However, the benefit of collecting performance information is fully realized  only when that information is actually used by managers to make  decisions aimed at improving results. For example, in July 2015, we found that agencies  reported that their reviews had positive effects on progress toward  agency goals and efforts to improve the efficiency of operations, among  other things. At individual agencies and across the  federal government, these organizations and officials have key  responsibilities for improving performance, as outlined below. A-11, additional  memorandums, and other means. Opportunities Exist for the Executive Branch to Increase the Use of Performance Information within Agencies

		Disparities Exist in the Use of Performance Information by Senior Agency Leaders and Managers at Lower Levels

Our past work has found that the Executive Branch has taken steps to  improve the use of performance information in decision making by senior  leaders at federal agencies. The existing action plan, released in March 2018 and updated in June  2018, does not yet include specific steps needed to improve the use of  data—including performance information—more extensively within  agencies. Our Survey Results Identify Additional Opportunities for the PIC to Improve Federal Use of Performance Information

While the PIC, which is chaired by OMB, has contributed to efforts to  enhance the use of performance information, our survey results identify  additional opportunities to further those efforts. For example, the PIC  created a working group focused on agency performance reviews, which  was used to share recommendations for how agencies can implement  reviews, along with a guide with practices for effectively implementing  strategic reviews. Those proven practices also  may help agency leaders and managers resolve any identified  challenges. OMB staff agreed with our recommendation but have  yet to address it. As OMB and its fellow goal leaders more fully develop  the action plan for achieving this goal, providing additional details for its  plans to improve data-driven decision making would help provide  assurance that it can be achieved. It will also be  important, however, for OMB and the PIC to go beyond this analysis and  work with agencies to identify and share proven practices for increasing  the use of performance information at lower levels within agencies, as  well as challenges that may be hampering agencies’ ability to do so. Employees that report to me 0 Percent of managers reporting “Great” or “Very Great”

		10 Questions Related to Leading Practices That Promote the Use of Performance Information

		Leading Practices:

		Aligning agencywide goals, objectives, and measures

		Improving the usefulness of performance information

		Communicate performance information frequently and effectively

Appendix II: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report responds to a request that we analyze agency-level results  from our 2017 survey of federal managers at the 24 agencies covered by  the Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Act of 1990, as amended, to determine  the extent agencies are using performance information. This report  assesses the extent to which:  1.  the reported use of performance information and related leading  practices at 24 agencies has changed compared to our prior survey in  2013;  2.  being subject to data-driven reviews related to managers’ reported  use of performance information and leading practices; and  3.  the Executive Branch has taken actions to enhance agencies’ use of  performance information in various decision-making activities. The overall survey results are generalizable  to the population of managers government-wide and at each individual  agency. After calculating agency index scores for 2017, we compared them to  previous results from 2007 and 2013, and to the government-wide  average for 2017, to identify any statistically significant differences. For the third objective, we reviewed our past work that assessed Executive Branch activities to enhance  the use of performance information;  various resources (i.e., guidance, guides, and playbooks) developed  by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Performance  Improvement Council (PIC) that could support agencies’ use of  performance information; and  the President’s Management Agenda, and related materials with  information on cross-agency efforts to improve the use of data in  federal decision making.
Why GAO Did This Study

To reform the federal government and make it more efficient and effective, agencies need to use data about program performance. The benefit of collecting performance information is only fully realized when it is used by managers to make decisions aimed at improving results.
GAO was asked to review agencies' use of performance information. This report assesses, among other things, the extent to which: (1) 24 agencies' reported use of performance information and related leading practices has changed since 2013 and (2) the Executive Branch has taken actions to enhance the use of performance information.
To address the first objective, GAO analyzed results from its 2017 survey of federal managers, and compared them to 2013 results. The survey covered a stratified random sample of 4,395 managers from the 24 Chief Financial Officers Act agencies. The survey had a 67 percent response rate and results can be generalized to the population of managers government-wide and at each agency. For the second objective, GAO reviewed agency documents and interviewed staff from OMB and the PIC.

What GAO Found

Agencies' reported use of performance information to make decisions, and leading practices that can promote such use, generally has not improved since GAO's last survey of federal managers in 2013. However, GAO's survey results continue to point to certain practices that could help agencies improve managers' use of performance information. For example, as shown in the table below, GAO's survey found that managers whose programs were subject to data-driven reviews (regular reviews used to assess progress on select agency goals) to a greater extent reported statistically significantly greater use of performance information to make decisions.
The Executive Branch has begun taking steps to improve the use of performance information within agencies and across the government. For example,
In the President's Management Agenda and government-wide reform plan, released in March and June 2018 respectively, the administration acknowledged the need to do more, and announced a goal, among other actions, to improve the use of data in federal decision making. However, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and others responsible for this goal have yet to fully develop action plans to hold agencies accountable for achieving it.
The Performance Improvement Council (PIC), which is chaired by OMB, has undertaken efforts to improve the use of performance information by, for example, creating a working group on agency performance reviews. But it has not yet taken a systematic approach to identify and share proven practices that led to, or challenges that may be hampering, increased use of performance information by managers. GAO's survey results identified agencies that may have insights into such practices and challenges.
More fully developing action plans for the new goal, and identifying and sharing proven practices and challenges, could help ensure the Executive Branch takes further steps to improve the use of performance information by managers within agencies and across the federal government.

What GAO Recommends

To improve the use of performance information within agencies and across the federal government, GAO recommends that OMB work with (1) fellow goal leaders to more fully develop action plans for the new goal to improve the use of data and (2) the PIC to prioritize efforts to identify and share proven practices and challenges. OMB had no comments on this report.