|
The Government Performance
and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), most commonly referred to as the Results
Act, has challenged government leaders to reach out and understand what customers
really need and expect from government. With this information, government agencies
must strategically plan how they will deliver high quality products and services
to the American people and their other customers through better, faster, and
cheaper programs. Once their strategic goals are established, agency leaders
must establish performance measures, for which they are fully accountable, to
assess and ensure that departments and agencies are indeed delivering on the
promises made in Strategic Plans.
What are the definitions provided by the Results Act? GPRA does
not explicitly define Strategic Plan but provides a list of elements that Strategic
Plans must contain. GPRA provides the following definitions for key terms related
to performance measurement:
- Outcome measure means an assessment of the results of a program activity
compared to its intended purpose;
- Output measure means the tabulation, calculation, or recording of
activity or effort and can be expressed in a quantitative or qualitative manner;
- Performance goal means a target level of performance
expressed as a tangible, measurable objective, against which actual achievement
can be compared, including a goal expressed as a quantitative standard, value,
or rate;
- Performance indicator means a particular value or characteristic
used to measure output or outcome;
- Program activity means a specific activity or project as listed in
the program and financing schedules of the annual budget of the U.S. Government;
and
- Program evaluation means an assessment, through objective measurement
and systematic analysis, of the manner and extent to which Federal programs
achieve intended objectives.
|
Most important, as established in the GPRA, Strategic Planning can be an
opportunity to unify the management, employees, stakeholders and customers
through a common understanding of where the organization is going, how everyone
involved can work to achieve that common purpose, and how we will measure
our progress and levels of success.
What definitions are provided by OMB? OMB
Circular A-1Part 6 (PDF 1.8MB) uses the same definitions, but also provides and defines
the following terms: General goal means an elaboration of the mission statement,
developing with greater specificity how an agency will carry out its mission.
The goal may be of a programmatic, policy, or management nature, and is expressed
in a manner which allows a future assessment to be made of whether the goal
was or is being achieved. General goals are predominently outcome-type goals.
1. General objective is often synonymous with a general goal.
In a Strategic Plan, an objective may complement a general goal whose achievement
cannot be directly measured. The assessment is made on the objective rather
than the general goal. Objectives may also be characterized as being particularly
focused on the conduct of basic agency functions and operations (e.g. computer
capacity, staff training and skills) that support the conduct of programs
and activities.
2. Outcome goal means a description of an intended result,
effect, or consequence that will occur from carrying out a program or activity.
3. Output goal means a description of the level of activity
or effort that will be produced or provided over a period of time or by a
specified date, including a description of the characteristics and attributes
(e.g., timeliness) established as standards in the course of conducting the
activity or effort.
What definitions are provided by the National Performance Review (NPR)?
The Federal
Consortium Benchmarking Study Team
of the NPR found a number of definitions of Strategic Planning, but settled
on "a continuous and systematic process where the guiding members of an organization
make decisions about its future, develop the necessary procedures and operations
to achieve that future, and determine how success is to be measured."
It is necessary to look at a few key words in the definition:
1. Continuous refers to the fact that Strategic Planning must be an
ongoing process, not merely an event to produce a plan;
2. Systematic recognizes that Strategic Planning must be a structured
and deliberate effort, not something that happens on its own;
3. Process recognizes that one of the benefits of Strategic Planning
is to involve stakeholders in thinking strategically about the future and
how to get there;
Procedures and operations to achieve that future means the full spectrum of
actions and activities from aligning the organization behind clear, long-term
goals, to putting in place organizational and personal incentives, allocating
resources, and developing the workforce to achieve the desired outcomes; and
How success is to be measured recognizes that strategic planning must use appropriate
measures to determine whether the organization has achieved success.
The NPR also commissioned the first-ever intergovernmental benchmarking consortium
involving not only U.S. federal agencies, but also local governments and the
government of Canada in a collaborative study of performance measurement. The
Performance Measurement Study Team used the following definition:
"Performance measurement is a process of assessing progress toward achieving
predetermined goals, including information on the efficiency with which resources
are transformed into goods and services (outputs), the quality of those outputs
(how well they are delivered to clients and the extent to which clients are
satisfied) and outcomes (the results of a program activity compared to its
intended purpose), and the effectiveness of government operations in terms
of their specific contributions to program objectives."
What definitions are provided by USAID? The Agency's Automated
Directives System (ADS), which is currently being revised, replaces the
USAID handbooks. The ADS includes a glossary of key terms. The Sourcebook will
use the following definitions:
"Strategic Plan is the framework which an operating unit uses
to articulate the organization's priorities, to manage for results, and to
tie the organization's results to the customer/beneficiary. The Strategic
Plan is a comprehensive plan that includes the delimitation of strategic objectives
and a description of how resources will be deployed to accomplish them. A
Strategic Plan is prepared for each portfolio, whether it is managed at a
country level, regionally, or centrally. (Chapters 200-203)."
"Performance measurement is a means of evaluating efficiency,
effectiveness, and results. A balanced performance measurement scorecard includes
financial and nonfinancial measures focusing on quality, cycle time, and cost.
Performance measurement should include program accomplishments in terms of
outputs and outcomes. (ADS Chapter 594)."
"Result is a significant, intended, and measurable change
in the condition of a customer or a change in the host country, institutions,
or other entities that will affect the customer directly or indirectly. Results
are typically broader then USAID-funded outputs and require support from other
donors and partners not within USAID's control. Results are linked by causal
relationships; i.e., a result is achieved because related, interdependent
result(s) were achieved."
"Strategic objectives are the highest level result for
which a USAID Operating Unit is held accountable."
"Intermediate results are those results which contribute
to the achievement of an Operating Unit's strategic objective." (Chapters
200- 203)
Key GPRA and OMB Terms Compared with USAID Terms
| |
Performance Goal/Target/Standard
|
| USAID |
Input |
Results |
Results (Intermediate Results) |
Strategic Objectives |
| GPRA |
Input |
Output |
Outcome |
General Goals and Objectives |
| GPRA Definitions and examples |
"Amount of resources devoted to a program activity."
Example:
Dollars appropriated and FTEs assigned to job training program
|
"Tabulation, calculation, or recording of activity or effort, expressed
in a quantitative or qualitative manner."
Example:
Number of people trained by program
|
"Assessment of the results of a program activity compared to its intended
purpose."
Example:
Number of people trained by program that landed and kept jobs
|
"General goal means an elaboration of the mission statement, developing
with greater specificity how an agency will carry out its mission." (OMB)
"General objective is often synonymous with a general goal. In a Strategic
Plan, an objective(s) may complement a general goal whose achievement
cannot be directly measured." (OMB)
|
| |
[What is important is the efficiency with which resources are transformed
into outputs.] |
Performance goal at the Output level = Target of performance at the output
level against which actual achievement can be compared |
Performance goal at the Outcome level = Target of performance at the outcome
level against which actual achievement can be compared |
Performance goal at the goal/objective level = Target of performance at
general goal or objective level against which actual achievement can be
compared |
| Timeframe |
short-term |
short-term |
medium-term |
long-term |
This sourcebook will use the terminology and definitions provided in the ADS glossary (PDF 1.4MB).
|
Sourcebook 
