Performance Partnership Initiatives Exhibit Four Key Characteristics Somewhat Differently

We identified 4 key characteristics that PPGs and the disconnected youth  pilots share:  1.  documented agreement outlining goals, roles, and responsibilities;  2.  flexibility  in the use of funds across multiple federal programs;  3.  additional flexibilities, such as expanded program participant eligibility  or streamlined reporting requirements; and  4.  accountability for results. EPA and state agencies define the scope of their partnership in a PPG  work plan. A state agency can submit a single application  covering all of the grants it is seeking to consolidate in its PPG rather  than a separate application for each. Disconnected Youth Pilots Use Flexibilities to Tailor Services to Target Populations

Similar to PPGs, the disconnected youth pilots enable non-federal  partners to combine funds from federal agencies’ programs and obtain  additional flexibilities, but we found that for the disconnected youth pilots  we reviewed, these flexibilities were generally used to tailor service  interventions to the specific needs of their target populations rather than  to reduce administrative burden. Second, an agency also can waive program requirements associated with  funds being used in a pilot, but only after its agency head issues a written  determination that the granting of such waivers (1) are consistent with the  statutory purposes of the underlying federal program and other provisions  of the pilot authority, including that individuals will not be denied or  restricted eligibility  for services, (2) are necessary to achieve the  outcomes of the pilot and no broader in scope than is necessary to do so,  and (3) will result in either realizing efficiencies (by simplifying reporting or  reducing administrative barriers) or increasing the ability of individuals to  obtain access to services. Non-federal partners periodically report to  federal partners on their progress towards the goals established in the  partnership document. In Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating the Disconnected Youth Pilots, Federal Agencies Have Taken Steps Intended to Ensure Success, but Have Opportunities for Improvement

		Federal Agencies Generally Took Actions Consistent with Leading Practices for Interagency Collaboration

The federal agencies involved in the disconnected youth pilots have taken  a number of actions consistent with leading practices for interagency  collaboration identified in our prior reports. For example, the non-federal partners in both the Oklahoma and  Seattle pilots plan to use AmeriCorps funding. Although the federal agencies have identified a variety of data to collect  through performance reporting and the national and pilot-level program  evaluations, they did not identify criteria or standards for assessing  scalability of the flexibilities being tested by the pilots as part of the pilot or  evaluation design processes. However, agencies—including OMB,  which has responsibility for coordinating agencies’ overall efforts to  implement the disconnected youth pilots—have not fully identified the key  financial and staff resources each agency will need to contribute over the  lifetime of the initiative. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help ensure that the pilot programs for disconnected youth can be  effectively implemented over the lifetime of the initiative, the Director of  OMB should coordinate with relevant federal agencies to identify and  estimate expected annual financial and staff resource contributions from  each agency, including during the implementation and evaluation phases  of the pilots. To ensure that federal agencies involved in the disconnected youth pilots  are able to evaluate pilot outcomes and ultimately communicate to  Congress whether and to what extent the flexibilities tested by the pilots  should be integrated into broader efforts, the Director of OMB should  coordinate with relevant federal agencies to identify criteria or standards  for assessing scalability, and collect data needed to address those criteria  or standards. OMB staff also provided oral comments in which they asked us to clarify  that (1) OMB’s role is to coordinate agencies’ overall efforts to implement  the disconnected youth pilots, (2) the resource issues identified in our  report involve agencies better identifying and planning for their individual  contributions to the pilot initiative, and (3) our discussion of scalability is  focused on the flexibilities being tested by the pilots. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA) put into place a  framework intended to increase the use of performance information and  other evidence in federal decision making. According to the Office of Management and Budget  (OMB), because performance partnerships require federal agencies and  their grant recipients to manage toward agreed upon outcomes, they can  help the 2 sides to collect information and evidence about what works and  therefore how to employ federal resources more efficiently. This report  identifies the key characteristics of those 2 existing performance  partnership initiatives. It also provides a more in-depth review of the  design, implementation, and evaluation of 1 of the 2—the Performance  Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth. To identify key characteristics of performance partnership initiatives and  how these key characteristics are exhibited, we collected, reviewed, and  analyzed documents about the overall performance partnership initiatives,  such as authorizing legislation, regulations, and notices inviting  applications, as well as from selected individual  performance partnerships  within them, including applications, performance partnership agreements,  and grant work plans. Appendix II: Additional Information on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Performance Partnership Grants

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) performance partnership  grants (PPG) permit state agencies to request that funding they receive  from 2 or more EPA program grants be combined into a single award.
Why GAO Did This Study

The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 established a framework intended to increase federal agencies' use of performance information and evidence in decision making. In performance partnerships, agencies and grant recipients manage toward outcomes, which can help measure program performance and collect evidence about what works to achieve desired outcomes. OMB has encouraged the use of such partnerships by agencies that make federal grants.
GAO is required by the act to report on how its implementation is affecting federal agency performance management. This report identifies the key characteristics of 2 existing performance partnerships. It also provides an in-depth review of the design, implementation, and evaluation of 1 of the 2 initiatives—the disconnected youth pilots.
To address these objectives, GAO reviewed relevant laws, regulations, and documents and selected 8 illustrative examples from the 2 partnership initiatives (4 each), based on various criteria, such as the type and number of grants included and location. GAO also interviewed federal and non-federal officials involved in these partnerships.

What GAO Found

Congress has authorized 2 federal performance partnership initiatives. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Performance Partnership Grants (PPG) has been in place for 20 years and allows state agencies to consolidate funds from up to 19 environmental program grants into a single PPG. The other, Performance Partnership Pilots for Disconnected Youth (disconnected youth pilots), is a more recent initiative authorized in 2014 that allows funding from multiple programs across multiple agencies to be combined into pilot programs serving disconnected youth. GAO identified 4 key characteristics shared by the 2 federal performance partnership initiatives. Specifically:
1. Documented agreement . Federal and non-federal partners identify goals, roles, and responsibilities. EPA and state agencies accomplish this through a PPG work plan. For each disconnected youth pilot, multiple federal agencies and non-federal partners, such as local government agencies and community-based organizations, use a performance partnership agreement.
2. Flexibility in using funding. PPGs combine funding from 2 or more EPA program grants. The disconnected youth pilots can combine funding from multiple programs across the agencies involved in the initiative.
3. Additional flexibilities. PPGs reduce administrative burden for state agencies, for example, by requiring only a single application for all grants in them. Disconnected youth pilots also provide non-federal partners flexibility to serve disconnected youth, including the ability to better tailor service interventions to their target populations.
4. Accountability for results . In both initiatives, non-federal partners report to federal partners on progress towards mutually-established goals. Partners in the disconnected youth pilots are also assessing results through national and pilot-specific program evaluations.
GAO's in-depth review of the disconnected youth pilots found that agencies had taken actions consistent with leading practices for collaboration and pilot design, such as establishing a leadership model for collaboration. Although the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is responsible for coordinating agencies' overall efforts to implement the pilots, GAO identified additional actions that OMB should take in coordination with the agencies to help ensure future success.
Resources. Agencies have not fully identified the funding and staff resources each will need to contribute to sustain their efforts over the lifetime of the pilots. This is because agencies primarily have been focused on meeting near-term needs to support design and implementation. By fully identifying specific future financial and staff resource needs, agencies can better plan for their individual contributions to ensure they are sufficient to support the pilots.
Scalability. Agencies have not developed criteria to inform determinations about whether, how, and when to implement the flexibilities tested by the pilots in a broader context (this is known as scalability). Although the agencies identified a variety of data to collect, they have not identified criteria for assessing scalability. Officials involved in the pilots told GAO it was too early in pilot implementation to determine such criteria. By not identifying these criteria during the design of the pilots, they risk not collecting needed data during their implementation.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that OMB coordinate with federal agencies implementing the disconnected youth pilots to identify (1) agency resource contributions needed for the lifetime of the pilots and (2) criteria and related data for assessing scalability. OMB neither agreed nor disagreed with these recommendations.