GPRA Provides a Foundation for Results-Oriented Management

GPRA, which was enacted 10 years ago, provides a foundation for  examining agency missions, performance goals and objectives, and results. While this building effort is far from complete, it has helped create a  governmentwide focus on results by establishing a statutory framework for  performance management and accountability. The necessary  infrastructure has been built to generate meaningful performance  information. For example, through the strategic planning requirement, GPRA has  required federal agencies to consult with the Congress and key  stakeholders to reassess their missions and long-term goals as well as the  strategies and resources they will need to achieve their goals. It also has  required agencies to articulate goals for the upcoming fiscal year that are  aligned with their long-term strategic goals. Finally, agencies are required  to report annually on their progress in achieving their annual performance  goals. Therefore, information is available about current missions, goals,  and results. The report  will be available next month. We are now moving to a more difficult but more  important phase of GPRA implementation, that is, using results-oriented  performance information as a routine part of agencies’ day-to-day  management, and congressional and executive branch decision making. However, much work remains before this framework is effectively  implemented across the government, including (1) transforming agencies’  organizational cultures to improve decision making and strengthen  performance and accountability, (2) developing meaningful, outcome- oriented performance goals and measures and collecting useful  performance data, (3) addressing widespread mission fragmentation and  overlap, and (4) using performance information in allocating resources. In addition, we have reported that high-performing organizations seek to  shift the focus of management and accountability from activities and  processes to contributions and achieving results. Linking planned performance with budget  requests and financial reports is an essential step in building a culture of  performance management. Such an alignment infuses performance  concerns into budgetary deliberations, prompting agencies to reassess  their performance goals and strategies and to more clearly understand the  cost of performance. Credible outcome-based performance information is absolutely critical to  fostering the kind of debate that is needed. Concluding Remarks

In view of the broad trends and long-term fiscal challenges facing the  nation, there is a need to consider how the Congress, OMB, and executive  agencies can make better use of GPRA’s planning and accountability  framework to maximize the performance of not only individual programs  and agencies but also the federal government as whole in addressing these  challenges.
Why GAO Did This Study

Congress asked GAO to discuss the Government Performance and Results Act's (GPRA) success in shifting the focus of government operations from process to results and to evaluate the extent to which agency managers have embraced GPRA as a management tool. Further, Congress was interested in any recommendations GAO may have to improve the effectiveness of GPRA. GAO is conducting a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of GPRA since its enactment, including updating the results of our federal managers survey. The results of this review will be available next month.

What GAO Found

GPRA, which was enacted in 1993, provides a foundation for examining agency missions, performance goals and objectives, and results. While this building effort is far from complete, it has helped create a government-wide focus on results by establishing a statutory framework for management and accountability. This framework can improve the performance and accountability of the executive branch and enhance executive branch and congressional decisionmaking. In view of the broad trends and long-term fiscal challenges facing the nation, there is a need to consider how the Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and executive agencies can make better use of GPRA's planning and accountability framework to maximize the performance of not only individual programs and agencies, but also of the federal government as whole in addressing these challenges. The necessary infrastructure has been built to generate meaningful performance information. For example, through the strategic planning requirement, GPRA has required federal agencies to consult with the Congress and key stakeholders to reassess their missions and long-term goals as well as the strategies and resources they will need to achieve their goals. It also has required agencies to articulate goals for the upcoming fiscal year that are aligned with their long-term strategic goals. Finally, agencies are required to report annually on their progress in achieving their annual performance goals. Therefore, information is available about current missions, goals, and results. We are now moving to a more difficult but more important phase of GPRA implementation, that is, using results-oriented performance information as a part of agencies' day-to-day management, and congressional and executive branch decision-making. However, much work remains before this framework is effectively implemented across the government, including (1) transforming agencies' organizational cultures to improve decisionmaking and strengthen performance and accountability, (2) developing meaningful, outcome-oriented performance goals and measures and collecting useful performance data, and (3) addressing widespread mission fragmentation and overlap. Furthermore, linking planned performance with budget requests and financial reports is an essential step in building a culture of performance management. Such an alignment can help to infuse performance concerns into budgetary deliberations. However, credible outcome-based performance information is critical to foster the kind of debate that is needed.