Achieving Alignment Across Federal Agencies to Solve Strategic Problems

Building a High Performance Government:

The Obama Administrations Performance Management Approach Dustin Brown

Deputy Assistant Director for Management, OMBAsian Regional Seminar, MalaysiaMarch 1, 2011

Where are we Headed? Government That Works.We shouldnt just give our people a government thats more affordable. We should given them a government thats more competent and more efficient. We cant win the future with a government of the past.President Barack ObamaState of the Union Address, January 25, 2011

The test of a performance management system is whether it's actually used. Federal managers and employees at all levels must use performance goals and measures to set priorities, monitor progress, and diagnose problems.Chief Performance Officer Jeff ZientsOctober 29, 20092Lessons Learned from Past EffortsPast government-wide efforts helped set goals and report results, but fell short of establishing lasting, effective management practices and became compliance activities with little senior or program engagement38%56%40%64%Government Performance and Results Act (1993 - present) +__Stable performance planning and reporting frameworkPerformance focus

--__Lack of leadership involvementNo focus on prioritization or managementFocus on creating plans/reports

38%56% Program Assessment Rating Tool (2003 - 2008) +__Program focusedChallenging questions on program effectiveness/mgmt

__--__Not used by managersNot used by Congress to allocate fundsReinforced stovepipes

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193 programs $1,126M326 programs $1,603M297 programs $635M26 programs$18M 173 programs$125M1,015 programs$3,508M in 2009Congress funding allocationAdministrations proposalPART Not Used by Congress for Funding Decisions4Where are we Coming From? Lack of Performance Focus. A Gap Exists Between Private and Public Sector Performance Management Practices38%56%40%64%5Public Views on Importance of Results Focus *Current views on government performance is strongly related to their confidence in the government's ability to solve problems, but 66% have little or no confidence (a record low).By 62% to 36%, people said their priority is making government more efficient and more effective, not reducing its size44% of Americans rate governments ability to meet its goals as not so good or poor, but 61% say satisfied with own personal interactions with Federal programs.When asked to rank the priorities for improving government, the top two are making the government more accountable for how it spends its money (45%) and reducing wasteful spending (38%), and making programs more effective at solving problems (29%).Having agencies set clear goals that are measured by real-world results (68%) was top-ranked specific proposal, followed by improving the budget process. *Center for American Progress/Hart Survey from July 2010

6Transition to Obama AdministrationOpportunity to adopt latest practices from State, local, international examples into government-wide efforts

But, need to tailor performance improvement framework to characteristics of U.S. Federal government

Need to move beyond government-wide performance improvement efforts that led to compliance instead of establishing useful, lasting management practices 7Past Legislation created a foundationBut ..the true test of a management system is Is it used?

8How Will We Get There?Performance Management Strategies that Make Government Work Better

Use performance information to lead, learn, and improve outcomes

Communicate progress through data-driven reviews

Strengthen problem-solving networks9Use Performance Information to Lead, Learn, and Improve Outcomes Senior agency leaders typically focus on communications, budget, legislation not results

To achieve the Administrations goals, we need to focus leaders on driving focus on results through to completion10Agency High Priority Performance Goal Approach11ObjectivesHow?Senior Leadership Engagement

Agency Heads define Priority Goals to get ownership and ongoing engagement

AccountabilityNear-term goals over 18-24 months aligned with tenure of senior leaders; Goal Leaders clearly named

Focus on Implementation and Coordination

Goals should be achievable within current legislation and budget

Frequent Performance ReviewsMeasures/milestones with quarterly updatesPrioritized Follow UpSurveys of Goal Leaders and OMB on likelihood of goal achievementTransparencyProgress made available on central web site performance.govExample Agency Priority GoalsReduce the homeless veteran population from 110,000 to 59,000 by June 2012 by providing permanent housingDouble renewable energy generating capacity to 60 gigawattsBy 2011, HHS will increase Childrens Health Insurance Program enrollment by 516,000 children or 7 percent above the 2008 baseline By the end of 2011, reduce the number of households with children who experience very low food security by 100,000. By 2011, USDA will reduce the number of Salmonella illnesses by 50,000 and reduce illness costs by about $900 million Assist 3.1 million homeowners who are at risk of losing their homes due to foreclosureAchieve significant reduction in violent criminal offenses of at least five percent within 24 months on targeted tribal reservations

12Overview of High Priority Performance Goal ProcessEngage Agency HeadsIdentify Goal LeadersAction Plans

Quarterly UpdatesSenior Goal Leader

Goal Lieutenant

Quarterly Targets

Quarterly MilestonesData-Driven Performance ReviewsAgency ReviewsOMB Reviews based on: Quarterly Data, OMB surveys, Goal Leader surveys on likelihood of successPublic Updates on SiteProgress on Priority Goals reported on web site3-8 set by agency heads

Ambitious,

Meaningful

Measurable

Within Current Budget/Legislation

Identify problems

Strategy

Measures

Milestones

Contributing Programs

Management Review Processes13USAPerformance.gov TaxonomyAgencyFinancial ResourcesContributing ProgramsExplanatory NarrativesBudgetary ResourcesAction PlanPerformance DataOther InformationIndicatorsOther Agency ProgramsUSASpendingMAXOther Agency MeasuresSub-Goal (tag-only)Submitted by agencies Phase IPlanned for Phase IILegendGranular DataData.gov or agency siteMeasuresMilestonesExplanatory NarrativesExplanatory NarrativesPriority GoalAgency-Defined GroupingsThemeBudget FunctionsNew Goal-Focused Performance Taxonomy14 2. Communicate progress through data-driven reviewsData-driven discussion on progress with quarterly survey of Goal Leaders and OMB on:Likelihood of goal achievement? Confidence in that assessment?Which actions would most improve performance?Promising practices identified?Were targets/milestones for this quarter met?

Inform decisions across the broader systemAll levels of organizationProvide data back to delivery partners with value add on what does and does not work

Invite ideas and stimulate innovationMotivates employees through visible goalsKnown goals encourages collaboration and innovation without fear of not meeting ambitious goals

Apply Bill Bratton accountability principle across the Federal government: No one got in trouble if the crime rate went up. They got in trouble if they did not know why it had gone up and did not have a plan to address it.15

Senior-Led Performance Management Reviews

1617Performance: Current Performance.gov Priority Goal Site Internal Mgmt17

18Performance: Current Performance.gov Priority Goal Site Internal Mgmt (cont.)18

19Performance: Current Performance.gov Priority Goal Site Internal Mgmt (cont.)19

Strengthen Problem-Solving NetworksPerformance Improvement Council fosters cross-agency problem solving to drive performance and resultsHigh Priority Goals can be an area of focus for multiple agencies: housing for veterans, support for military families, etc.Establish peer review networks to help improve quality and effectiveness of agency performance reviewsTesting ExpertNet platform to engage outside experts in problem solving

20 Government Performance Modernization Act (2010) Signed into law by President Obama January 4, 2011

Priority Setting and Cross-Agency CoordinationRequires President to set Federal Government Priority Crosscutting Outcome and Management Goals one year after taking officeRequires Agency Heads to Set 2-year Priority Goals Requires identification of low-priority program activitiesManagement ReviewsAt Least Quarterly Review of Federal and Agency GoalsElevates RolesEstablishes Chief Operating Officers and Performance Improvement Officers in each agencyEstablishes inter-agency Performance Improvement CouncilTransparency/AccountabilityRequires all performance information on central website with quarterly updates on Priority Goals Annual reports to Congress on unmet goals

21Thank You

Questions?

Contact InformationDustin S. BrownDeputy Assistant Director for ManagementExecutive Office of the PresidentOffice of Management and Budgetdbrown@omb.eop.gov22