The Results Act is intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs by establishing a system to set goals for program performance and to measure results. The Results Act requires each performance plan to identify annual performance goals that cover all of the program activities in the agency’s budget. OPM’S Plan Describes an Extensive Set of Activities Related to Its Strategic Goals, but the Result to Be Achieved Is Only Partially Clear

OPM’s annual performance plan specifies quite clearly its goals—generally expressed as planned activities—for fiscal year 1998 and how those planned activities relate to the goals in its published strategic plan and to program activity accounts in its proposed fiscal year 1999 budget. OPM’s plan has some measures that are related to achieving results. OPM’S Performance Plan Could More Fully Discuss How the Agency’s Strategies and Resources Will Help Achieve Its Goals

OPM’s performance plan could more fully discuss the strategies and resources the agency will use to achieve its performance goals. While not required by the Results Act, we believe that a discussion of these external factors would provide additional context regarding anticipated performance. Recognizing Data Limitations

OPM’s performance plan does not discuss a number of known data limitations that may affect the validity of many performance measures OPM plans to use. GAO Comments

1. OPM stated that in several cases where we suggested its annual performance plan could be improved, the underlying problem seemed to be a continuing disagreement between us and OPM on the strategic goals, objectives, and measures included in its Results Act strategic plan. This may contribute to the annual plan goals’ also focusing on processes or activities, which is one of the key areas in which we believe the annual performance plan could be improved. 2. We agree that providing a reference to the relevant goals in OPM’s presentation of its mandatory spending accounts would appropriately guide users of the plan to the goals and measures associated with the accounts. 3. 4. 5.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) annual performance plan for fiscal year (FY) 1999, focusing on whether OPM's plan complies with the statutory requirements and congressional intent as contained in the Government Performance and Results Act and related guidance.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) OPM's annual performance plan addresses the six program components required by the Results Act; (2) the plan has several performance goals and measures listed under each of its five strategic goals as identified in OPM's September 1997 strategic plan; (3) some of these goals and measures are objective and quantifiable, providing a way to judge whether the goal has been achieved; (4) the plan also lays out, very well, a clear linkage between the FY 1999 performance goals and OPM's mission and strategic goals and also between its goals and its specific program activities and related funding as presented in its 1999 budget; (5) the principal area in which the performance plan could be improved to better meet the purposes of the Results Act is in the statement of its goals; (6) OPM's annual performance plan goals, like those in its strategic plan, tend to be process or activity goals; (7) the Results Act, in contrast, envisions a much greater emphasis on outcome goals that state what overall end result the agency will achieve, such as increasing the effectiveness of the federal civilian workforce; (8) Congress sought this emphasis to help ensure that processes and activities that agencies undertake actually add up to a meaningful result that is commensurate with the resources expended; and (9) OPM's annual performance plan could also be improved by including more discussion on how its resources will be used to achieve its goals and adding a discussion of known data limitations that may affect the validity of various performance measures that OPM plans to use.