The Results Act An Evaluator S Guide To Assessing Agency Annual Performance Plans

The Results Act: An Evaluator's Guide to Assessing Agency Annual Performance Plans GO/GGD-10.1.20

The Gov't. Performance and Results Act of 1993 seeks to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability of Fed. programs by establishing a system for agencies to set goals for program performance and to measure results. In 1998 a report summarized observations on agencies' plans and identified opportunities to improve the usefulness of future performance plans (PP). This report builds on those improve. opportunities by: identifying and describing practices that were applied in some PP that might improve the usefulness of all agencies' annual PP; and providing examples from agencies' FY 1999 PP that illustrate each practice.

Facilitates congressional use of Fed. agencies' annual performance plans. The Results Act requires the plan to (1) identify annual performance goals and measures for each agency's program activities, (2) discuss the strategies and resources needed to achieve annual performance goals, and (3) provide an explanation of the procedures the agency will use to verify and validate its performance data. This guide is organized around 3 questions that correspond to these requirements. For each question, it identifies issues that need to be addressed and presents key assessment questions that can help users elicit the cost and performance info. relevant to their decisionmaking.