GAO’s reports on federal programs at high risk of waste and mismanagement amount to “an invaluable diagnostic tool to the biggest issues plaguing government’s most important programs” as well as how to address those problems, according to a report from the IBM Center for the Business of Government.
It notes that GAO’s first such report in 1990 ran just seven pages but that this year’s version runs nearly to 400, spurred in part by scandals over the years that have piqued interest in Congress and the public into government management.
Common themes over the years, it said, include difficulties in managing across agency boundaries, lack of good performance metrics, inadequate and aging information systems, need for congressional action, lack of needed skills sets among employees, ineffective financial and contract management, and difficulty in managing complex technology.
While many programs stay on the list year after year, it adds, there are strategies to get off, including improving legacy information systems, strengthening financial and contract management, focusing on matching the workforce with the job to be done, and strengthening performance metrics.
