United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Accounting and Information Management Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-03-27 monographic deposited born digital 58 p. GA 1.13:AIMD-97-46 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-46 P0b002ee18039c24f f:ai97046 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-46 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-46 AIMD-97-46 Planning programming budgeting Congressional/executive relations Budget decision units Zero-base budgeting Budget cuts Reporting requirements Strategic planning Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System Letter Report AIMD Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO reviewed the implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), focusing on key design elements and approaches of GPRA as compared with those of past initiatives which also sought to link resources with results, a concept generally termed performance budgeting.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) in its overall structure, focus, and approach, GPRA incorporates critical lessons learned from previous efforts, but many of the same issues encountered in previous initiatives remain and will likely pose significant challenges if GPRA is to achieve its aim of better linking resource decisions to performance levels; (2) where past efforts failed to link executive branch performance planning and measurement with congressional resource allocation processes, GPRA requires explicit consultation between the executive and legislative branches on agency strategic plans; (3) past initiatives' experiences suggest that efforts to link resources with results must begin in the planning phase with some fundamental understanding about program goals; (4) where past initiatives devised unique performance information formats often unconnected to the structures used in congressional budget presentations, GPRA requires agencies to plan and measure performance using the "program activities" listed in their budget submissions; (5) where past initiatives were generally unprepared for the difficulties associated with measuring the outcomes of federal programs and often retreated to simple output or workload measures, GPRA states a preference for outcome measurement while recognizing the need to develop a range of measures; (6) GAO's discussions with selected legislative staff and agency officials revealed fundamental differences in perspectives and expectations that are often a necessary consequence of the system of separated powers; (7) past initiatives often foundered because no mechanism existed to reconcile or even to address these legitimate, but at times competing, views; (8) GPRA, through required consultations and formal, public documents, is intended to encourage an explicit and periodic exchange of views between the branches; (9) GPRA differs from prior initiatives in two important respects; (10) past performance budgeting initiatives were typically implemented governmentwide within a single annual budget cycle; (11) GPRA, in contrast, defines a multiyear and iterative governmentwide implementation process that incorporates pilot tests and formal evaluations of key concepts; (12) GPRA will face an operating environment unknown to its predecessors: persistent efforts to constrain spending; (13) past initiatives demonstrate that performance budgeting * https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-46/html/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-46.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-46/pdf/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-46.pdf GAO/AIMD-97-46 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-AIMD-97-46 Letter Report GAO/AIMD-97-46; Performance Budgeting: Past Initiatives Offer Insights for GPRA Implementation; Planning programming budgeting Congressional/executive relations Budget decision units Zero-base budgeting Budget cuts Reporting requirements Strategic planning Planning, Programming, and Budgeting System Volume 61 Page 246 61 Stat. 246 Volume 63 Page 578 63 Stat. 578 Volume 64 Page 832 64 Stat. 832 Volume 67 Page 184 67 Stat. 184 Public Law 87-651 Public Law 103-62