United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office General Government Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1997-07-08 monographic deposited born digital 14 p. GA 1.13:T-GGD-97-151 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-97-151 P0b002ee18038ab87 f:gg97151t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-97-151 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-97-151 T-GGD-97-151 Reengineering (management) Intergovernmental relations Public administration Foreign governments Accountability Comparative analysis Customer service Interagency relations Great Britain United Kingdom Next Steps Program Testimony GGD GAO discussed the British Next Steps initiative, a model the administration used in crafting its performance-based organization (PBO) proposal, and the lessons that the Next Steps experience suggest for PBOs in the United States.<p/>GAO noted that: (1) the administration has proposed the creation of PBOs modeled after the British Next Steps agencies; (2) PBOs, like Next Steps agencies, seek to separate service delivery functions from policy functions; (3) in exchange for flexibilities from some governmentwide requirements, the head of the agency is to be held directly accountable for the agency's performance; (4) Next Steps agencies are the British government's predominant form of service delivery; (5) these agencies have reported that, over the years, performance has improved, in some cases substantially; (6) some agencies have reported significant cost savings; (7) the British government has confronted some difficult and continuing issues Congress may want to consider as it considers the PBO concept; (8) these issues include a lack of clarity in the relationship between agencies and their parent departments, an uncertainty concerning who is accountable for performance, and difficulties in developing and setting performance goals; (9) the British have found that the roles of the Next Steps agencies and their parent departments often remain unclear because of the problems inherent in trying to delineate responsibilities; (10) management decisions made by Next Steps agencies can have impact on policy choices made by their departments; (11) lack of clarity in roles between agencies and departments affects accountability; (12) it is sometimes difficult to tell if a poor result was due to policy or inadequate implementation of that policy; (13) British evaluations identified three areas of concern regarding performance measurement: (a) goal setting does not always reflect what is realistic as much as adding incremental improvements to prior results; (b) it can be difficult to determine exactly what to measure; and (c) it is important to ensure that performance information is put in a proper context and used to improve performance; (14) GAO reported to Congress in May 1997 on the administration's proposal to convert the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation to a PBO. GAO found that such a conversion would result in significant changes in the Seaway's management structure, funding mechanism, and relations with Congress; and (15) however, since PBOs must be created through enactment of enabling legislation, Congress has an opportunity to define its role with regard to the Seaway or any other PBO. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-97-151/html/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-97-151.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-97-151/pdf/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-97-151.pdf GAO/T-GGD-97-151 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-T-GGD-97-151 Testimony GAO/T-GGD-97-151; Performance-Based Organizations: Lessons From the British Next Steps Initiative; Reengineering (management) Intergovernmental relations Public administration Foreign governments Accountability Comparative analysis Customer service Interagency relations Great Britain United Kingdom Next Steps Program