Building a High Performance Government The Obama Administration’s Performance Management Approach Building a High Performance Government: The Obama Administration’s Performance Management Approach Dustin Brown Deputy Assistant Director for Management, OMB Asian Regional Seminar, Malaysia March 1, 2011

Where are we Headed? Government That Works. “We shouldn’t just give our people a government that’s more affordable. We should given them a government that’s more competent and more efficient. We can’t win the future with a government of the past.” President Barack Obama State 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 Zients October 29,

Lessons Learned from Past Efforts Past 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 engagement 38%56% 40%64% Government Performance and Results Act ( present) +__ Stable performance planning and reporting framework Performance focus --__ Lack of leadership involvement No focus on prioritization or management Focus on creating plans/reports 38%56% Program Assessment Rating Tool ( ) +__ Program focused Challenging questions on program effectiveness/mgmt __--__ Not used by managers Not used by Congress to allocate funds Reinforced stovepipes 3

193 programs $1,126M 326 programs $1,603M 297 programs $635M 26 programs $18M 173 programs $125M 1,015 programs $3,508M in 2009 Congress’ funding allocationAdministration’s proposal PART Not Used by Congress for Funding Decisions 4

Where are we Coming From? Lack of Performance Focus. A Gap Exists Between Private and Public Sector Performance Management Practices 38%56% 40%64% 5

Public 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 size 44% of Americans rate government’s 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

Transition to Obama Administration Opportunity 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 7

Past Legislation created a foundation But ….. the true test of a management system is Is it used? 8

How Will We Get There? Performance Management Strategies that Make Government Work Better 1.Use performance information to lead, learn, and improve outcomes 2.Communicate progress through data-driven reviews 3.Strengthen problem-solving networks 9

1.Use Performance Information to Lead, Learn, and Improve Outcomes Senior agency leaders typically focus on communications, budget, legislation —not results To achieve the Administration’s goals, we need to focus leaders on driving focus on results through to completion 10

Agency High Priority Performance Goal Approach 11 ObjectivesHow? Senior Leadership EngagementAgency Heads define “Priority Goals” to get ownership and ongoing engagement AccountabilityNear-term goals over 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 updates Prioritized Follow UpSurveys of Goal Leaders and OMB on likelihood of goal achievement TransparencyProgress made available on central web site – performance.gov

Example Agency Priority Goals Reduce the homeless veteran population from 110,000 to 59,000 by June 2012 by providing permanent housing Double renewable energy generating capacity to 60 gigawatts By 2011, HHS will increase Children’s 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 foreclosure Achieve significant reduction in violent criminal offenses of at least five percent within 24 months on targeted tribal reservations 12

Overview of High Priority Performance Goal Process Engage Agency Heads Identify Goal Leaders Action Plans Quarterly Updates Senior Goal Leader Goal Lieutenant Quarterly Targets Quarterly Milestones Data-Driven Performance Reviews Agency Reviews OMB Reviews based on: Quarterly Data, OMB surveys, Goal Leader surveys on likelihood of success Public Updates on Site Progress on Priority Goals reported on web site 3-8 set by agency heads Ambitious, Meaningful Measurable Within Current Budget/Legislati on Identify problems Strategy Measures Milestones Contributing Programs Management Review Processes 13

USAPerformance.gov Taxonomy Agency Financial Resources Contributing Programs Explanatory Narratives Budgetary Resources Action PlanPerformance Data Other Information Indicators Other Agency Programs USASpending MAX Other Agency Measures Sub-Goal (tag-only) Submitted by agencies – Phase I Planned for Phase II Legend Granular Data Data.gov or agency site Measures Milestones Explanatory Narratives Priority Goal Agency-Defined Groupings Theme Budget Functions New Goal-Focused Performance Taxonomy 14

2. Communicate progress through data-driven reviews Data-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 system – All levels of organization – Provide data back to delivery partners with value add on what does and does not work Invite ideas and stimulate innovation – Motivates employees through visible goals – Known 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 16

3.Strengthen Problem-Solving Networks Performance Improvement Council fosters cross-agency problem solving to drive performance and results High 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 reviews Testing ExpertNet platform to engage outside experts in problem solving 17

Government Performance Modernization Act (2010) Signed into law by President Obama January 4, 2011 Priority Setting and Cross-Agency Coordination Requires President to set Federal Government Priority Crosscutting Outcome and Management Goals one year after taking office Requires Agency Heads to Set 2-year Priority Goals Requires identification of low-priority program activities Management Reviews At Least Quarterly Review of Federal and Agency Goals Elevates Roles Establishes Chief Operating Officers and Performance Improvement Officers in each agency Establishes inter-agency Performance Improvement Council Transparency/Accountability Requires all performance information on central website with quarterly updates on Priority Goals Annual reports to Congress on unmet goals 18

Thank You Questions? Contact Information Dustin S. Brown Deputy Assistant Director for Management Executive Office of the President Office of Management and Budget 19