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| April 2004 | |
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Government-wide News |
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Featuring Four Tracks: Performance, accountability, transparency and results...the next generation of government management is here! Federal and state government organizations have begun to require that their managers and employees implement a performance management system in their agencies. At the federal level, the President’s Management Agenda is responsible for requiring this change, while many state governments are developing and implementing similar performance management reforms in their agencies. As this requirement for performance management continues to grow, many agencies still lack best practices and strategies for implementing these reforms. In order to access the latest development and implementation strategies on government management reform, you are invited to attend the 2004 Government Performance Summit West, being held June 7-9 in Anaheim, California. The event will feature key management reform leaders from state and federal agencies, as well as legislative perspectives and agency executive updates from those leading the change toward creating a performance-based government. Plan, Measure, Manage and Budget...For Results! Significant progress is being seen in the development of performance measures and performance management capacities in federal and state governments. Government Performance Summit West will address the latest innovations of performance management in government- providing comprehensive coverage on everything from measuring outcomes to using management reforms to improve efficiencies and results. The Summit is designed to help your agency manage for results by focusing on two tracks linking agency resources to results through performance-based budgets and developing effective performance measures.Meet the Latest Federal and State Mandates Federal agencies are constantly being required to meet both new and old performance mandates set forth by the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), the President's Management Agenda (PMA), and are also facing the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). Not only are state governments cloning these ideas and requirements, but states are adpating, changing and upgrading in order to make their governments more results-oriented. Hear the latest updates from government experts on an array of performance mandates and strategies different states are using in an effort to instituionalize performance management and deliver tangible results to the taxpayer. Break Down Management Barriers Performance management in government must be viewed and implemented using an integrated approach in order to be truly successful. The barriers and management ‘silos’ that have for too long separated the management functions of finance, acquisition, human resources, policy, planning, budget and technology must be broken down and their approaches coordinated. Government Performance Summit West will examine how to best bring those functions together into a cohesive, strategic approach to agency management. In addition, sessions will provide "how-to" advice from the front lines of designing and implementing management reform initiatives. 2004 Government Performance Summit West offers you and your team the opportunity to master new standards of excellence in federal and state management. Ensure your agency is well represented by registering your team today! For more information go to:/west04/index.html The Performance Institute Proposes Congress Engage More on Performance
In a testimony before the House
Committee on Government Reform Subcommittee on Government Efficiency and
Financial Management, Carl DeMaio, President of the Performance Institute,
stressed that legislating management reform is the most important step
Congress can take right now to ensure the momentum started by the
Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and accelerated by the
President’s Management Agenda (PMA). As a whole, the federal
government has come a long way. But the reality is that the full potential
of GPRA has not yet been reached. Some of the management challenges
exposed by GPRA back in 1993 are still holding back some programs and
agencies. DeMaio outlined specific recommendations for Congress,
including: consult with agencies and
programs on their strategic plans, institutionalize the Program Assessment
Rating Tool (PART) and its successors, and create a Congressional Office
of Program Performance. To view this release go to: Legislation Drafted to Formalize PART and Improve GPRA
A GPRA amendment was drafted in
February by Rep. Todd Platts, R-Pa., chairman of the House Government
Reform Subcommittee on Efficiency and Financial Management, asking
agencies to revise long-term strategic plans every four years. The
amendment asks agencies to rethink long-range plans by Sept. 30 of the
year following a presidential election. Such a requirement encourages
agencies to continuously adjust policy goals to match those of the
administration in power. Enacted in 1993, GPRA requires agencies to set
broad performance goals and compile annual reports illustrating progress
toward meeting these goals. The law contains language recommending that
agencies periodically evaluate program performance, but does not mandate
reviews by the Office of Management and Budget. To view this article go
to:  Program
performance measures, strategic plans, IT capital plans, performance-based
contracts, competitive sourcing studies, employee performance
evaluations...the list goes on and on! Government agencies at all levels
are increasingly under pressure to measure the performance of their
programs and report the results to policymakers and the general public.
From the President's Management Agenda and the Government Performance and
Results Act at the federal level to specific performance accountability
statutes and initiatives at the state and local levels, government
performance mandates are on the rise. To help government agencies
achieve successful implementation of performance-based management reforms,
the Performance Institute provides comprehensive education programs
through its "Government Performance Management Certification Program." All
courses in this nationally-recognized program are specifically designed to
ensure full compliance and successful implementation of ALL performance
management reforms in government. For more
information go to: Budget and Performance Integration OMB Releases FY2006 PART Guidance
The Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) has recently released the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART)
guidance for FY2006. PART is a systematic method of assessing the
performance of program activities across the Federal government. The main
objective of the PART review is to improve program performance. The PART
assessments help link performance to budget decisions and provide a basis
for making recommendations to improve results. To view the new guidance go
to: Long-term Focus Is Critical for the Budget Process
The long-term fiscal pressures facing
the country sharpen the need to look at competing demands on existing
federal budgetary resources and emerging new priorities. Results-oriented
government reporting is essential if the United States is to effectively
address these long-term fiscal challenges. Current metrics and mechanisms
do not fully inform policy makers about the sustainability of existing
federal programs or commitments they are considering making. Due to the
impending retirement wave of baby boomers, social security and health
programs are the major drivers of the long term spending outlook. Apart
from these, the government undertakes a wide range of other
responsibilities, programs, and activities that require further spending.
Therefore, it is essential that programs demonstrate results to justify
spending. To view this report go to:
Budget-Performance Integration at
the National Weather Service 2004 Best Practices Forum: Performance-Based Budgeting and PART Simulation (May 3-4, Arlington, VA)
The FY05 Budget release saw 399
programs scored by the PART, which saw an increase in effective programs,
and more accountability for overall results. While this improvement is a
good sign, there is a long way to go towards overall performance. Whether
your programs have or have not been assessed by the PART, it is imperative
that you possess the skills and knowledge to fully explain your program in
this questionnaire. This hands-on training will provide you with an
overall explanation of OMB’s designs for the PART in FY05 and beyond, as
well as the PART’s integration with past performance mandates, such as
GPRA and PMA. Performance-based budgeting requires more than a high
program assessment score; it involves implementing a successful framework
to fully link resources to results to justify your program’s performance.
This hands-on training will apply the Logic Model methodology to define
agency mission, outcome goals and intermediate strategies to accomplish
those goals. You will then walk through the “Ten Steps to Developing a
Performance-Based Budget” and be able to not only align resources to
results, but calculate full costs for existing activities. For more
information go to: Further Actions Needed by DOD to Establish and Implement a Framework for Successful Financial Management System
Department of Defense (DOD) officials are committed to
transforming the department and improving its business operations.
Although, they have began this effort, overhauling the financial
management and related business operations of one of the largest and most
complex organizations in the world represents a huge management challenge.
DOD’s substantial financial and business management weaknesses adversely
affect not only its ability to produce auditable financial information,
but also to provide timely, reliable information for management and
Congress to use in making informed decisions. Furthermore, the lack of
adequate transparency and appropriate accountability across all of DOD’s
major business areas results in millions of dollars in annual wasted
resources in a time of increasing fiscal constraint. Specific problems
identified by GAO include: lack of sustained leadership cultural
resistance to change, lack of meaningful metrics and ongoing monitoring,
and inadequate incentives and accountability mechanisms. To view this
report go to: 2004 National Conference on Financial Management Innovations in Government - Developing Strategies to Enhance Speed, Accuracy and Efficiency in Financial Reporting (May 10-12, Arlington, VA)
The development of numerous federal
financial management initiatives in recent years has meant an increasing
workload for financial managers. With the implementation of the PMA,
federal financial managers have been tasked with providing faster, more
accurate and more extensive financial reporting. This conference will
cover key areas in financial management, including: eliminating waste in
financial operations, accelerating reporting, and building strong control
environments. Serious deficiencies in agency control environments and
payment mechanisms have opened the door for fraud, misuse and simple human
error. Increased transparency and accountability in financial management
means government agencies are being forced to submit their financial
reports earlier and earlier. In organizations as large as federal
agencies, there are considerable risks of fraud, abuse and reporting
inaccuracy. Agencies need to design controlled environments to provide
reasonable assurance that risks are managed effectively. For more
information go to: Strategic Management of Human Capital Framework for Strategic Training and Development in Federal Agencies
GAO has come up with a guide that
focuses primarily on training and development of Human Capital. It
presents a framework consisting of a set of principles and key questions
that federal agencies can use to ensure that their training and
development investments are targeted strategically and are not wasted on
efforts that are irrelevant, duplicative, or ineffective. Effective
training and development programs are an integral part of a learning
environment that can enhance the federal government’s ability to attract
and retain employees with the skills and competencies needed to achieve
results for the benefit of the American people. To view this report go to: Task Force Looks to Streamline Personnel Practices
OPM and the Office of Management and
Budget have set up an interagency task force to develop government-wide
practices for human resources functions. The Administration has launched
an effort to get personnel managers across government to adopt common
practices and methods for writing and posting job vacancies, screening
resumes, tracking promotions, and performing scores of other
personnel-related duties. The goal is to make it easier for agencies to
exchange personnel information across different information systems and to
promote more sharing of IT systems by agencies. By getting agencies to
share information technology systems, the government could save millions
of dollars in IT development costs. To view this article go to: Agencies Start to Look at Employee Knowledge
Agencies are beginning to look for
ways to measure how much their workers already know and what they need to
work more effectively. Agency officials are increasingly reaching beyond
traditional online learning courses and taking stock of the skills of
their workforce. This concept, known as knowledge readiness, allows agency
officials to have a complete snapshot of the workforce and rapidly deploy
people or training, depending on the situation. The idea is that once an
agency is able to identify whether everyone is getting the information
they need, then they can do more proactive activities such as determining
the best way to deploy people based on their skills. To view this article
go to: USAJobs.com Serves 45 million People
The Office of Personnel Management
said that the USAJobs website, launched last August, has received 45
million visitors and has more than 800 information technology job openings
listed online. The website, one of five e-government initiatives that the
agency runs, lists more than 18,000 federal jobs and has 400,000 résumés
posted online. USAJobs continues to gain a national reputation. To view
this article go to: Federal Agencies Applauded for Recruiting Websites
According to the latest American
Customer Satisfaction Index quarterly report, several key federal e-Gov
initiatives, including websites designed for public use, have experienced
remarkable success. In particular, health information and job recruiting
websites equaled or surpassed similar efforts in the private sector. Thus,
the report applauded agencies' efforts to make e-government more
citizen-centered. From the 44 federal websites measured, high scoring
recruitment sites include the ones from the CIA, the State Department, and
the Office of Personnel Management. To view this article go to: The Performance Institute Unveils a Human Capital Management Certification Program Strategic human
capital planning, program performance measures, succession planning,
employee relations, employee performance development, competitive sourcing
studies, employee performance evaluations...the list goes on and on!
Government agencies at all levels are increasingly under pressure to link
their human capital strategies to agency mission and goals and report the
results to policymakers and the general public. From the President's
Management Agenda and the Government Performance and Results Act, to the
creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the redesign of the
civil service system governing the Defense Department's 700,000 civilian
employees...human capital mandates are on the rise. To help government
agencies align human capital strategies with mission, goals and
organizational objectives to improve performance and citizen satisfaction,
the Performance Institute provides comprehensive education programs
through its "Human Capital Management Certification Program." All courses
in this nationally-recognized program are specifically designed to ensure
full compliance and successful implementation of ALL human resources
management reforms in government. For more information go to: The Performance Institute Briefs Congressional Staff on Competitive Sourcing Legislation and Oversight
A special office is needed to assist
federal employees with competition proposals, said Performance Institute
President Carl DeMaio Tuesday at a briefing on competitive sourcing issues
on Capitol Hill. Speaking at "Navigating the 2004 Legislative Debate on
Competitive Sourcing: Separating Myths from Reality in Competition in
Government," DeMaio outlined his proposal for a "competition corps," an
office within federal agencies which would consolidate competition
expertise. To view this release go to: Most Federal Jobs Survive A-76 Contests
Despite critics’ views, according to a
GAO report, federal employees have fared very well when compared against
contractors in public-private job competitions. In 2003, 89 percent of
federal jobs that were subjected to a full competition or streamlined
competition remained in-house. This number trumps an already convincing 75
percent success rate for employees in 2002. The numbers were drawn from
competitions held by six large departments that, combined, comprise 84
percent of the commercial positions in the executive branch. Although the
report did not detail how competitions were won, several competitive
sourcing officials say that it is due to the fact that federal workers
know their work well and do it at a relatively low cost. When pushed to
head-to-head competitions with the private sector, government employees
overwhelmingly come out on top. To view this article go to: OPM Employees Continue Winning Job Competitions
Office of Personnel Management workers
maintained their unblemished record of protecting agency jobs from
outsourcing by winning two small public-private competitions. OPM Director
Kay Coles James said that not only did federal employees win again, but
the American taxpayers also won. Employees held onto their positions after
a three-month streamlined competition, which demonstrated that over a
five-year period, they would likely perform their jobs for $521,100 less
than the government contractors offering comparable services. To view this
article go to: Agencies Can Save by Having Requirements before a Bid
The Office of Management and Budget
says agencies can spend less on their financial management systems if they
change how they hire and pay contractors to install systems and outsource
their operations. Currently, many agencies pay contractors that install
their new financial systems by the hour because they select the contractor
before they have a clear idea what they want a system to do and then rely
on the contractor’s expertise to develop the requirements. The problem
with this approach is that it gives the contractor an incentive to
underestimate how many hours will be needed when they bid on the job and
without fixed requirements it is easier for the contractor to justify why
the job took longer than they had predicted. Consequently, OMB wants
agencies to have their requirements completed before they select a
contractor. To view this article go to: Performance-Based Contracting - Increase Cost Efficiency and Improve Program Performance through Performance-Based Contracting (April 21-22, Arlington, VA)
With the recent Congressional approval
of the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA), the government has mandated
that its contracts are performance-based. Agencies are now required to
develop and manage contracts which focus on results, not on how the
activity is carried out. This new legislation has also established new
guidelines and restrictions for government contracts which can often be
confusing without proper training. In order to comply with the new
mandates, it is essential that your agency receive updates on the latest
best practices and innovative strategies for successfully developing,
implementing and maintaining performance-based contracts. The Performance
Institute is pleased to sponsor comprehensive training programs on
Performance-Based Contracting in order to help you meet the challenges of
successfully building and implementing performance-based contracts. These
two-day, comprehensive events feature updates and showcase best practices
in order to help your agency acquire services utilizing performance-based
contracts. For more information go to: OMB Praises Agencies' e-Gov Progress
While only two federal agencies have
fully met the Bush administration's strategic goals for electronic
government, the Office of Management and Budget gave a generally positive
e-gov review in a report to Congress. According to the OMB report, the
National Science Foundation and the Office of Personnel Management met all
the designated standards for success, and the majority of agencies
surveyed made substantial headway on their e-gov efforts. To view this
report go to: E-Gov Executives Call For New Benchmarks
The goal of e-government initiatives
and the Bush administration's E-Government Strategy as a whole has been to
improve agencies' performance and service. However, to date the focus has
been on getting the technology implemented and running. There is a need
for new metrics to measure the results of cross-agency e-government
initiatives as they move to mission maturity. As initiatives such as
e-Rulemaking and USA Jobs move ahead, they need to look to different
measurements to tell whether they are effective. To view this article go
to: OMB to Examine Government Lines of Business
The Office of Management and Budget
initiated a government-wide analysis of five lines of business supporting
the PMA goal to expand e-government. Interagency teams will examine
business and information technology data and best practices for each line
of business- financial, human resources, health, grants, and case
management systems. The goal of this effort is to identify opportunities
for the FY06 Budget to reduce the cost of government and improve services
to citizens through business performance improvements. To view this
release go to: Continued Efforts Needed To Sustain Progress in Implementing Statutory Requirements Related to Information Security
A recent GAO report shows that
according to data required by the Federal Information Security Management
Act of 2002, in FY03, 24 federal agencies overall reported increasing
numbers of their systems met the information security requirements
represented by key OMB performance measures. However, reported results
varied widely among individual agencies, with some reporting that less
than half of their systems met certain requirements. Further, GAO noted
opportunities to improve the usefulness of reported performance management
data, including independent validation of these data and completion of
system inventories. To view this report go to: Technologies to Secure Federal Systems
GAO has released a report to assist
agencies in identifying and selecting technologies to protect agencies’
information technology infrastructures. They have categorized specific
technologies according to the control functionality they provide and
described what the technologies do, how they work, and their reported
effectiveness. There are 18 technologies that are available within the
categories, including smart tokens—which establish users’ identities
through an integrated circuit chip in a portable device such as a smart
card or a time-synchronized token—and security event correlation
tools—which monitor and document actions on network devices and analyze
the actions to determine if an attack is ongoing or has occurred. To view
this report go to: Government IT Project Performance Boot Camp (May 17-21, Washington, DC)
This is a weeklong comprehensive
coverage of the latest mandates and methodologies for performance-based,
planning, management, measurement, and budgeting for government IT
projects. Topics covered will include: capital planning, performance
measures, security assessment and measures, project management, and budget
justifications. For more information go to: Agency Spotlight: Department of Education Under the leadership of Secretary Rod Paige, the U.S. Department of Education has made some ambitious promises that reflect the mission of the Department, the principles of the landmark No Child Left Behind Act, and the expectations of The President's Management Agenda. The Strategic Accountability Service, in the Office of the Deputy Secretary, is the organizational entity responsible for Strategic Planning, Performance and Accountability, Budget and Performance Integration, and Results-Based Data Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Education. The Department of Education has undertaken a number of measures to improve the operational and strategic management. Through a series of tools like the President’s Management Agenda, the Blueprint for Management Excellence, and One-ED, it offers accountability, transparency, and excellent management to Congress and taxpayers. In April 2001, Secretary Paige assigned a team of senior career managers—called the Management Improvement Team (MIT)—the task of identifying and fixing the most urgent management problems at the Department. This team developed a Blueprint for Management Excellence (Blueprint) that, in addition to overall strategies, now includes 140 action items designed to address long-standing management concerns. While the work of the MIT was already well under way, it was greatly strengthened with the release of the President’s Management Agenda. PMA goals have been integrated into the Department’s strategic goal number six, “Establish Management Excellence” and, more important, into the efforts of the Department to improve its management. Budget and Performance Integration The Department is seeking funding for programs that work and is seeking to reform or eliminate programs that do not. To ensure that high-priority activities are funded, the budget execution process is being linked to the Department’s Strategic Plan. To provide timely feedback for management at the agency and government levels, the Department is developing integrated budgeting, performance, and accounting information systems at the program level. Improved Financial Management The first step toward management excellence is to provide managers and external stakeholders with timely financial information to help them in making programmatic and asset-related decisions. Financial integrity also means that we maintain effective internal controls to reduce the risk of errors and permit effective monitoring of programs and processes and that employees assume responsibility for identifying and addressing problems. Strategic Management of Human Capital A key element of creating a Department-wide culture of performance excellence and accountability is the strategic investment of human capital. The Department is developing and carrying out a plan for human capital management that supports the Department’s mission by ensuring that skilled, high-performing employees are available and deployed appropriately. This plan is supported by a competitive sourcing plan that ensures that services are provided at a maximum level of cost effectiveness. We will continue to de-layer the organization and to ensure that our work is citizen centered. Competitive Sourcing To meet the objectives in the PMA, which require all federal agencies to develop competitive sourcing, the Department has developed and is implementing One-ED. One-ED, approved by the Secretary in June 2002, seeks to define a new way of doing business by analyzing all primary work processes in order to determine the best way to accomplish work, regardless of how it was accomplished in the past. The One-ED teams, made up of career employees, are chartered to create a vision of reengineered business processes that takes advantage of modern best practices, information technology, and performance enhancements. These selected business processes will be subject to the competitive sourcing decision process in accordance with the PMA. Once the new, more efficient business processes are defined, we will structure the organization in a manner that best supports the new process. The form and structure of the organization will follow the function of the reengineered business processes. Expanded E-Government The Department must leverage information technology (IT) to improve the efficiency of its business functions so that we can better serve our internal and external customers. To achieve the increases in efficiency, it will first improve and simplify ineffective business processes and then apply IT to support the new processes. These new processes will, among other things, ensure that all our external customers, including individuals with disabilities, can exchange data with the Department effectively and without undue burden. The Department will maintain the confidentiality, privacy, and integrity of these data. In addition, accountability will be assigned to IT investments, ensuring that they are managed to performance objectives. Finally, we will further strengthen accountability by improving the management of data and applying technology more effectively to customer service efforts.
For more information go to:
The Gartner Government Conference
(G-CON) on May 3-5 in Washington, DC, is 100% geared to the current issues
affecting Government IT professionals. With nearly two dozen of the
world’s renowned public-sector dedicated Gartner analysts, and 30
sessions, G-CON is the only comprehensive,
unbiased conference with strategic insights and tactical directions for
government IT decision-makers. Simply put, G-CON content is richer,
broader and deeper than anything you’ll find at vendor conferences or
other government IT events. For more information go to:
President:
Carl DeMaio 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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