USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

Maps, Imagery, and Publications Hazards Newsroom Education Jobs Partnerships Library About USGS Podcasts/RSS

Budget and Performance Integration

The Administration evaluates program performance to "find the funds" to bring to bear on issues of interest to their constituency. The 1993 Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) requires that each federal agency submit a comprehensive strategic plan to the Congress. The Department of Interior (DOI) Strategic Plan (PDF) has brought all Bureaus together in a single strategic plan that the Department uses to make resource decisions. Performance Budgeting is all about justification of funding needs and accountability for results.

• Performance information is being used in the budgeting process to justify investment of the taxpayers' money by calculating the full costs of efforts Activity Based Cost Management - ABC/M and forecasting the programmatic effects of different budget decisions.
• The Capital Planning & Investment Control Process (CPIC) is a tool used by both the Department and OMB to ensure investments in Information Technology are well conceived, cost effective, and support mission and business goals.
• Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) is another evaluation tool that was developed in 2002 and first used by OMB in the FY 2004 budget process. The plan is to continue assessing 20% of all Federal programs per year until all are completed.

The results of all 3 processes, and their convergence with political priorities, influenced by constituency-driven issues lead to the administration´s decision on how much funding to request for each program in the President's Budget, which then moves on to the Hill and through another set of processes, evaluations, and priorities driven by a different constituency and eventually resulting in an appropriation, often with additional earmarks. These drivers and their influence on the process are illustrated below.

Larger jpg format (1.98 MB)  ||  Powerpoint (85 KB)

Managers and policy officials use a variety of performance information to evaluate the effectiveness of Programs and make funding decisions. Program evaluation data (and common sense) are used to increase understanding of a Program's value. Knowledge of PART guidance and requirements when participating in the USGS 5-year science planning process will improve a Program's ability to "provide evidence" to the PART process. Of particular interest to USGS science program managers are PART's Relevance, Quality, and Performance criteria for Research and Development Programs.

Larger jpg format (1.98 MB)  ||  Powerpoint (85 KB)

Office of Budget and Performance || Strategic Plan || Performance Management || Budget by Fiscal Year || Budget Funding Tables || Learn About Budget || Resources and Tools || Related Web Sites || About Us