After providing the Office of Management and Budget access to full drafts of their fiscal 2006 program assessment ratings tool reports on April 14, agencies can now look forward to the next deadline – June 23, when their PARTs must be ready for so-called consistency checks.
OMB’s guidance on completing the 2006 PART assessments and reassessments states that they should be substantially complete and meet all requirements of the guidance, for example, by addressing all elements of multiple part questions if a “yes” if given.
For example, question 3.4 is a multi-part question that asks if the program has procedures — “competitive sourcing-cost comparisons, IT improvements, appropriate incentives, to measure and achieve efficiencies and cost effectiveness in program execution.”
According to the guidance, the purpose of the question is to determine whether the program has effective management procedures and measures in place to ensure spending is efficient, and a “yes” answer needs to clearly explain and provide evidence that the program has regular procedures in place to achieve efficiencies and cost effectiveness, and that the program has at least one efficiency measure with a baseline and targets.
For example, a program that regularly uses competitive sourcing to determine the best value for the taxpayer, invests in IT with clear goals of improving efficiency, etc., would demonstrate established procedures for improving efficiency, according to the guidance.
Further, a de-layered management structure that empowers front line managers and that has undergone competitive sourcing would also contribute to a “yes.”
Appeals board decisions are due August 15, PARTs updated to reflect those decisions are due by August 25, and RMO draft summaries and agreements to improvement plans are due by Sept. 15.
