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November 6, 2008 DOL Home > No Crumb Trail |
5. Performance Measurement The Department of Labor recognizes that GPRA requires a combination of valid indicators of program accomplishments and continuous assessment of performance against those indicators. Obtaining and using valid data is the crucial first step. The Department has positioned itself to make comprehensive improvements in the quality, timeliness, and accuracy of the data it uses to monitor program performance. Several approaches to improve performance measurement were initiated in FY 2000 and will continue into FY 2001. At the agency and program level, specific steps will be taken to address known challenges in data quality. The Department will actively assist individual program areas to identify better data sources, improve reporting procedures, and increase the validity of indicators that are used to define program success. Working together, DOL executives and program managers will continuously improve the quality of the indicators, data sources and baselines enumerated in Appendix B. The Deputy Secretary, Assistant Secretaries and agency heads play key roles in the Department-wide effort to assess both data quality and program performance throughout DOL. The goal is to build confidence that the detailed measures being used by DOL components support the Department's three strategic goals and ultimately lead to a prepared and secure American workforce, and quality workplaces in our nation and throughout the world. 5.1 Addressing Specific Performance Measurement Challenges Within the larger Departmental framework, individual DOL agencies will address data challenges that are unique to the agency's program environment and develop solutions that are consistent with the Department's reporting requirements. While some DOL programs currently have adequate systems in place, others must overcome barriers to the production of timely, accurate, and relevant performance data. In FY 2001, DOL and its agencies will continue efforts initiated in FY 2000 to address three issues: lack of data, insufficient validation of data, and untimely reporting. The following examples describe several initiatives in progress to improve the measurement of our program results.
5.2 Improving Performance Indicators DOL strategic goals are carried out by agencies that vary considerably in structure and mission. Some agencies have a function that is largely regulatory (OSHA and MSHA), some (e.g., BLS) gather data, others (ILAB, the Women's Bureau) have a significant advocacy function. The Department's focus across these diverse agencies and programs is to ensure that the indicators selected provide an effective, and to the maximum extent possible, quantifiable measures of the accomplishment of performance and outcome goals. The Department also recognizes the need for an information technology infrastructure that meets daily operational requirements and satisfies the data collection, validation, analysis, and information dissemination that is central to GPRA. DOL will continue on-going initiatives to strengthen two types of information systems -- the performance measurement systems that provide the foundation for program evaluations, both tactical and strategic, and the financial and cost accounting systems used to monitor the cost of performance. 5.3 Linking Costs to Performance The Department has a solid financial systems infrastructure from which a cost accounting capability will be developed using the resources of a reliable, established accounting system -- the Department of Labor Accounting and Related Systems (DOLAR$). DOLAR$, serving as the system of record for financial results throughout the Department, has been modified to capture, aggregate, allocate and report costs. A new cost accounting module has been developed to allow aggregation of costs across agency lines and to allocate direct and indirect costs to the Strategic Outcome and Performance Goal levels established in the Department's Strategic Plan. The Department has maintained cost accounting information, beginning in FY 1999, for the outcome goals in the Department's Strategic Plan. In addition, DOL will continue to develop the capability to consolidate data from a variety of program and financial system sources and link that data as needed to meet the performance reporting requirements of GPRA. |
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