Agency Scorecards

Good intentions and good beginnings are not the measure of success. What matters in the end is completion: performance and results. Not just making promises, but making good on promises.

Fiscal responsibility requires sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars. This means that once the Congress and the President decide on overall spending levels, taxpayer dollars should be managed to maximize results. The President’s Management Agenda (PMA) is creating a results-oriented Government where each agency and program is managed professionally and efficiently and achieves the results expected by the Congress and the American people.

The PMA measures the Government’s progress toward these goals through the use of the Executive Branch Management Scorecard. The Administration will use this scorecard to track how well departments and agencies are executing the management initiatives, and where they stand at a given point in time against the overall standards for success.

The scorecard employs a simple "traffic light" grading system common today in well-run businesses: green for success, yellow for mixed results, and red for unsatisfactory. Scores are based on five standards for success defined by the President’s Management Council and discussed with experts throughout government and academe, including individual fellows from the National Academy of Public Administration.

The standards for financial management, for example, were reviewed by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Comptroller General, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Under each of the five standards, an agency is "green" if it meets all of the standards for success, "yellow" if it has achieved some but not all of the criteria, and "red" if it has even one of any number of serious flaws. For example, in financial management, an agency is "red" if its books are in such poor condition that auditors cannot express an opinion on the agency's financial statements.

As a result of the PMA, the Federal Government is better managed and achieving greater results. It is managing its finances and investments more professionally and efficiently. It is providing better service to the American people. The Government is getting the people it needs to accomplish its mission at the best value to the taxpayer. Most important, it is evaluating its performance; asking what works, what does not, and what to do about it. This discipline is a necessary part of the President’s call for greater fiscal discipline.

The Standards for Success and the scorecard ratings for each quarter are also available at Results.gov.

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