checks to minimize the likelihood of errors. Payment integrity is a component of program integrity.

Improper Payment – Falls into three broad categories: intentional fraud and abuse, unintentional payment errors, and instances where the documentation for a payment is insufficient to determine whether a payment is proper.

Fraud – Obtaining something of value (financial or non-financial) through willful misrepresentation.

Waste – The act of using or expending resources carelessly, extravagantly, or to no purpose. Importantly, waste can include activities that do not include abuse and does not necessarily involve a violation of law. Rather, waste relates primarily to mismanagement, inappropriate actions, and inadequate oversight.

Abuse – Behavior that is deficient or improper when compared with behavior that a prudent person would consider reasonable and necessary business practice given the facts and circumstances, but excludes fraud and noncompliance with provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements. Abuse also includes misuse of authority or position for personal financial interests or those of an immediate or close family member or business associate.