PART: An Innovative Way to Integrate Performance Information with the Budget by Jonathan D. Breul, Executive Director IBM Center for the Business of Government

PART: An Innovative Way to Integrate Performance Information with the Budget

by

Jonathan D. Breul, Executive Director

IBM Center for the Business of Government

Washington, DC

Kamensky - Challenges of Collaborative Governance

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Movement towards a results-orientation

• Substantial evidence that many countries are moving toward a results-oriented approach in a wide variety of government contexts.

• Both developed and developing countries have demonstrated that it is possible to move toward an outcome orientation that places emphasis on results that count to its citizens.


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Performance-informed budgeting

• Governments around the world are under increasing pressure to produce results.

• Many are attempting to use performance information for effective and responsive public management.

• Yet - implementing performance-informed budgeting has proved deceptively difficult.


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Performance Assessment Rating Tool (PART)

• In the U.S. - PART questionnaire attempted to determine the strengths and weaknesses of federal programs with a particular focus on individual program results and improving outcome measures.

• PART’s evidence-based approach drew on a wide array of information, including authorizing legislation, strategic plans and performance plans and reports, financial statements, inspector general and GAO reports, and independent program evaluations.


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What was different with PART?

• Importantly - PART went beyond Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA).

• Rendered a judgment whether programs were effective, by systematically and transparently assessing program management and actual results (what happened).

• Enabled decision makers to attach budgetary and management consequences to those programs that could not demonstrate their effectiveness.


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How does the PART work?

• Assesses programs in four key dimensions:

(1) Program purpose and design, (2) Planning, (3) Management, and (4) Results.

• Generates one of five objective program ratings:

(1) Effective, (2) Moderately effective, (3) Adequate, (4) Ineffective, or (5) Results not demonstrated.

• Encourages continuous improvement.

• Applies consistent framework to all programs.


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What did PART accomplish?

• PART’s greatest accomplishment was the production of useful assessments of over 1,000 programs.

• Some evidence that the PART assessments had an impact on allocation decisions in the President’s budget.

• Yet - little evidence that PART has caused significant changes in program results.


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An important caution

• The use of performance information is not an end in itself - but rather a means to support better decision making, leading to improved performance.

• While performance-informed budgeting will never answer the vexing resource trade-off questions involving political choice - it does hold the promise of shifting the focus of debate from inputs to the program outcomes and results.


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Possible application elsewhere

• US experience provides an illustration of one country’s attempt to highlight the relationship between resource allocation and performance.

• In 2005 - the PART program won Harvard University’s prestigious Innovations in American Government Award.

• A number of other countries (Scotland, Thailand and Korea) have adopted PART-like tools.


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Applicability elsewhere

• No one “correct” or best model that could or should be applied in all countries.

• Political and cultural context, past history, and other factors require an approach tailored to the situation in each country.

• Nonetheless - a PART-like tool could prove useful in other countries looking for way to integrate performance information with budget decisions.

Documents

PART: An Innovative Way to Integrate Performance Information with the Budget by Jonathan D. Breul, Executive Director IBM Center for the Business of Government