GAO has issued suggestions for the review of the NSPS program recently launched by DoD as a reaction to criticism from federal unions and some members of Congress.
The review–which was announced two months ago, in response to opponents and as a follow-up to a campaign comments expressing skepticism about pay for performance programs–is being conducted by a task group of the Defense Business Board. Its goal is to determine if the program reflects its underlying design principles and is meeting objectives, and whether it is operating in a fair, transparent, and effective manner. The task force is to present its findings and draft recommendations to the Board during a public meeting later this summer.
The task group is chaired by Rudy deLeon, the senior vice president of National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. The other members of the group are Michael Bayer, chairman of the Defense Business Board, and Robert Tobias, a professor at American University and director for the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation, and a former president of the National Treasury Employees Union.
GAO meanwhile has told Congress that such a review provides DoD with an "opportunity to consider our previous recommendations, as well as all of the other internal safeguards key to ensuring that performance management systems in the government are fair, effective, and credible." The review also is an "opportunity to look at employee engagement in the process and develop an action plan to address employee concerns about NSPS . . . the combination of employee surveys with interviews or discussion groups is helpful because it yields useful information at the population level, as well as the individual employee experience level."
DoD has said that accepting outside input will be part of the review process, although it has not said how or when that will be done.