Federal Performance Management: Purpose, Tools, Progress, Lessons Learned, and Opportunities for Improvement

ABSTRACT

This article reflects on the purposes, tools, uses and users of effective government performance management and on lessons learned from the U.S. federal government after thirty-years implementing the law mandating government-wide performance management, the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 amended by the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010. The article also discusses progress made and challenges encountered and offers recommendations for future improvement, mostly for the federal government but with a few recommendations for others.

KEYWORDS:

• Performance management
• goal-setting
• incentives
• evidence-informed management
• communication and networks

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. The remainder of this article uses GPRA93 and GPRAMA when discussing distinct provisions of each law, and GPRA when discussing the same or similar provisions of GPRA93 and GPRAMA.

2. Final guidance still to be issued as this article is being written.