Performance Plans and Reports
Economic Impact Studies
Peer Review and Other Forms of External Assessment
OMB and Congressional Performance Assessments and Guidance

NIST evaluates its programmatic performance over time by utilizing a diverse yet complementary set of performance indicators and measures. NIST has designed its performance evaluation system to accommodate the Institute’s diverse outputs as well as to respond to the intrinsic difficulty of measuring the results of investments in scientific and technological products and services. NIST evaluates its performance and plans its work through several distinct evaluation methods: economic impact studies, peer review and other forms of external assessment, customer feedback, and quantitative output metrics. NIST reports its performance through Department of Commerce GPRA documents as well as through the NIST Financial Statements.

Performance Plans and Reports

The following documents describe NIST's performance evaluation system and provide specific performance plans and results for individual fiscal years, as required by Congress and the Administration / OMB. As a unit of the Department of Commerce, NIST's formal performance plans and reports are included, respectively, within the annual DOC budget justification and Performance and Accountability Report.

• The FY 2007 Annual Performance Plan for the Department of Commerce, which includes a specific chapter for the Technology Administration, including NIST.
• The FY 2006 Performance and Accountability Report for the Department of Commerce.
• The FY 2005 Performance and Accountability Report for the Department of Commerce.
• The FY 2004 Performance and Accountability Report for the Department of Commerce.
• The FY 2003 Performance and Accountability Report for the Department of Commerce, which includes a specific chapter for the Technology Administration, including NIST.

Economic Impact Studies

The studies cited below are recent economic impact assessments of projects undertaken by NIST Measurement and Standards Laboratories. To learn more about the history of NIST's economic studies, http://www.nist.gov/director/planning/study_info.htm

Summary of NIST Impact Study Results

Bibliography. A complete list of economic impact assessments of NIST MSL projects, plus references to other impact studies and publications relevant for economic impact assessment.

List of impact studies and results: A table showing the outputs and outcomes from completed economic impact assessments of MSL projects, as well as a list of studies currently underway.

Advanced Technology Program

• Economic Impact Studies

Chemicals

• The Economic Impact of the Gas-Mixture NIST-Traceable Reference Materials Program (Planning Report #02-4) [pdf]

Electronics

• Economic Impact Assessment of the NIST's Josephson Volt Standard Program (Planning Report #01-1) [pdf]
• Benefit Analysis of IGBT Power Device Simulation Modeling (Planning Report #99-3) [pdf]

Energy

• Economic Impact of Standard Reference Materials for Sulfur in Fossil Fuels (Planning Report #00-1) [pdf]

Health Care

• The Economic Impacts of NIST's Cholesterol Standards Program (Planning Report #00-4) [pdf]
• Economic Evaluation of Radiopharmaceutical Research at NIST (Planning Report #97-2) [PDF]

Impact Assessment Methodology

• Methods for Assessing the Economic Impacts of Government R&D (Planning Report #03-1) [pdf format]

Information Technology Security

• The Economic Impact of Role-Based Access Control (Planning Report #02-1) [pdf]
• The Economic Impacts of NIST's Data Encryption Standard (DES) Program (Planning Report 01-2) [pdf]

Manufacturing Extension Partnership

• Delivering Measurable Returns to Its Clients: Fiscal Year 2005 Results [PDF]
• Delivering Measurable Returns to Its Clients: Fiscal Year 2002 Results [PDF]
• Delivering Measurable Returns to Its Clients: Fiscal Year 2000 Results [PDF]
• Delivering Measurable Returns to Its Clients: Fiscal Year 1999 Results [PDF]

Materials

• Economic Assessment of the NIST Ceramic Phase Diagram Program (Planning Report #98-3) [PDF]
• Economic Assessment of the NIST Alternative Refrigerants Research Program (Planning Report #98-1) [PDF]
• Economic Assessment of the NIST Thermocouple Calibration Program (Planning Report #97-1) [PDF]

Optoelectronics

• Economic Impact Assessment: NIST-EEEL: Laser and Fiberoptic Power and Energy Calibration Services (Planning Report #00-3) [pdf]

Quality

• Economic Evaluation of the Baldrige National Quality Program (Planning Report #01-3) [pdf]

Transportation

• Economic Impact Assessment of the International Standard for the Exchange of Product Model Data (STEP) in Transportation Equipment Industries (Planning Report #02-5) [pdf format]

Also available are Strategic Planning Studies and Policy Studies

Peer Review and Other Forms of External Assessment

• Peer Review
  • NRC
    Since 1959, the National Research Council (NRC) has assessed the technical merit, relevance, and quality of NIST's (previously NBS's) laboratory programs in the context of NIST's mission. The NRC review by expert panels is independent, technically sophisticated, and extensive, The individual FY 2007 NRC Assessment Reports were published in September 2007.

• External Advisory Boards and Committees
  • NIST Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology
  • NIST MEP Advisory Board
  • Advanced Technology Program Advisory Committee
  • Malcolm Baldrige Award Board of Overseers
  • Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board
  • National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Advisory Committee
  • Advisory Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction (ACEHR)

OMB and Congressional Performance Assessments and Guidance

• Performance Assessments: PART and the President's Management Agenda - For more information, please contact Amber Shores at 301-975-3649 or amber.shores@nist.gov
  • OMB Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) for the NIST Laboratories
  • OMB Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) for the Advanced Technology Program
  • OMB Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership
  • The President's Management Agenda: provides a baseline scorecard evaluation of Executive Branch performance on each of the five major elements of the President's Management Agenda: human capital; competitive sourcing; financial management; e-gov; and budget/performance integration: includes a scorecard for the Department of Commerce.
    
    
• Guidance
  
  • OMB Circular A-11 -- OMB's Circular A-11 provides an overview of the budget process, as well as specific guidance on the preparation and submission of budget and performance planning and reporting documents to OMB and Congress. This document represents the official statement of the administration on GPRA requirements.
  • Full Text of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA)
  • President's Management Agenda, FY 2002 -- The President's Management Agenda, released by OMB on August 25, 2001, describes the administration's key management initiatives -- including, human capital management, contracting, e-government, and linking budget and performance. Specific program initiatives also are included; one of these initiatives is called "Better R&D Investment Criteria" (focused on DOE) and can be found on pages 43-45 of the document.
  • GPRA and the President's Management Agenda. Perspectives from NIST: Presentation to the Federal Demonstration Project on performance evaluation requirements for NIST and S&T agencies in general, with regard to GPRA reporting requirements and the R&D evaluation criteria under development for the President's Management Agenda. May 21, 2002. [pdf format]
  • GPRA Peformance Reporting: Views from an S&T Bureau.  A presentation by Paul Doremus to the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis, Fall Symposium, November 15, 1999.  [PDF Format]

Dr. Gregory C. Tassey
NIST Program Office
Administration Bldg., Room A1000
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
(301) 975-2663

NIST is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department

Date created: 9/6/00
Last updated: 12/17/07
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