United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2000-04-07 monographic deposited born digital 37 p. GA 1.13:RCED-00-83 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-83 P0b002ee1803a36a3 f:rc00083 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-83 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-83 RCED-00-83 Performance measures Strategic planning Management information systems Reporting requirements Financial management Agency missions Conservation Public administration Federal/state relations NRCS National Information Measurement System Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) efforts to improve its accountability, focusing on the: (1) agency's new approach and the status of its implementation; and (2) extent to which the approach will improve accountability.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) NRCS' new approach to improving accountability is based principally on implementing the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and establishing four new databases to compile better information on the: (a) agency's accomplishments; (b) full cost of programs and activities; (c) workload at the local level; and (d) future workforce needs; (2) in addition, NRCS' Oversight and Evaluation staff, who conduct reviews to assess quality, accountability, effectiveness, and consistency in the agency's delivery of conservation assistance, is an important part of the agency's approach; (3) NRCS plans to use the information from its new databases to measure its progress towards meeting its strategic objectives, more accurately account for staff time and funding, analyze workload to develop budget proposals, and estimate future staffing levels and skills needs; (4) NRCS has prepared agencywide strategic and annual performance plans, as part of Department of Agriculture's strategic and annual performance plans, which were submitted to the President and Congress; (5) its state offices have also begun developing annual performance and business plans; (6) the agency has also used its performance goals to guide its allocation of fiscal year 2000 funds to its state offices; (7) equally important, NRCS has largely completed the databases and begun using some of the information for agency decisionmaking and reporting on its performance; (8) if implemented as planned, NRCS' approach is likely to improve accountability by providing better information and analyses on how the agency uses its resources and what it accomplishes; (9) the agency could better integrate the financial management function and the accountability approach; (10) unless the agency more accurately accounts for its costs, it will continue to lack the financial information needed for internal decisionmaking and for external reports to Congress and other stakeholders that demonstrate NRCS is implementing its programs cost effectively; (11) with respect to planning, the agency could make its annual performance goals more results-oriented and better indicate progress made during the fiscal year toward achieving its strategic objectives; and (12) NRCS' Oversight and Evaluation staff--who provide an important internal review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the agency's programs, activities, and operations--could be more independent if it were to report directly to the Chief or Associate Chief of NRCS, rather than to one of the managers subject to review by the group. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-83/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-83.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-83/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-83.pdf GAO/RCED-00-83 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-00-83 Letter Report GAO/RCED-00-83; Natural Resources Conservation Service: Additional Actions; Performance measures Strategic planning Management information systems Reporting requirements Financial management Agency missions Conservation Public administration Federal/state relations NRCS National Information Measurement System