The objectives of this review were to determine (1) the focus and developmental status of the labs, (2) the factors that hindered or assisted the development of the labs, (3) whether the labs were collecting performance data, and (4) whether the labs had achieved any results. Almost two-thirds of the respondents said their labs’ customers were both internal and external to the government. Other regulations are issued by line agencies and apply only to the issuing agency. Lab officials also reported other types of problems when they requested regulatory waivers. Downsizing Had Both Positive and Negative Effects on the Labs

As noted in chapter 1, many of the reinvention labs were initiated or were being implemented at a time when federal agencies were being reduced in size. For example, they said that GPRA • complemented and reinforced their labs’ ongoing reinvention efforts; • promoted the development of performance measures and results-based management systems that were a part of their labs’ goals; forced their organization to focus on performance, redefining mission, corporate goals, and objectives; • compelled management to think about how to integrate various management reform legislation, such as the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982 and the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, with the reinvention labs; and • provided a driving force for interest in, and design of, a new operations evaluation process for the lab. The respondents most commonly said their labs were collecting data on the units’ outputs (77 percent) and/or were collecting informal comments from staff or customers (69 percent). As figure 4.3 shows, although more than three-fourths of the labs implemented at only the lab site were collecting performance data, over 90 percent of the labs implemented at the lab site and beyond were collecting such data. However, not all of the data the labs collected appear to have been used. Respondents Said Labs Often Did Not Have Pre-Lab Performance Data

Respondents frequently said that performance data allowed them to conclude that their labs had improved units’ productivity, customer satisfaction, and staff morale. Conclusions and Recommendation

At the time of our survey, 26 agencies and other federal entities had designated a total of 185 reinvention labs in various parts of the country.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO reviewed the National Performance Review's (NPR) initiative to establish reinvention labs in federal departments and agencies, focusing on: (1) the labs' developmental status; (2) factors that hindered or assisted their development; (3) whether the labs were collecting performance data; and (4) whether the labs have achieved any results.

What GAO Found

GAO found that: (1) more than 2 dozen federal agencies and other entities have developed a total of 185 reinvention labs; (2) the labs deal with a variety of issues, from personnel management to improving operations using technology; (3) almost all of the labs consider customer service as their primary goal, and consider other government organizations to be customers; (4) while labs considered management support to be important to lab development, the use of regulatory waivers and communication about the labs' progress were rarely needed or used; (5) other federal reform efforts, such as downsizing and the implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act, had both positive and negative effects on the labs' development; (6) labs experienced difficulties in sustaining efforts that crossed agency boundaries or challenged agencies' existing cultures; (7) over two-thirds of the labs had collected some type of performance data, ranging from information on unit outputs to informal comments from staff and customers, but some lab administrators refused to collect performance data because they believed it was unnecessary or not worthwhile; (8) the performance data are inconclusive, since there are no previous data for comparison and the nature of the data is subjective; (9) the labs have yielded results by improving customer service, increasing unit productivity and employee morale, and reducing costs at some federal sites; and (10) the value of the labs will be realized only when lab efforts proven to be effective spread beyond the lab sites.