BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND THE GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE AND RESULTS ACT
Steps to ensure the agency's resources are aligned with the mission
Historically it has been difficult to measure an agency's performance against the dollars allocated to that agency. Agencies were often organized and aligned with major projects, while the agency's budget was measured by staffing levels, equipment and materials. Matching the short-term expenditures with the long-term projects was a complex and difficult task. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) was written and passed to addresses these issues.
GPRA, passed in 1993, requires all government agencies to become accountable for their agency's performance. Agencies must define their mission, establish long-term strategic goals to meet this mission, and report annually on their performance to Congress and the American public. Within this report an agency must directly relate their performance to line items in their current operating budget.
GPRA requires that each stated goal in an agency's plan must align directly with a line item in that agency's operating budget. One of the many challenges that agencies face, is how to align their resources, complete their agency's mission, and adhere to the provisions of GPRA. Meeting this challenge requires that an agency develop a goal and results-orientated approach.
An agency must become goal and results-focused. The agency's organizational structure must reflect this focus. Each of the agency's departments, divisions, etc., must align directly with one of the goals identified in the agency's plan. This alignment should result in performance reports that can be easily connected to the stated goals.
Each goal must be clearly defined, and a set of measurement (metrics) identified. These metrics will measure an agency's success or failure in meeting its short and long-term goals.
Agencies must identify the resources needed to accomplish these goals. Most importantly the stated resources must be funded.
Agencies must communicate these goals agency-wide. Each employee should be aware of the agency's mission and their part in meeting the agency's goals. Each employee should be made aware of their individual progress, as well as the agency's progress as a whole.
There should be designated checkpoints where progress toward stated goals could be reviewed. Agencies report annually, but checkpoints must occur periodically so that problems can be identified early on, allowing an agency to take correction action. Milestones should be created to verify progress.
At each checkpoint the agency must monitor and make adjustments to ensure positive progress toward the stated goals. These progress reports should be published and the results communicated agency-wide so that all employees are aware of progress.
At the end of each one-year performance period, checkpoints and/or metrics should be adjusted to reflect the changing needs of the agency. The collected metrics should be used to communicate the agency's performance to Congress and the public.
Each one-year performance period serves as a step in the overall five-year plan.
Aligning an agency's structure and organization with the stated goals and mission will pave the way for smooth implementation of GPRA.
Implementing GPRA
Gathering the data needed to begin this process can be daunting. Data exists everywhere, corralling this data and delivering it in a useable format can be a complex task. Fortunately there are ways that an organization can use technology to assist in this process.
Before implementing any solution an organization must develop a plan and strategy.
The organization must address these basic questions:
What are our goals? Will we only address GPRA, or do we have broader goals?
What will we measure? How will we use this information to satisfy GPRA?
What inputs will we need? Where will we get the inputs? How will we get the inputs?
What are our outputs? Where should we deliver the output? How should we deliver the output? Who needs to know?
What will the results tell us? What questions will they answer? How do they relate to our budget line items?
How will we measure our progress? How will we make adjustments?
A plan and strategy should be developed based on the answers to these questions. Only after these questions are answered, should an organization begin to investigate how technology and/or automation can help accomplish these tasks.
Using Automation to assist with implementation of GPRA.
Several software solutions exist that can assist an organization in this process. These Business Intelligence (BI) solutions offer data capture, analytics and reporting. These solutions are in place today, in use by both Government and Commercial organizations. Some of the most popular packages are available from Business Objects, Cognos, MicroStrategy and others.
In general these packages:
Capture data from a variety of sources, including the most widely used database and office formats.
Perform analytics and produce metrics. The information and/or metrics that are captured can include both financial and non-financial information. Financial items might include: tracking funds allocated, funds received, and funds spent. Metrics could provide a snapshot or track trends over time. Non-financial metrics could include real-time feedback from employees, legislators, or the public, and progress toward stated goals.
Provide reporting, publishing and delivering the information in a variety of reports and report formats.
Deliver results to the user's desktop. Most packages offer a web-based user interface.
Deliver results that are consistent and timely.
In summary, GPRA is a mandatory act that agencies must adhere too. This act will allow an agency to better communicate their mission, and performance of this mission to legislators and the public.
The following steps provide a guideline for the successful implementation of GPRA:
