Section One:
Program Purpose and Design

This first section of the Performance Assessment Rating Tool addresses the basic question of a program's purpose, design, and mission - elements critical to the success of any program, whether federal, state, local, or private. The five questions posed in the first section demand the agency defend the program's very funding by asking whether a clear purpose or mission even exits. Not only does this question help define the role the program wishes to play in the government; it helps define for the public whether the program actually needs to exist.

To receive a score of "Effective" for the Program Purpose and Design section, agencies must provide evidence to support their answers. Because the PART evaluation forms are completed by the agencies themselves, rather than OMB, clear documentation is required.

Sample Question:
Is the Program Purpose Clear?

Elements of a "Yes" Answer:
To assign a "yes" to this question, a program's mission would have to be perfectly clear to Congress, the Administration, and the American taxpayers. It would have to be perfectly clear why the supervising agency created the program, and what services it will provide to the public, and to the government.