These performance measures were chosen as exemplary because they are
meaningful in the context of the program and capture the most important
aspects of a program’s mission and priorities. Most are drawn from
PART assessments completed in 2002 and 2003. Some were developed for
inclusion in agencies' performance budgets and will be included in future
PART assessments.
For more
information on these programs and their performance measures, please
see the full PART assessment available on ExpectMore.gov.
|
Department
of Agriculture (USDA) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Animal
and Plant Health Monitoring |
OUTCOME
Percentage of known pest introductions (those that cause severe
economic and ecological damage) detected before they spread from
the original area of colonization
|
The
purpose of the USDA monitoring programs is to locate infestations
before they become widespread. If infestations were to become widespread,
there could be significant damage to plant and animal resources, with
a potential effect on local and regional agriculture and related industry,
as well as exports. Eradication and control (if possible) could become
costly to the Federal government as well as State and local governments,
producers and industry. Therefore this measure reflects the overall
portion of the need that is addressed, and describes the effectiveness
of the program. The measure also reflects the overall mission of USDA,
which is to safeguard the nation’s productive resources. |
| Rural
Utilities Service Telecommunications Program |
OUTCOME
Percentage of rural telecommunications subscribers receiving new or
improved service |
The purpose of this program is to improve and expand telecommunications
in rural areas. The measure directly relates to this purpose. Once
targets are established, this measure will indicate whether the program
is effective. In addition, over time this measure will provide information
on the portion of rural America benefiting from program loans. The
measure supports the agency’s mission to support rural America.
Performance is measured using a formula based on the number of subscribers
supported by new loan funds divided by the total number of rural subscribers
of active borrowers (both are based on data reported by borrowers).
The data is verifiable since borrower records on the number of customers
could be used to verify the numbers reported to USDA. |
| Food
Safety and Inspection Service |
OUTCOME
Reduction in prevalence of foodborne illness from meat, poultry, and
egg products |
The purpose of the program is to ensure that the commercial supply
of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe, wholesome, and correctly
labeled and packaged. The key indicator of program effectiveness is
whether or not less people are getting sick as a result of foodborne
illness from pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli. FSIS uses data
collected and estimated by the CDC on the incidence of foodborne illness.
Further analysis is used to understand the link between changes in
the incidence of these illnesses and the control measures implemented
by FSIS. This is the long-term outcome measure used; annual measures
track the prevalence of pathogens (e.g., Salmonella) on food items
at processing plants. |
| Forest
Service: Forest Legacy |
OUTCOME
Environmentally important acres of forest protected |
The purpose of the program is to protect forests from conversion to
non-forest uses through the purchase of conservation easements or
fee simple titles that maintain the working landscape. The key indicator
of program effectiveness is the amount of priority forest lands at
risk of conversion to non-forest uses that are maintained in contiguous
forest. Acquisitions occur only in focused areas of private forest,
known as Forest Legacy Areas, that are determined through natural
resource analysis and public input to be the most important forest
areas and the ones most threatened. Projects are selected annually
through a national competition that best address priority criteria.
Data are verifiable both locally and nationally through geospatially-based
forest inventory data and through reviews of legal titles. |
| Forest
Service: Forest Legacy |
EFFICIENCY
Cost per acre of environmentally important forest protected |
The efficiency measure provides unit costs based upon actual title
conveyance transactions and program obligations.
|
|
Department
of Commerce (DOC) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Economic
Development Administration (EDA) |
OUTCOME
Jobs created or retained in distressed communities as a result of
EDA investments. |
The
purpose of the program is to create and retain jobs in economically-challenged
communities. The key indicator of program effectiveness is number
of jobs actually created and retained as a result of EDA investments.
EDA uses data collected and estimated by grantees and discounts those
data by 25 percent to account for outside factors, such as the state
of the economy. The discount factor is based on a study that found
that EDA dollars were responsible for 75 percent of the jobs created
in EDA-funded projects. This is a long-term outcome measure used to
measures jobs at three, six and nine year intervals. |
| Patent
and Trademark Office |
OUTPUT
Average Patent Pendency |
The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issues patents and registers
trademarks. A primary measure of the processing time of patents is
pendency. Patent pendency is the estimated time in months for a complete
review of a patent application, from the filing date to issue or abandonment
of the application. PTO collects the data used in this measure from
their internal Patent Application Location Monitoring (PALM) System.
|
| Patent
and Trademark Office |
EFFICIENCY
Cost per patent disposed |
A primary measure of the efficiency of processing patents is the cost
per patent disposed. The measure is calculated by dividing total PTO
expenses associated with the examination and processing of patents
(including associated overhead and support expenses) by production
units. |
| Patent
and Trademark Office |
OUTPUT
Average Trademark Pendency |
The
Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) issues patents and registers trademarks.
A primary measure of the processing time of trademarks is pendency.
Trademark pendency the estimated time in months for a complete review
of a trademark application, from the filing date to issue or abandonment
of an application. PTO collects the data used in this measure from
their internal Trademark Reporting and Monitoring (TRAM) System. |
| Patent
and Trademark Office |
EFFICIENCY
Cost per trademark registered |
A primary measure of the efficiency of processing trademarks is the
cost per trademark disposed. This measure is calculated by dividing
total PTO expenses associated with the examination and processing
of trademarks (including associated overhead and support expenses)
by outputs (office disposals). |
Bureau
of Census
American Community Survey (ACS) |
EFFICIENCY
Cost per household |
The Census Bureau has developed the American Community Survey (ACS)
to collect decennial census long-form data every year instead of every
ten years. The Bureau developed the cost per household measure of
the ACS as a key indicator of the efficiency of the data collection
activities. The measure is calculated by dividing the field and overhead
costs of conducting the specific mode of collection (mail, telephone,
personal visit), by the number of households in the sample for a specific
mode of collection. This is a new measure, as full implementation
of the ACS is an FY 2005 budget initiative. The data for this measure
will be collected from the Census Bureau's internal databases and
accounting system. |
|
Department
of Education (ED) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Gaining
Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) |
OUTCOME
Percentage of program participants that enroll in college |
The program's central purpose is to serve students at high-poverty
middle and high schools and prepare them for high school completion
and, ultimately, college enrollment. This measure captures the effectiveness
of six years of program services and is ultimately the critical measure
of the effectiveness of GEAR UP funding. Increasing college entrance
rates for low-income students is a key strategic goal for the Department
of Education. (ED). The
targets for this college completion measure also emphasize another
ED goal: closing the gap in college enrollment between low-income
students and their more advantaged peers. GEAR UP's targets are
aggressively set to bridge that gap among program participants over
the next several years. Data for this measure is provided by grantees,
and is verified by program audits and ongoing independently contracted
evaluation efforts. |
| Troops-to-Teachers |
OUTCOME
Percentage of Troops-to-Teachers who remain in teaching for three
or more years after placement in a teaching position in a high-need
school |
The Troops-to-Teachers program recruits, prepares and places retired
military personnel as teachers in elementary and secondary schools
in "high-need" school districts. One of the Department’s
highest priorities is to improve teacher quality across the country,
especially in school districts serving a large proportion of students
from low-income families. This measure is a useful indicator of the
program's effectiveness in its two key outcomes: placement and persistence.
Program information is collected from participating State and regional
offices which are required by statute to report on retention rates
of their program completers. |
| 21st
Century Community Learning Centers |
OUTCOME
Percentage of regular program participants whose achievement test
scores improved from below grade level to at or above grade level.
|
The 21st Century Community Learning Centers program supports before-
and after-school programs that provide academic and enrichment activities
in high-poverty, low-performing schools. At the local level, the program
is often used as part of a strategy to improve the academic performance
of schools that are not meeting their No Child Left Behind goals.
However, a preliminary evaluation of the program indicated that the
academic component was often inadequate. As a result, the Department
of Education increased technical assistance and sponsored research
to help identify and implement effective after-school strategies for
improving academic achievement. This performance measure helps provide
an indicator of whether the program is meeting its most fundamental
objective, and helps keep the program focused on students most in
need of extra help. Data
are derived from an extensive State reporting database. Because
No Child Left Behind requires that States administer annual tests
in language arts and math in grades 3-8, the test scores needed
for this performance measure are readily available. The data are
validated by program evaluations and by comparisons to other sources
of student testing data. |
| Pell
Grants/Student Aid Administration |
OUTCOME
1. The gap between completion rates for Pell Grant recipients and
the general student population will decrease each year
2. At least 75 percent of Pell Grant funds will go to students below
150 percent of the poverty level
3. Reduce Pell Grant overawards |
The Pell Grant program provides grant aid to needy undergraduate students
to help them afford college. Pell acts as the foundation of need-based
student aid, and roughly one third of all undergraduates receive a
Pell Grant. The
three measures capture different components of program performance.
The completion rate measure captures the degree Pell Grants increase
college access and retention by making school more affordable. The
second measure captures the degree to which Pell funding is targeted
to the poorest students with the most financial need. Finally, the
third measure examines the Department of Education's ability to
minimize erroneous overawards and underawards to students. Recommendations
that came out of the PART process aim to improve the Department
of Education's (ED's) performance on all these measures.
Note
that a separate Student Aid Administration PART was done to assess
the overall management of ED's student aid programs. The management
of ED's student aid programs -- which program grants, direct and
guaranteed loans, and work study aid to students -- is very interconnected,
and similar issues cut across all of these programs. As such, analysis
of student aid management issues was centralized. |
|
Department
of Energy (DOE) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Distributed
Energy Resources (R&D) |
OUTCOME
Number of technologies developed with a 25% increase in energy efficiency,
with NOx emissions less than .15 lbs per MWh and equivalent or 10%
reduction in cost to comparable technologies. |
The Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Program develops and provides
utilities and consumers with a greater array of energy efficient technology
choices for the on-site generation of electricity and use of thermal
energy which have improved generation efficiencies and reduced emissions.
This program contributes to the Department’s goals of increasing
energy efficiency and electricity reliability. Both of these measures
track progress towards the long term goal that, by 2008, the DER Program
will complete development and testing of a portfolio of distributed
generation and thermally activated technologies that show an average
25 percent increase in efficiency (compared to 2000 baseline) and/or
NOx emissions less than 0.15 lbs/MWh. These measures are verified
through validation tests with standardized metering equipment. |
| Geothermal
Technology Program |
OUTCOME
- Cost of “flash power” from geothermal resources (cents
per kWh)
- Cost of “binary power” from geothermal resources (cents
per kWh)
- Cost of drilling geothermal wells based on program estimates ($/ft)
|
The Geothermal program focuses on increasing the economical electricity
generating production capacity of geothermal systems. The three components
of this activity involve (1) finding resources, (2) creating new techniques
for improving geothermal reservoirs, and (3) developing advanced technology
in drilling and energy conversion (the two major cost elements of
a geothermal facility). These measures focus on lowering the cost
of drilling and improving the generating efficiency. Reducing costs
helps increase domestic use and contributes to DOE’s goals of
increasing energy security and reducing greenhouse gas and pollutant
emissions. These measures are verified through a combination of expert
modeling and actual observed performance. |
| Hydrogen/Fuel
Cell Program |
OUTCOME
Energy density of hydrogen storage system using solid state storage
technologies, in weight percent |
The Hydrogen/Fuel Cell Program researches, develops, and validates
fuel cell and hydrogen production, delivery, and storage technologies
for transportation and stationary applications. This measure focuses
on improvements in technologies needed for storage of hydrogen. This
measure is verified through observed performance of prototype materials
and/or systems. This measure, along with other measures, will support
a 2015 decision by industry to commercialize fuel-cell vehicles and
hydrogen infrastructure that will facilitate the long term transition
to a hydrogen economy. |
| Weatherization
Assistance Program |
EFFICIENCY
Program benefit-cost ratio excluding non-energy benefits (ratio of
value of energy saved to program cost) |
The Weatherization program increases the energy efficiency of dwellings
occupied by low-income Americans, thereby reducing their energy costs,
while safeguarding their health and safety. DOE works directly with
states and local governments, which contract with local governmental
or non-profit agencies to deliver weatherization services. One of
these measures tracks the number of homes actually weatherized (which
is the principal measure of the program), while the other measure
tracks the federal expenditure per home weatherized. These measures
are verified through reports provided by the states. |
|
Department
of Health and Human Services (HHS) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Office
of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) |
EFFICIENCY
Total dollars collected per $1 of expenditures |
The purpose of this program is to aid states in establishing paternity,
locating non-custodial parents, obtaining child and spousal support
and assuring that such assistance is available to all children for
whom it is requested. The efficiency measure for this program is the
ratio of total child support dollars collected per $1 of total administrative
expenditures. This is one of the five major performance goals that
OCSE has used since 1984 as a basis for awarding incentives and assigning
penalties to states.
OCSE collects annual child support performance data from the states
and audits the data each year for completeness, accuracy, and reliability.
The authorizing statute also specifies a multi-year timetable for
penalizing states who do not correct data reliability and performance
problems over time. Performance and data reliability have been improving
as a result of the fiscal incentives. |
| Foster
Care |
OUTCOME
The percentage of children with substantiated reports of maltreatment
that have a repeated report within six months |
The purpose of this program is to help States provide care for children
who are under the jurisdiction of the administering State agency and
need temporary placement outside their homes, in a foster family home
or an institution. HHS provides funds to States to assist with: the
costs of foster care maintenance for eligible children; administrative
costs to manage the program; and training for staff, for foster parents
and for certain private agency staff. This measure shows the system's
relative success at preventing child abuse by highlighting when it
fails to do so. The data comes from HHS’ data system-- Adoption
and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System, and is verifiable and
reliable. |
| 317
Immunization |
OUTCOME
Number of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States
|
The purpose of 317 Immunization program at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention is to prevent disease, disability and death
in children and increasingly adults through vaccination. A key indicator
of program effectiveness is whether or not less people are getting
vaccine-preventable diseases. The measure is the number of cases of
vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States as measured by cases
of polio, rubella, measles, congenital rubella, mumps and tetanus
with a specific target and baseline for each disease. In addition
to this long-term outcome measure, there are three annual measures
used that capture the percentage of young children that receive recommended
vaccines each year, the number of polio cases worldwide and the number
of vaccine-preventable diseases. |
| HIV/AIDS
Research |
OUTCOME
By 2010, develop an HIV/AIDS vaccine |
The purpose of the program is to support basic, preclinical, and clinical
research on AIDS vaccines. NIH is designing and testing new vaccine
candidates, building on the foundation of recent basic research findings
on the structural components of HIV and studies on immune responses
in small animals and nonhuman primates. Vaccine candidates are also
being constructed based on isolates from many regions of the world,
and several NIH sponsored research groups are exploring mixtures of
viral components from different strains or groups of organisms. NIH
will fund additional basic research to better understand what makes
some individuals either resistant to infection when they are exposed
to HIV or able to control the infection so that disease progression
is slowed. This is the long-term outcome measure used; annual measures
will track milestones. |
| Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) |
OUTCOME
Increase consumer understanding of diet-disease relationships, and
in particular, the relationships between dietary fats and the risk
of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.
|
One of the responsibilities of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
is to identify food-related health hazards. The link between dietary
fats and coronary heart disease is well established, and the FDA plans
to take a more aggressive approach to educate consumers about this
link over the coming years. FDA believes that if consumers are better
informed about the link between diet and disease, they will make more
healthy dietary choices. Performance will be measured through surveys.
FDA will conduct some of the surveys, and will also use outside data
sources when available. As this is a new outcome goal developed during
the FY 2005 PART process, FDA’s first step will be to establish
baseline measures on consumer understanding of diet-disease relationships.
|
| Ryan
White |
OUTCOME
Reduce rate of deaths due to HIV infection |
The purpose of the Ryan White program is to ensure that the uninsured
and underinsured living with HIV/AIDS in the United States have access
to primary care, social support, and needed drug treatments to help
them sustain daily activities. One of the key indicators of program
effectiveness is whether or not people are living longer with the
disease. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) works
closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),
as well as uses CDC’s data on the incidence of HIV/AIDS to help
guide the program. The actual long-term outcome goal that is directly
linked to the mission of the program is “By 2010, reduce deaths
due to HIV infection below 3.6 per 100,000 people.” Several
process and output annual measures help to contribute to the success
of this goal. |
| Domestic
HIV AIDS |
OUTCOME
Reduction in the number of new HIV infections in the U.S. |
The purpose of the domestic HIV program at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention is to provide national leadership to prevent
the acquisition and transmission of HIV infection through collaborations
with community, state, national and other relevant partners. A key
indicator of program effectiveness is whether or not less people are
getting HIV. CDC will track progress initially based on the population
<25 years of age until 2005, the first full year of national HIV
incidence data. The number of people diagnosed with HIV under the
age of 25 was tracked first because this population is more likely
to have been recently infected than those over 25 years of age. This
measure is the main long-term outcome measure used and there are three
annual measures that include incidence, the proportion of people who
know they are infected and the proportion of people who are linked
to appropriate services. |
| Maternal
and Child Health Block Grant |
OUTCOME
Reduce rate of infant deaths |
The mission of the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant is to improve
the health of all mothers, children, and their families. The Block
Grant serves as a safety net for these populations by ensuring core
public health, social and early intervention services. For mothers,
one of the primary focuses of the Block Grant is to reduce the rate
of infant mortality across the country. HRSA’s long-term outcome
goal to help measure progress toward achieving reductions in infant
mortality rates is “By 2008, reduce infant deaths to 6.5 per
1,000 live births.” This goal is built upon annual measures
for related health issues, including reducing the rate of low-birth
weight babies. |
| Indian
Health Service |
OUTCOME
Decrease obesity rates for American Indian/Alaska Native children
|
The mission of the Indian Health Service (IHS) is to raise the physical,
mental, social and spiritual health of American Indian/Alaska Native
(AI/AN) people to the highest level. This indicator is part of a comprehensive
long-term effort to identify effective interventions to prevent and
reduce obesity in the AI/AN population in order to address escalating
obesity and diabetes rates. IHS is establishing obesity rates for
the communities it serves by collecting pediatric height and weight
data from a national survey and its patient information systems. IHS
will then track the impact of interventions on the height and weight
baseline in the communities and nationally. |
| Projects
for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) |
EFFICIENCY
Maintain cost of enrolling a person in services |
PATH provides formula grants to states for services that will enable
homeless persons with serious mental illnesses to be placed in appropriate
housing and to receive formal mental health treatment and other resources
to improve their mental health functioning. The key indicator of program
effectiveness is the percentage of contacted homeless individuals
who are enrolled in case management and, eventually, community mental
health services. This measure assesses the efficiency with which states
use their PATH formula grant allocation to successfully enroll homeless
individuals in case management and mental health treatment services.
PATH determines the average cost of enrolling a client by dividing
the total appropriation by the number of individuals enrolled in case
management/community mental health services. |
| Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry |
OUTCOME
Increase in the percentage of hazardous waste sites where human health
risks and disease have been mitigated |
The
purpose of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
is to prevent harmful exposures and disease related to toxic substances
through science, public health actions and health information. A key
indicator of program effectiveness is whether or not people’s
exposure to health risks from toxic substances at key sites have been
reduced or eliminated.
Depending on the toxic substance(s) and routes of exposure, the impact
of interventions on human health can be measured in some instances
through morbidity and mortality data, such as childhood cancer rates
and birth defects. Biomarkers that signal the presence of toxic substances
will be used in cases where reliable and affordable tests are available.
In cases where no tests or data indicating the impact on human health
are available, environmental monitoring may be used. Environmental
monitoring could include levels of environmental exposure or documented
changes in behavior that are directly linked to exposure. ATSDR will
document a comparison between risks at a period after ATSDR's intervention
to those at the time of the initial site assessment. |
|
Department of Housing and Urban Development1
(HUD) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Homeless
Assistance |
OUTCOME
1. The number of chronically homeless individuals declines by up to
50 percent by FY 2008.
2. The percentage of formerly homeless individuals who remain housed
in HUD permanent housing projects for at least 6 months will be 70
percent.
3. The percentage of homeless persons who have moved from HUD transitional
housing into permanent housing will be 60 percent.
4. The employment rate of persons exiting HUD homeless assistance
projects will be 10 percentage points greater than the employment
rate of those entering. |
The purpose of this program is to help homeless families and individuals
achieve permanent housing and self-sufficiency. These performance
measures are exemplary because they combine an outcome measure that
is a direct representation of one of HUD’s strategic objectives
with 3 measures that track success in the major strategies for achieving
this goal: placement in permanent housing, retention of long-term
residency in such housing, and increased employment. Execution of
these measures has been strengthened by requiring grantees to commit
these measures in funding applications and agreements. Data quality
will be controlled through the grant oversight process. |
|
Department of the Interior (DOI) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| National
Park Service (NPS): Facility Management |
OUTCOME
Facilities Condition: Condition of priority NPS buildings as measured
by the Facilities Condition Index (FCI). |
The purpose of the program is to maintain facilities, roads and trails
so that Americans now and into the future can enjoy the National Park
System. This measure is based on an existing industry standard for
tracking facility conditions. FCI is the ratio of the cost of deferred
maintenance over the current replacement value for an asset. The lower
the ratio, the better the condition of the asset. Each category of
assets (e.g., buildings, roads, trails) will have different benchmarks
for what FCI level represents good, fair, or poor condition.
The measure is exemplary because it is easy to understand, reproducible,
and can be applied to many types of assets at many levels of aggregation.
It focuses on an important issue – the maintenance of park assets
– and can be used over time to track changes in condition. For
buildings and certain other asset types, results can be compared to
existing benchmarks in the private sector. |
|
Department of Justice (DOJ) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| States
Marshals Service - Fugitive Apprehension program |
OUTCOME
Percent of total Federal fugitives apprehended or cleared |
The primary mission of the United States Marshals Service is to protect
the Federal courts and ensure the effective operation of the judicial
system. The fugitive apprehension program works to locate and apprehend
fugitives as quickly and safely as possible in order to maintain the
integrity of the judicial system and enhance public safety by ensuring
that the public is not exposed to further risk of crime from these
individuals. This measure includes: physical arrest, directed arrest,
surrender, dismissal, arrest by other agency, or when a detainment
order is lodged and the fugitive is taken into custody. Data for this
measure is obtained from Warrant Information Network (WIN) and verified
through the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). Information
is accessible by all 94 districts and continuously updated. |
| Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Firearms Programs—Integrated
Violence Reduction Strategy |
OUTCOME
Percent of high-crime cities nationwide with a reduction in violent
firearms crime |
The purpose of the program is to address violent firearms crime by
using ATF’s statutory jurisdiction and expertise to remove violent
offenders from communities around the country and prevent prohibited
persons from possessing firearms. The key indicator of program effectiveness
is whether or not violent firearms crimes are reduced in the cities
with the highest crime levels per capita in which ATF has a presence.
Further analysis is used to understand the link between changes in
the incidence of violent crime and ATF measures taken utilizing their
Integrated Violence Reduction Strategy Program. Data for this measure
is obtained from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports database, and
it is collected annually with a 2-year delay. |
|
Department of Labor (DOL) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Dislocated
Worker Assistance |
OUTCOME
Retention in Employment: percentage of program participants who are
employed in the first quarter after program exit who remained employed
in both the second and third quarters after exit. |
The purpose of the program is to provide grants, mostly by formula,
to States and localities for retraining and reemployment services
for workers who have permanently lost their jobs. An important indicator
of program effectiveness is whether participants are able to find
a new job and stay employed. The measure is one of the Administration’s
common performance measures for job training and employment programs,
which the Department of Labor is implementing in 2004. It is similar
to a current measure under the Workforce Investment Act and complements
another of the Administration’s common measures—the percentage
of participants who enter employment after exiting the program. States
report to DOL quarterly and annually through a common reporting system,
based on data from localities. |
| Adult
Employment and Training Activities |
OUTCOME
Earnings Increase: percentage change in earnings for program participants
during two periods of time: (1) pre-enrollment to program exit; and
(2) between the first and third quarters after exiting the program |
The purpose of the program is to provide grants by formula to States
and localities for activities to increase adults’ employment
and earnings. An important indicator of program effectiveness is whether
participants are able to increase their earnings after exiting the
program. The measure is one of the Administration’s common performance
measures for job training and employment programs, which the Department
of Labor (DOL) is implementing in 2004. A current program measure
under the Workforce Investment Act is average earnings change in dollars.
States report to DOL quarterly and annually through a common reporting
system, based on data from localities. |
|
Department of State |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| U.S.
Humanitarian Demining Program (HDP) |
OUTPUT
Square meters of land cleared and restored to productive use in sponsored
programs out of a total of 719,536,000 sq. meters in countries receiving
U.S. assistance. |
The program works to reduce civilian casualties, create conditions
for the return of refugees and displaced persons to their homes, reinforce
political and economic stability, and encourage international cooperation
and participation. Landmines affect almost every aspect of life in
states recovering from conflict. They maim or kill innocent civilians,
obstruct emergency assistance, hamper agricultural and economic development,
and prevent refugees and displaced people from returning to their
homes. Land cleared of landmines and thereby returned to productive
use is a direct and final result of U.S.-sponsored demining programs.
|
| Educational
and Cultural Exchanges |
OUTCOME
Percentage of exchange participants who increase or change their understanding
of the host country immediately following their program experience.
|
The purpose of this program is to promote mutual understanding between
the peoples of the United States and other countries. Cultural programs
also underscore the respect that the United States holds for the achievements
of other nation's cultures. Polling program participants to find out
whether the exchange experience increased their understanding of the
host country accurately reflects whether a key program and agency
goal (to increase understanding) has been achieved. |
|
Department of Transportation (DOT) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Federal
Highway Infrastructure |
OUTCOME
Fatalities per 100 million vehicle-miles of travel (VMT) |
The program provides funding and technical assistance to states to
construct, maintain, and operate highways. A key performance indicator
of the program is the rate of highway fatalities, which is expressed
as the number of fatalities per hundred million vehicle miles traveled
(VMT). This is a long-term outcome measure that tracks the effectiveness
of highway safety program infrastructure improvements. Motor vehicle
traffic fatality data are obtained from the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration's (NHTSA’s) Fatality Analysis Reporting
System (FARS). The FARS database is a census of roadway fatalities,
based on police crash reports and other state data. VMT data are derived
from the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS). |
| Federal
Railroad Administration (FRA): Railroad Safety Program (RSP) |
EFFICIENCY
By FY 2008, reduce the ratio of indirect spending on safety activities
to 27% from 30% in FY 2003 |
The RSP promulgates, administers, and enforces the Federal laws and
regulations designed to promote safety on the Nation’s railroads.
A 2003 snapshot reveals that 70% of spending goes toward direct safety
activities, and 30% goes to indirect safety activities. This "efficiency
goal" is to increase the proportion of direct spending. Greater
efficiencies gained on the indirect side (through initiatives such
as technology enhancement, competitive sourcing of functions, functional
consolidation, and other types of initiatives), increase the percentage
of funding to the areas that have a direct impact on the mission.
Spending data for this measure is calculated based on actual obligations
for each fiscal year, as are currently broken out by activity. As
the agency moves to a cost accounting system, the activity breakout
will become even more detailed and informative. |
|
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Pesticides |
EFFICIENCY
Percent reduction in review time for registration of conventional
pesticides |
This measure is a good example of a programmatic efficiency measure
that properly assists the program in improving its administrative
efficiency. The Registration program is a process-oriented program
that puts out discrete products – pesticide registrations. A
very important component of the process (especially to certain stakeholder
groups) is the length of time it takes EPA to complete a registration,
which sometimes can take multiple years. By establishing a measure
to reduce the overall decision time that looks at the various steps
in the process and takes into account the time frames for each step
is a valuable method of improving the efficiency (and in turn potentially
the cost effectiveness) of the program. |
| Acid
Rain |
OUTCOME
Percent reduction in number of chronically acidic waterbodies in acid-sensitive
regions. |
This new goal to reduce the number of acidic lakes in certain regions
of the country is useful for the Acid Rain program because it directly
measures the effectiveness of the program in terms of its mission
(as stated by Congress) to "reduce the adverse effects of acid
deposition through reductions in annual emissions of sulfur dioxide…
and… nitrogen oxides." The program will use data on acid
deposition and surface water chemistry collected through existing
monitoring networks in acid-sensitive regions. Ecological modeling
will project surface water chemistry status as a result of changes
in emissions and deposition. Though these networks do not provide
full coverage of all acid-sensitive regions, the results of the analysis
will be adequately representative for the limited areas covered by
this goal. |
| Civil
Enforcement |
OUTCOME
Pounds of pollutants reduced (characterized as to risk and exposure)
|
The
purpose of the program is to assure compliance with and enforcement
of environmental laws to protect human health and the environment.
One indicator of program success is the reduction and removal of pollutants
from the ecosystem. GAO has indicated in their report, that reducing
discharges and emissions of pollutants is a low-end outcome measure.2
EPA can currently estimate the pounds of pollutants it has prevented
from entering the ecosystem as a result of data collected on concluded
enforcement cases. However, these numbers by themselves do not adequately
address how protective of human health and the environment these reductions
are because they are not further categorized as to the degree of risk
posed by the pollutant, or the exposure to sensitive populations or
ecosystems incurred by the pollutant. When this performance measure
is further refined as to risk and exposure it will be a more robust
measure. |
| Civil
Enforcement |
EFFICIENCY
Pounds of pollutants reduced (in thousands) per FTE |
The efficiency measure is simply how many pounds of pollutants are
reduced per EPA FTE. When this performance measure is further refined
as to risk and exposure, and when it takes into account state FTE,
it will be a more effective measure and the efficiency measure will
be more meaningful. |
| Clean
Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) |
OUTCOME
Average number per year of waterborne disease outbreaks attributable
to swimming in, or other recreational contact with the oceans, rivers,
lakes or streams. |
The CWSRF provides funds to states to establish state loan revolving
funds that finance infrastructure improvements for public wastewater
systems and other sources of water quality impairment. The performance
measure reflects the Agency’s mission to protect public health
and represents the highest level outcome measure in GAO’s Hierarchy
of Indicators.3 The Agency target is to
decrease the number of outbreaks over time. Current measurement methodology
lacks validity because the Agency relies on voluntary reporting to
CDC and underreporting is a concern. The program is developing an
annual measure of wastewater treatment plant compliance with discharge
standards to link treatment plant upgrades with improvement in water
quality and further link water quality improvements to reductions
in waterborne disease outbreaks. |
| New
Chemicals |
OUTCOME
Cumulative reduction of releases of industrial hazardous chemicals
to the environment and in industrial wastes in millions of pounds. |
The purpose of the program is to review new chemicals being introduced
into commerce (manufactured or imported) to prevent possible harm
to the public and environment. The program encourages the development
of safer, or “green”, chemicals as substitutes for more
dangerous ones. A key indicator of the program is reduction in the
amount of hazardous chemicals and wastes that are released into the
environment from the use of green chemistry technologies. Data are
provided by industry of industry’s substitution in their processes
of green chemicals in place of more hazardous ones. |
| New
Chemicals |
EFFICIENCY
Costs per chemical (for EPA and industry) |
The purpose of the program is to review new chemicals being introduced
into commerce (manufactured or imported) to prevent possible harm
to the public and the environment. Applicants seeking approval for
a new chemical provide EPA with data for EPA to assess the potential
exposure to workers (dermal and inhalation), the public (drinking
water, eating fish, and consumer products), and the environment (releases
to air, water, and land). The efficiency measure aims to help EPA
and industry find more efficient ways to assess the potential harm
of chemicals before they are approved to enter the market. |
| Existing
Chemicals |
OUTCOME
Percent cumulative reduction of chronic human health risk from environmental
releases of industrial chemicals in commerce since 2001. |
The purpose of the program is to review and regulate chemical substances
and mixtures that may harm human health or the environment. The program
covers the 62,000 chemicals that were already in commerce when Congress
enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act, including testing, regulation,
and reporting. The measure evaluates chronic human health effects,
both cancer and non-cancer, such as respiratory, developmental, and
neurological conditions. The program uses data submitted annually
by industry of pounds of chemical released to the environment, incorporates
toxicity scores for each chemical, and models the fate and potential
exposed population for the releases. The result is a screening-level,
risk-related perspective for relative comparisons of chemical releases.
This enables the program to not only examine trends, but to also rank
and prioritize chemicals based on their potential for human harm for
purposes of strategic planning, risk-related targeting, and community-based
environmental protection. |
| Existing
Chemicals |
EFFICIENCY
Cost and time to establish acute exposure chemical guidelines value
per chemical |
The purpose of the program is to review and regulate chemical substances
and mixtures that may harm human health or the environment. The program
covers the 62,000 chemicals that were already in commerce when Congress
enacted the Toxic Substances Control Act, including testing, regulation,
and reporting. This efficiency measure supports EPA’s performance
measure to develop acute exposure chemical guidelines (AEGLs), which
inform of possible harm to humans from chemicals. AEGLs are important
for homeland security response, recovery, and preparedness. AEGLs
represent three tiers of health effects (discomfort, disability, and
death) for five exposure durations (eight hours or less). The efficiency
measure aims to help EPA find more efficient ways to assess the potential
human harm of chemicals. |
|
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
|
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Mars
Exploration |
OUTCOME
Progress in characterizing the present climate of Mars and determining
how it has evolved over time. |
NASA’s Mars Exploration program conducts scientific exploration
of the planet Mars, focusing on the search for water and evidence
of past or present life. A key indicator of program effectiveness
is NASA’s progress in expanding scientific understanding of
the planet’s evolutionary history and its present-day atmospheric,
surface, and interior systems. Based on their knowledge of scientific
knowledge accrued over a year, external scientific advisors evaluate
NASA’s progress annually against this measure (using a green-yellow-red
“stoplight” scale), which contributes to the agency’s
long-term goal of achieving broad scientific understanding of Mars.
|
| Mars
Exploration |
EFFICIENCY
Cumulative and annual percentage baseline cost overrun on spacecraft
under development. |
NASA’s Mars Exploration program conducts scientific exploration
of the planet Mars, focusing on the search for water and evidence
of past or present life. A key indicator of program efficiency is
the degree to which NASA avoids cost overruns on spacecraft under
development, since overruns result in cuts or delays to future missions—hence
reducing the overall amount of Mars science that can be performed—and/or
increase costs to taxpayers. This efficiency measure assesses the
degree to which, on average, Mars exploration missions in development
will not exceed their baseline costs by more than 5 percent annually
or 10 percent cumulatively. |
|
National Science Foundation (NSF) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Facilities |
EFFICIENCY
Percent of construction acquisition and upgrade projects with negative
cost and schedule variances of less that 10% of the approved project
plan. |
The purpose of the program is to construct, upgrade, maintain, and
operate research facilities in a wide range of scientific and engineering
fields, one of NSF’s core functions. A key indicator that facilities
construction is going as planned is the variance of cost or schedule
from the approved project plan. Performance measurement requires regular
monitoring and reporting of project cost and schedule status, with
assessment against planned progress across all projects within the
program. The Facilities program has a 90% target associated with this
measure, which allows for some variance across NSF programs due to
unanticipated or external factors. |
| Facilities |
EFFICIENCY
Percent of operational facilities that keep scheduled operating time
lost to less than 10% |
The purpose of the program is to construct, upgrade, maintain, and
operate research facilities in a wide range of scientific and engineering
fields, one of NSF’s core functions. A key indicator of the
efficiency of facilities operations is the adherence to scheduled
uptime or downtime, and this performance is readily monitored through
day-to-day facility operations. If the measure had to do only with
total downtime of facilities, it would not adequately address the
needs of some facilities to change or modify instruments, etc, nor
would it acknowledge the differences across the many types of facilities
NSF funds and operates. Given the significance of the scheduled operating
time for each facility, it is important to set this level in each
case responsibly and meaningfully. The facilities program has a 90%
target associated with this measure, which allows for some variance
across NSF programs due to unanticipated or external factors. |
| Nanoscale
Science and Engineering |
OUTCOME
As qualitatively evaluated by external experts, the successful development
of a knowledge base for systematic control of matter at the nanoscale |
The purpose of the program is to support fundamental knowledge creation
across disciplinary principles, phenomena, and tools at the nanoscale,
and to catalyze science and engineering research and education in
emerging areas of nanoscale science and technology. As this research
program has to do with long-term basic research in a relatively immature
field of science, it is difficult to assess its intellectual results
annually or through any quantitative measures. Instead, NSF relies
on independent review of relevant experts to monitor whether the research
program is appropriately structured and is on track toward the goal
of providing an appropriate knowledge base. |
|
Small Business Administration (SBA) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Section
504 Certified Development Company guaranteed loan program |
OUTCOME
Estimated Number of jobs created or retained |
The program has a statutory goal of creating and retaining small business
jobs. While the measure continues to be refined through a joint effort
with the Department of Labor to review job statistics and future evaluations,
the measure is critical to determining if the program is achieving
its statutory purpose. |
| Section
504 Certified Development Company guaranteed loan program |
EFFICIENCY
Cost to originate each loan T |
he program has a statutory goal of creating and retaining small business
jobs. Given increasing pressures on the agency’s administrative
funding, SBA must continue to find opportunities for reducing the
costs associated with making loans. |
| Disaster
Loan Program |
OUTCOME
Percent of businesses still operational 12 months after final Economic
Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) disbursement. |
The program provides subsidized direct loans to businesses and home
owners to cover the uninsured recovery costs from disasters. The sustainability
of businesses receiving Federal assistance is critical to measuring
the success of the program. |
| Disaster
Loan Program |
EFFICIENCY
Percent of loans that receive initial disbursements within 5 days
of loan closing. |
The program provides subsidized direct loans to businesses and home
owners to cover the uninsured recovery costs from disasters. While
controls are in place to ensure that funds are disbursed in installments
to coincide with recovery work, expedient disbursements are necessary
for businesses to become operational in the wake of a disaster and
for homeowners to make necessary repairs to property. |
|
Social Security Administration (SSA) |
| Program |
Performance
Measure |
Explanation |
| Supplemental
Security Insurance (SSI) Aged |
EFFICIENCY
SSI Aged Claims processed per work-year |
The purpose of the program is to provide monthly financial support
to aged individuals with low income and assets. The key efficiency
measure included in the PART examines how many applications for SSI
by aged applicants are processed per work year. (A work-year is similar
to a full time equivalent, or FTE.) The Social Security Administration
sets annual and long-term targets for this measure. It reflects how
much work is done per work-year funded. The program has accuracy measures,
as well, to balance this efficiency measure. While this measure relates
to outputs rather than outcomes, SSA is working to develop an outcome
measure for this program. |