GAO Reports a Rise in Agency Decisions Informed by Performance Data
Federal agencies are using performance data for decision-making more often than in previous years, according to a survey released by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on November 3, 2021. Throughout 2020, managers from 24 federal agencies were asked how frequently they used performance information to make decisions.
In comparison to the 2017 study, the GAO found that performance data is increasingly being used to drive policy decisions across most agencies, with data-driven reviews proving to be the most beneficial means of using and analyzing performance information.
The survey results demonstrate progress toward the goals set out in the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, which requires federal agencies to submit policy making plans to the Office of Management and Budget and Congress every year, and the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010, which requires decisions are based on performance information.
Developed in 2007, the GAO compiled an index measuring an agency use of performance information in its business operations based on the weighted average of the survey questions. The GAO reviews progress on these requirements periodically, with the last report conducted in 2017, but this year marks the first time the use of performance information has increased.
The report indicates that agencies tended to score higher when they trained managers to use their performance data and made that information accessible by logging relevant data into a central repository for leader review. Nearly 42 percent of respondents were somewhat or very familiar with data-driven reviews of progress toward select objectives, and those whose programs had been reviewed scored higher on the index to a "great" or "very great" extent.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) improved more than any other in the GAO's index, citing its use of best practices and support for wider adoption.
“The VA also conducted enterprise-wide surveys of evidence/evaluator practitioners to provide their direct feedback to areas needing further improvement,” stated Tanya Bradsher, VA Chief of Staff, “VA continues to augment our robust governance approaches to embed evidence-based decision making more firmly in our framework.”
Using performance information to drive decision-making also increased substantially at National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Congressional involvement and oversight are likely motivating factors in agencies' adoption of more data in their daily operations, according to Alissa Czyz, Acting Director of GAO’s Strategic Issues.
