♦ Government-wide News
♦ Budget and Performance Integration
♦ Improved Financial Management
♦ Strategic Management of Human Capital
♦ Competitive Sourcing
♦ Expanded E-Government
♦ Agency Spotlight: National Science Foundation
 

The federal government finds itself beginning a new chapter in its managing for results initiative – a chapter that places performance management front-and-center.

The 2005 Government Performance Summit provides comprehensive coverage of performance management; spanning three days

 

Day One:
Update from the Administration

Day Two:
Performance Management Tools and Techniques

Day Three:
Executives-Legislative Performance Dialogue & Post Summit Application Workshops

And Featuring SIX Tracks:

- Budgeting for Results - Linking People to Performance - Measuring for Results - Collecting and Managing Data - Communicating Results - Linking Processes to Results

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER, GO TO:

www.governmentperformance.org

 Government-wide News

President’s 2006 Budget: Using Performance Budgeting to Make Tough Decisions

With release of the President's '06 budget, it’s clear the Federal government is facing a difficult fiscal environment. The financial challenges that the nation is experiencing will require a long term commitment from both Congress and the Administration to maintain fiscal discipline. The President's '06 budget proposal delivers on a promise made by the Administration to subject federal programs to rigorous performance evaluations and tie agency budgets to those evaluations.  The FY ‘06 federal budget proposed by President Bush presents some of the toughest spending restraint in years. The budget proposal will attempt to make a dent in the deficit by holding overall discretionary spending to a 2.1% increase and by cutting or significantly scaling back more than 150 federal programs deemed ineffective, obsolete or duplicative. To access the President’s budget and supplemental documents, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/

To access a whitepaper analysis of the budget proposal from The Performance Institute, go to:
http://www.transparentgovernment.org/tg/news/whitepaper_analysis_budget06.pdf

21st Century Challenges: Reexamining the Base of the Federal Government

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has long had a statutory responsibility for monitoring the condition of the nation’s finances. GAO has released this report to identify the major fiscal challenge facing the nation, and to provide policymakers with support in identifying issues and options that could help to address these fiscal pressures. The report is organized in three sections. The first section sets the stage by providing the rationale for reexamining the base of the federal government and the scope of GAO’s effort. The second section is organized around 12 areas of federal activity and includes narratives discussing emerging changes in each area as well as several illustrative reexamination questions for each area. The third section provides some perspective on various strategies, processes, and approaches that should be considered as a possible means to address the issues and questions raised in this report. To access this report, go to:
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-325SP
To read the testimony on the report from David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, go to: http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-352T

House Government Reform Subcommittee Creates New Subpanels

House Government Reform Committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., reorganized his subcommittees into two completely new subcommittees - the Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census and the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs. The regulatory subcommittee will be chaired by Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., and is intended to handle reauthorization of the 1995 Paperwork Reduction Act. The federalism subcommittee will focus on relationships between the federal government and local governments, including the issuance of grants. It will be led by Rep. Michael Turner, R-Ohio, a former mayor of Dayton. Committee officials said that his experience with local government was an important part of the selection. To read more, go to: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0205/020905d1.htm

Achieving Performance Management Success in the Public Sector

Whether formalized at the federal level through initiatives such as The President’s Management Agenda (PMA) or through the more stringent demands of state and local government, the public sector as a whole is well underway to meeting the performance mandates transforming the way they serve their constituents. In this one hour session featuring president and founder of the Performance Institute, Carl DeMaio, and senior product marketing manager of Pilot Software, Ranga Bodla, learn how organizations like yours have navigated the performance management battlefield to achieve success in today’s performance driven environment. Register today: www.pilotsoftware.com/ps_seminar.

 Budget and Performance Integration

PART was a Factor in Determining Budget Cuts

Despite notable progress on Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) scores, President Bush recommended cutting 48 of the 607 programs evaluated for the fiscal 2006 budget cycle. Of these, two earned "effective" marks, three earned scores of "moderately effective," nine received a rating of "adequate," nine ranked as "ineffective" and 25 received "results not demonstrated" marks. The PART was a important - but not only - factor in proposing to eliminate the 48. In some cases there's a clear link between poor scores and recommendations to cut programs. For example, three independent reviews indicated that Even Start, an Education Department program designed to help young children learn to read, was ineffective. Other programs rated well but were not a priority for the White House. This should not discourage agencies from trying for effective scores on the administration's formal evaluations, however. To read more, go to: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0205/020705a1.htm
For an additional breakdown, go to:
/NEWS/05-0307_release.htm

For a statement on the PART’s budgetary impact from Clay Johnson, Deputy Director for Management, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/results/agenda/johnson_update20050208.html

Program Eliminations in Budget were Cited for Decreases Earlier

The Bush administration wants to eliminate 99 programs and sharply cut funding for 55 others to save more than $15 billion in 2006. These are programs that fail to accomplish their goals, duplicate other programs or are not the administrations priorities, said the administration in a report, "Major Savings and Reforms in the Presidents 2006 Budget." Of those 99 programs slated for elimination, 59 were proposed for elimination in previous years. Twenty seven of the 55 programs facing deep budget cuts also were proposed for budget decreases in previous years. To read more, go to: http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=658750
 To access this report, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/pdf/savings.pdf

Increasing Transparency and Reexamining the Base of the Federal Budget

The Government Accountability Office has released testimony from David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, on the nation’s long-term fiscal outlook and the challenge it poses for the budget and oversight processes. Walker states that the long-term outlook challenges the budget process to provide more transparency about the specific exposures that will encumber the fiscal future. While the 10-year outlook is important, Congress may wish to think more about what metrics and measures need to be added to more clearly identify the long-term consequences of current proposals before legislative action is taken. Elected representatives should have more explicit information on the present value dollar costs of major spending and tax bills - before they vote on them. Walker also discusses changes in the information provided and budgetary incentives that could improve transparency, prompting more deliberation about and improving budgetary incentives to address such bills. To access this testimony, go to: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05317t.pdf

 Improved Financial Management

Sustained Improvement in Financial Management Is Crucial to Addressing Future Fiscal Challenges

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on the inability to express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements of the U.S. government. Three major impediments to an opinion on the consolidated financial statements continue to be (1) serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense, (2) the federal government’s ineffective process for preparing the consolidated financial statements, and (3) the federal government’s inability to adequately account for and reconcile intragovernmental activity and balances between federal agencies. Furthermore, the federal government did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting and compliance due to numerous material weaknesses. To access this report, go to: http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-284T

Effective Internal Controls is Key to Accountability

GAO has issued a testimony by Jeffrey C. Steinhoff, Managing Director, Financial Management and Assurance, GAO highlights six issues important to successful implementation of the revised Circular A-123. These issues are: supplemental guidance and implementation tools; vigilance over the broader range of controls covering program objectives; strong support from managers throughout the agency, and at all levels; risk-based assessments and an appropriate balance between the costs and benefits of controls; management testing of controls in operation to assess if they are designed adequately and operating effectively; and management accountability for control breakdowns. To access this testimony, go to: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05321t.pdf

Improving the Accuracy and Integrity of Federal Payments

The Administration has made the elimination of improper payments a major focus of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). This Report, along with agency-specific reports, provides the clearest picture policymakers and Federal agency managers have ever had on the extent of improper payments and the critical challenges faced in eliminating them. This first year of reporting represents a vital step in meeting the objectives of the IPIA because it establishes the baseline from which short and long-term program improvement strategies and priorities will be based. Several findings of the report include: Federal agencies completed a risk assessment of all programs and dollars spent, determining that more than 60% of government outlays for FY 2004 (or $1.4 trillion out of $2.3 trillion) were risk susceptible for a significant level of improper payments; federal agencies were able to establish improper payment rates (and amounts) for programs that account for more than 80% of risk susceptible dollars; and approximately 92% of improper payments are overpayments. To access this report, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/results/agenda/ipia_govt_wide_report.pdf

Checklist for Reviewing Systems Under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act

GAO has issued a document that provides agencies with a checklist for reviewing systems under the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA). This checklist, which reflects the Joint Financial Management Improvement Program’s (JFMIP) revised Core Financial System Requirements to assist: financial systems analysts, systems accountants, systems developers, program managers, and others who design, develop, implement, operate, or maintain financial management systems; and management and auditors in reviewing agency core systems to determine if the systems substantially comply with FFMIA. There is no requirement that this checklist be used in assessing core financial systems. It is provided as a tool for use by experienced staff and is one in a series of documents issued to assist agencies in improving or maintaining effective operations. To access this document, go to: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d05225g.pdf

Managerial Cost Accounting for Government

Through increased use of performance measures, cost data, and management frameworks, agencies are able to make managerial decisions based on the cost and impact of services provided. This training will focus on providing managers the strategies they need to develop performance goals and measures and associate cost and resource allocation to meet those goals. By utilizing the Government Performance Logic Model as a management framework, managers can utilize activity-based costing and management as an aspect of managerial costing to integrate resource allocations to results. This training will help build manager competency in meeting federal accounting standards as well as performance mandates asked of financial management and managerial costing. /Training/COURSES/managerial_cost_accounting.htm

 Strategic Management of Human Capital

President Renews Pledge to Reform Personnel System

President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to replacing the federal personnel system with one that is more performance-based in his 2006 budget proposal. The budget states that job competitions, quicker financial reporting, and an emphasis on results have increased overall efficiency Joshua Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget, pointed to the savings generated by the PMA and remarked on the important flexibilities in the Defense and Homeland Security personnel reforms. The proposed Homeland Security changes would replace the traditional personnel system with a pay-for-performance system and limit collective bargaining. To read more, go to: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0205/020705k1.htm

Observations on Homeland Security Human Capital Regulations

GAO has issued a testimony from David Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, on preliminary observations on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) human capital regulations. GAO believes that the regulations contain many of the basic principles that are consistent with proven approaches to strategic human capital management. However, DHS has considerable work ahead to define the details of the implementation of its system and understanding these details is important in assessing the overall system as these final regulations are intended to provide an outline and not a detailed, comprehensive presentation of how the new system will be implemented. To access this testimony, go to:
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-320T

Management of Integrated Military Human Capital Program Needs Additional Improvements

GAO has issued a report on the management of the integrated military human capital program. GAO found that while the Department of Defense (DoD) has made some improvements, DoD faces definition challenges and shortcomings in program governance that can be attributed to a number of causes, including the program’s overly schedule-driven approach and DOD’s difficulty in overcoming its long-standing cultural resistance to departmentwide solutions. Unless these challenges are addressed, the risk is increased that the system will not provide expected capabilities and benefits on time and within budget. Given the limitations in some DoD components’ ability to accurately pay military personnel, it is vital that these risks be addressed swiftly and effectively. To access this report, go to:
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-189

Unions Rally Against Personnel Reforms

Federal unions are pushing to defeat or severely alter the newly proposed personnel systems for the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense - rules they claim strip employee rights and destroy morale across each agency. Unions have already announced their intent to sue to stop implementation of the massive personnel reforms, which the Bush administration hopes to be implemented government-wide. For more information, go to: http://www.fedsmith.com/articles/articles.showarticle.db.php?intArticleID=475

Leading Practices and Agency Examples for Diversity Management

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report that identifies leading diversity management practices in the federal government and examples of the identified practices. GAO cited the following nine practices as leading: top leadership commitment; diversity as part of an organization’s strategic plan; diversity linked to performance; a set of quantitative and qualitative measures of the impact of various aspects of an overall diversity program; accountability; succession planning; recruitment; employee involvement; and diversity training. To access this report, go to: http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-05-90

NASA’s Succession Management Planning

While traditional succession planning programs are aimed at executives only, the NASA Headquarters Succession Management Planning model reaches further into the organization by focusing on critical key performance areas. This technique facilitates a better methodology for understanding where future talent will come from and how we can retain our high potential employees so as not to interrupt continuity in organizational performance. Gaining the edge means ensuring the recruitment and retention of a talented and diverse work force, and, then continuously honing human capital knowledge, work force capabilities and competencies, as well as aligning these areas with the organization's strategic goals, performance metrics, and work force compensation. To access NASA’s succession management planning, go to: http://ohr.gsfc.nasa.gov/DevGuide/Hq/successplan/home.htm

Employee Performance Evaluations and Management
(April 11-12, Arlington, VA)

Your employees’ success is often a reflection of your own leadership skills, and is a vital indication of workforce stability. As a supervisor, your role is to set expectations, gather data, and provide continuous feedback to your employees to assist them in utilizing their skills, expertise and ideas to produce results. An effective employee performance management system is linked to agency mission and goals, has clear performance measures and truly recognizes and rewards outstanding performance. This training will help you acquire the techniques to recognize employee potential and transform those employees into the leaders of the future. This training will focus on developing employee performance evaluations that are in alignment with the Office of Personnel Management’s Civil Service Regulations. It will look at best practices from all levels of government focusing on the Senior Executive Performance Regulations. For more information or to register, go to: /training/courses/employee_performance_evaluations.htm

 Competitive Sourcing

Update on Competitive Sourcing Initiative

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) has issued a letter with tables that highlights the results of agencies’ competitive sourcing results from FY04 and compares these results to those achieved in FY03. According to agency data, departments completed 217 competitions in FY04. These competitions are estimated to generate net savings of approximately $1.4 billion over three to five years. When combined with the $1.1 billion expected from competitions completed last year, the competitive sourcing initiative has positioned agencies to save more than $2.5 billion for redirection to higher priorities. To access this letter, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/results/agenda/cs_2004_report_rev5a2_doc.pdf

OMB Announces Establishment of Services Acquisition Advisory Panel

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced the membership of an acquisition advisory panel to review various aspects of Government contracting. The Panel is authorized by Section 1423 of the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA), and is comprised of recognized experts in Government acquisition law and policy. Some of the topics the Panel will examine include the use of commercial practices, performance-based contracting, and government-wide contracts. The Panel is required to submit a report to OMB’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy and both houses of Congress within one year of its establishment. To access the document with the names of the panel members, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/pubpress/2005/2005-02.pdf

Agriculture Wins Competition Through Cost Adjustments

Agriculture Department employees won a recent competition at a Beltsville, Md., facility even though their offer of $57.4 million was $2 million higher than the private sector bid. The in-house team was able to win the competition because the offers were adjusted to include the cost of converting the work to the private sector. This added $4 million to the contractor's bid, pushing it above the in-house offer. OMB requires agencies to adjust offers according to a formula that adds 10 percent of in-house personnel costs, or $10 million, to the offer of the team that is not performing the work. In this case, because the work was being performed in-house, the conversion differential was added to the contractor's bid. To read more, go to:
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0205/021705k1.htm

Competitions Need More HR Input

Insufficient involvement by human resources officials in public-private competitions remains a problem today, say competition experts, who recommend HR staffs be given more direction on their responsibilities in the competitive sourcing process. OMB Circular A-76, which governs public-private job competitions, requires agencies to appoint an HR expert to advise the Most Efficient Organization (MEO) in every competition. The HR adviser helps create the MEO, carries out a reduction-in-force plan, and works with employees and labor unions. Even though the circular spells out HR’s responsibilities, it doesn’t tell HR exactly when and how to do its job. Without proper HR support, competitive sourcing managers won’t get things done and may end up having complaints of unfair labor practice filed against them. To read more, go to: http://federaltimes.com/index.php?S=624419

Public-Private Competitions under the DoD Competitive Sourcing Program

Office of the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Defense (DoD) has issued a report on the DoD workforce employed to conduct public-private competitions under the DoD competitive sourcing program. The report finds that DoD does not have a sufficient number of trained civilian employees to satisfactorily conduct competitions, and consequently must rely on contractors to augment its workforce. The IG recognizes that the department's reliance on contractors is unavoidable, given the marked fluctuation in the competitive sourcing
program from year to year due to legislative and policy changes. The IG also found that most DOD personnel assigned to work on public-private competitions are tapped to do so because of their functional or technical expertise and because their functions are scheduled to be
competed under Circular A-76. Most are neither experienced nor adequately trained in the competitive sourcing process, and instead are provided "just-in-time" training in the area. To access the report, go to: http://www.dodig.osd.mil/audit/reports/FY05/05-028.pdf

Managing A-76 Competitions
(March 21-22, Arlington, VA)

Competitive sourcing aims to increase efficiency and improve performance, but many agencies still lack adequate training necessary to achieve these goals. Continuous changes to A-76, OMB’s guidance circular for managing public-private competitions, and legislation make it difficult for agency employees to stay on top of the rules of the game. Agencies need to acquire proper training in order to successfully fulfill their responsibility in the A-76 process. In this course, you will learn to develop a comprehensive strategy for competitive sourcing and conduct A-76 compliant competitions that are critical to achieving cost efficiency and performance effectiveness success in your agency. For more information or to register, go to: /Training/COURSES/managing_A-76_competitions.htm

 Expanded E-Government

President’s 2006 IT Budget Supports National Priorities and Focuses on Results

The President’s 2006 Budget includes $65 billion for Information Technology (IT) directed toward programs supporting national priorities such as securing the homeland, winning the War on Terror, and expanding health information technology. Almost $5 billion – or 90 percent – of the increase from the President’s FY 2006 Budget request is directed toward programs that support these goals at the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and Veterans Affairs. The systems represented by FY 2006 spending support Administration efforts to improve security. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will increase IT spending by approximately 35 percent with most of this increase to directly support initiatives to strengthen prevention programs, expand electronic baggage screening capabilities, and combine credentialing. The budget also supports the Administration’s commitment to delivering high performing, results-oriented services by designating Line of Business Service Centers for improved financial and human resources management. To read more, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/pubpress/2005/2005-04.pdf
For additional information, go to: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0205/020705p1.htm

What’s Next for Digital Government?

Robert D. Atkinson, vice president of the Progressive Policy Institute, has written an article on the future of digital government in the Administration’s second term. The article states that if the administration continues its efforts, by 2008, it will have made some progress in using IT to make government work better and cost less. However, Atkinson states, significant government transformation through technology won't likely happen without a bold reform agenda. This agenda must start with empowering individuals who truly want to drive change. He also states that while many agency CIOs currently have the right vision, they lack the power to translate their visions into reality. As a result, the Bush administration should elevate the status of the administrator of the Office of Electronic Government and Information within the Office of management and budget. To access this article, go to:
http://www.public-cio.com/story.php?id=2005.01.31-92922

Excellence.gov Awards

Government and industry officials gathered at the Ronald Reagan Building for a Washington, DC, lunch to honor agencies that received Excellence.gov Awards for their e-government systems. The Industry Advisory Council (IAC) and the American Council for Technology (ACT) have presented the awards for five years. An IAC and ACT panel of government and industry judges chose 25 finalists, who all received honors, out of 80 entries and picked five programs that demonstrated the best e-government practices. The program winners of the awards are: Department of Defense Common Access Card; DoD EMALL; eArmyU; Internet Fraud Complaint Center; and Window To My Environment. For more information, go to:
http://www.e-gov.com/awards.asp and http://www.gcn.com/24_4/e_gov/35150-1.html

Building Better IT Business Cases
(March 23-24, Arlington, VA)

The Office of Management and Budget has recently changed the Exhibit 300 requirements. Agencies are being asked to demonstrate and measure how their IT spending will support the achievement of agency missions through the use of mission-aligned performance measures and the Federal Enterprise Architecture. In order to comply with OMB and achieve full funding for your projects, it is vital for your agency to stay on top of the latest changes and be aware of best practices for building better IT business cases. For more information or to register, go to: /Training/COURSES/building_better_IT_business_cases.htm

 Agency Spotlight: National Science Foundation

With the inclusion of Organizational Excellence in FY2003 as one of National Science Foundation’s (NSF) strategic goals, the Foundation’s long-standing commitment to leadership in business processes is brought into sharper focus and enabled by the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). A key initiative at NSF is the Business Analysis study. The outcomes of the study are guiding long-term administration and management investments that promise important results for the agency's operations. The study is addressing the fundamental challenges facing NSF as it becomes a fully integrated organization capable of working both within and across scientific disciplinary organizational boundaries. This study is a key element of NSF’s Administration and Management strategy, a concurrent analysis of human capital, business practices, and technology, which is now part of the Organizational Excellence strategic goal.

NSF has been advancing on the Management Scorecard, having achieved its third "green" for status - Budget-Performance Integration - on the latest scorecard. In fact, NSF has lead the charge as the first agency to earn two "green" successful ratings, in financial management and electronic government.

Budget-Performance Integration

NSF achieved its third green for status on the last Scorecard in the budget-performance integration initiative. The keys to success have been: 1) aligning the NSF budget and cost framework with investments in the agency’s strategic goals of People, Ideas, Tools, and Organizational Excellence; 2) developing full life-cycle cost profiles for major projects; and 3) upgrading information systems to enhance the cost and management information available to NSF staff. These improvements are leading to real results: better tracking of actual program expenditures, better planning for long-term investments, and better information on the tradeoffs between different types of investments. This information has already informed the ongoing discussions on tradeoffs between increasing grant size and duration and maintaining funding rates. NSF is also effectively using the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) to evaluate program performance. NSF teams, led by program staff, have taken an active role in the current (FY 2006) cycle of the process.

Improved Financial Management

NSF has had successful financial management, and was the first agency to earn a green for status in this initiative. NSF prepared its 2003 audited financial statements in 45 days, meeting the government-wide deadline a year earlier than required, and earned an unqualified opinion in its 2003 audit, its sixth consecutive achievement. NSF automatically prepares its quarterly financial statements in the new 21-day timeframe. The agency simultaneously produces the closing package financial statements and year-end financial statements using an automated closing and data-warehousing environment. With respect to customer service, nearly 80 percent of merit-reviewed award decisions were made within six months of proposal receipt, despite a record 14 percent increase in the number of proposals received in FY 2003. This is up from a low of 54 percent in FY 2000.

Strategic Management of Human Capital

NSF has maintained a yellow in status and a green in progress for management of human capital. NSF formally linked performance management plans for all employees to the NSF mission, strategic goals, and/or objectives. This linkage ensures that all performance requirements are directly tied to mission accomplishment. NSF staff can maintain a clear line of sight between what they do and how it helps NSF achieve its objectives and how their individual accomplishments contribute to the success of the agency as a whole. In an organizational survey assessment across the Federal Government, National Science Foundation ranked second out of 28 Federal agencies as a "Best Place to Work." NSF has initiated two comprehensive studies of human capital issues within the Foundation. The first study is the eJacket Human Capital Pilot Study. The study concentrates on how effectively change is communicated, the impact on workload that results from change, as well as the impact on competencies, performance expectations and morale. In addition, NSF is implementing an Administrative Functions Study to determine how best to organize administrative positions in our research directorates and offices to reduce administrative burden on science and engineering positions and to provide enhanced learning opportunities for administrative staff.

Competitive Sourcing

NSF has not had much success with competitive sourcing at the agency, maintaining a red in both status and progress. NSF is working to develop a strategy for competitive sourcing that is consistent with the findings and process improvement scenarios identified by the Business Analysis effort. Given that the purpose of the Business Analysis is to ensure that NSF is best placed to respond to future opportunities and challenges, there may well be some impact on how work is performed in the future and specifically how competitive sourcing will be addressed within the agency. The Business Analysis is now focusing on defining major scenarios for improvement of its core business processes. These scenarios may include structural or functional realignments across the agency and include review of commercial functions. In addition, NSF is benchmarking against commercial activities at other agencies using job families as a method of comparison.

Expanded E-Government

NSF has also been very successful in this initiative, the second where NSF achieved the first agency green in status. NSF was singled out for outstanding performance and results in the area of "Expanded Electronic Government."  NSF is actively involved in all current E-Government HR initiatives headed by the Office of Personnel Management. These initiatives include: E-Payroll, Recruitment One Stop, and E-Training. Through Grants.gov, more than 40,000 proposals were submitted electronically to NSF via Fastlane, NSF’s web-based interface in FY 2003. In addition, over 190,000 peer-reviews, 25,000 progress reports, 15,000 cash requests, 10,000 post-award notifications and requests and 7,500 graduate research fellowship applications were submitted and processed in the FastLane environment. Another new addition to the NSF toolkit is the new eJacket (electronic grants jacket) application, which provides NSF with additional electronic proposal access and processing capability, already providing more than 900 NSF users access to more than 10,000 distinct proposals a week.

For additional information on PMA implementation at National Science Foundation, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov/results/agenda/report8-04/national_science_foundation.pdf

President: Carl DeMaio
Newsletter Editor: Vincent Badolato

The Implementation Update on the PMA is provided as an informational newsletter to all federal employees about the latest news from the federal government and independent news media about the President's Management Agenda, the Administration's plan to improve performance of government.

The Performance Institute is a private think tank that serves as the nation's leading authority and repository on performance-based management practices for government organizations.  Its mission is to identify, study and disseminate the leading management innovations pioneered by "best-in-class" government programs at federal, state and local levels. Through its national conferences on pressing issues, interactive executive training programs, and best practice research projects, the Institute provides cutting-edge expertise in the design, implementation and evaluation of strategies to solve operational challenges and enhance government performance.

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/pi/research/newsletters/pmaupdatesubscribe.htm