Performance Management Recommendations for …

Presidential Transition Series

Performance Management Recommendations for the New Administration

Shelley H. Metzenbaum Director Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies University of Massachusetts Boston

2009

Presidential Transition Series

Performance Management Recommendations for the New Administration

Shelley H. Metzenbaum Director Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies University of Massachusetts Boston

TA B LE O F C ONTENTS

Foreword..............................................................................................4 Executive Summary...............................................................................6 Introduction. ...................................................................................... 10

The Importance of Goals and Measures..........................................10 Performance Management Implementation in the Federal Government....................................................................................11 About This Report...........................................................................14 Four Guiding Principles for Improving Federal Performance Management.......................................................................................15 Principle One: Communicate Performance Trends and Targets, Not Target Attainment and Ratings..................................................15 Principle Two: Encourage Performance Improvement with Increased Diagnostic Analysis, Data-Driven Discussion, Practical Experiments, and Knowledge Sharing...............................18 Principle Three: Present Information To Meet the Needs of Specific Audiences.....................................................................19 Principle Four: Structure Accountability Mechanisms to Encourage and Inspire, Not Embarrass, Reprimand or Punish.........22 Findings from Interviews....................................................................24 Findings from Interviews with Congressional Staff Members...........24 Findings from Interviews with Agency Staff Members.....................27 Findings from Interviews with External Groups...............................36 Recommendations..............................................................................38 Recommendations for the President ..............................................38 Recommendations for the Office of Management and Budget........44 Recommendations for Cabinet Secretaries and Agency Heads........49 Recommendations for the Performance Improvement Council.......52 Acknowledgments. .............................................................................55 Appendix I: Program Assessment and Rating Tool Questions (2008)....56 Appendix II: Best Practices in Reporting Performance Information .....59 References..........................................................................................63 About the Author................................................................................65 Key Contact Information ...................................................................66

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Performance Management Recommendations for the New Administration

Foreword

On behalf of the IBM Center for The Business of Government, we are pleased to present this report, "Performance Management Recommendations for the New Administration," by Shelley Metzenbaum.

Improving the performance of government agencies and programs has been on the agendas of the past two presidents. President Barack Obama has promised it will be on his agenda as well. What have we learned over the past 16 years that can help the Obama administration move forward quickly?

Dr. Metzenbaum, Director of the Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston, has written several reports for the IBM Center for The Business of Government in recent years on improving performance in government. In her 2006 report to the IBM Center, "Performance Accountability: The Five Building Blocks and Six Essential Practices," she wrote, "What is needed is a performance management approach that is outcome focused, measurement rich, and inquisitive but not punitive." In this report, she describes a performance management approach that does just that.

This new report reviews performance management initiatives undertaken in recent years. The report is informed by the author's experience and interviews with several dozen individuals who have been involved in the federal government's implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and the Bush administration's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART). Findings from the interviews are presented in the report.

Albert Morales David Treworgy

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IBM Center for The Business of Government

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