The soon-to-be-released Budget will include an unprecedented amount of information not only about how well programs have been performing, but also
about how we expect them to perform in the future. More than 600 programs have been assessed, representing more than 60 percent of Federal
expenditures. All of those programs have goals and plans to improve over the next year and beyond.
Of the 607 programs assessed, 71 percent have defined and are tracking clear outcome goals to measure their results and 59 percent have efficiency
measures in place to manage costs.
- The National Weather Service has set and achieved goals to improve its ability to protect lives and property from national disasters. Tornado
warning lead times increased from 10 minutes to 13 minutes; flash flood warning accuracy improved from 86 percent to 89 percent; and hurricane tracks
were accurately predicted within 94 nautical miles.
- The State Department has developed efficiency measures for each of its programs and is using them to drive down cost while increasing
performance. For instance, the Refugee Admissions program has decreased the per-person cost of admitting refugees to the United States from nearly
$4,500 in 2002 to $3,500 in 2004, while exceeding the goal of admitting 50,000 refugees.
Unfortunately, 33 percent of PARTed programs are rated "Results Not Demonstrated" or "Ineffective". These and all other programs are implementing
recommendations to improve their performance and efficiency. Past efforts show that when the definition of success is clear, improvement will follow.
Program Ratings are Improving
Cumulative Program Results by Ratings Category (2002-2004) |
| |
Year |
| Ratings / Year |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
| Number of Programs |
234 |
407 |
607 |
| Effective |
6% |
11% |
15% |
| Moderately Effective |
24% |
26% |
26% |
| Adequate |
15% |
20% |
26% |
| Ineffective |
5% |
5% |
4% |
| Results Not Demonstrated |
50% |
38% |
29% |
|
Agency leads are sharing best practices with each other to ensure that progress in program performance continues, and to sustain or even accelerate
the gains in the Budget and Performance Integration (BPI) initiative that we achieved over the last year. At a meeting of agency leads in December,
agencies rated green in status for the initiative presented some of those best practices (BPI Best Practices) and will continue to collect and report
best practices on a regular basis.
We can add the National Science Foundation (NSF) to the few agencies who have achieved green in status for the Budget and Performance Integration
Initiative. NSF can estimate the resources necessary to achieve its long-term strategic goals and track those resources from operating plans to
obligations to expenditures. This is just one way NSF ensures that the American people are getting the greatest return on their investment in the
promotion of science.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Shea
Counselor to the Deputy Director for Management
