GPRA Laid the Foundation for a More Results- Oriented Federal Government

Ten years after enactment, GPRA’s requirements have laid a solid  foundation of results-oriented agency planning, measurement, and  reporting. The results of our survey  of federal managers indicate that since GPRA went into effect  governmentwide in 1997, federal managers reported having significantly  more of the types of performance measures called for by GPRA— particularly outcome-oriented performance measures. This perception is partly borne  out by our survey results. The foundation of results-oriented planning and reporting that has been  established is also reflected in the quality of the plans and reports of six  federal agencies we reviewed for our report. Beginning with federal  agencies’ initial efforts to develop effective strategic plans in 1997 and  annual performance plans and reports for fiscal year 1999, Congress, GAO,  and others have commented on the quality of those efforts and provided  constructive feedback on how agency plans and reports could be  improved. Challenges to GPRA Implementation Exist

While a great deal of progress has been made in making federal agencies  more results oriented, we found numerous challenges remain. These  challenges included (1) top leadership does not consistently show  commitment to achieving results, (2) managers reported mixed results in  the use of performance information, (3) managers continue to confront a  range of human capital management challenges, (4) managers face  persistent challenges in setting outcome-oriented goals, measuring  performance, and collecting useful data, (5) crosscutting issues are not  adequately addressed, and (6) managers’ views that Congress’ use of  performance information is limited. Top Leadership Commitment

As we noted in previous GAO reports, top leadership commitment and  sustained attention to achieving results, both within the agencies and at  OMB, are essential to GPRA implementation. Unfortunately, most existing federal performance  appraisal systems are not designed to support a meaningful performance- based pay system in that they fail to link institutional, program, unit, and  individual performance measurement and reward systems. This would  provide important guidance to agencies that could then be incorporated in  agency strategic and annual performance plans. However, we have frequently reported on  approaches that agencies, OMB, and Congress could use to address the  challenges. In our report we recommended that the Director of OMB implement five  suggestions to improve its guidance and oversight of GPRA  implementation:    To provide a broader perspective and more cohesive picture of the federal  government’s goals and strategies to address issues that cut across  executive branch agencies, we recommend that the Director of OMB fully  implement GPRA’s requirement to develop a governmentwide  performance plan.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) has been in effect for 10 years. In that context, the subcommittee asked GAO to discuss our recent report, Results- Oriented Government: GPRA Has Established a Solid Foundation for Achieving Greater Results. Our testimony addresses the effectiveness of GPRA in creating a focus on results in the federal government.

What GAO Found

GPRA's requirements have established a solid foundation of results-oriented performance planning, measurement, and reporting in the federal government. Federal managers surveyed by GAO reported having significantly more of the types of performance measures called for by GPRA. GPRA has also begun to facilitate the linking of resources to results, although much remains to be done in this area to increase the use of performance information to make decisions about resources. In our report, we also found agency strategic and annual performance plans and reports have improved over initial efforts. Although a foundation has been established, numerous significant challenges to GPRA implementation still exist. Inconsistent top leadership commitment to achieving results within agencies and OMB can hinder the development of results-oriented cultures in agencies. Furthermore, in certain areas, federal managers continue to have difficulty setting outcome-oriented goals, collecting useful data on results, and linking institutional, program, unit, and individual performance measurement and reward systems. Finally, there is an inadequate focus on addressing issues that cut across federal agencies. OMB, as the focal point for management in the federal government, is responsible for overall leadership and direction in addressing these challenges. OMB has clearly placed greater emphasis on management issues during the past several years. However, OMB has showed less commitment to GPRA implementation in its guidance to agencies and is not using the governmentwide performance plan requirement of GPRA to develop an integrated approach to crosscutting issues. In our view, governmentwide strategic planning could better facilitate the integration of federal activities to achieve national goals.