The Transportation Department's annual performance plan is action-oriented and results-driven, according to a recent General Accounting Office review.
Annual performance plans, which set goals and measures for agencies' programs, are required from all federal agencies under the 1993 Government Performance and Results Act. Fiscal year 2000 is the second year in which agencies have created annual performance plans.
"DOT's FY2000 performance plan emphasizes outcome goals and measures that clearly indicate the intended results of the department's programs," the report, "DOT's Fiscal Year 2000 Performance Goals" (RCED-00-13R), said.
For example, the agency has a strategic goal to promote public health and safety by working towards the elimination of transportation-related deaths. One related performance goal is to reduce the rate of highway deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled from 1.7 in 1996 to 1.5 in 2000.
Such specific plans are essential to achieving agency goals, GAO said. Nearly half of DOT's performance measures provide information on results, effects, or consequences of programs that lead to overarching goals, GAO found.
In March, agencies will be releasing their first annual performance reports, detailing their success at meeting the goals laid out in their fiscal 1999 performance plans.
Among federal agencies, the Transportation Department has consistently received some of the highest ratings from congressional reviewers on strategic and performance planning.
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