Office of Inspector General audit report on the U.S. Department of Energy`s implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act

The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (Results Act) was enacted to improve Federal program effectiveness and public accountability by promoting a new focus on results-oriented management. The Results Act requires plans that define the mission, long-term goals, and shorter-term performance measures. Further, the Act envisions that there will be an apparent relationship between this information and specific activities listed in the Department`s budget requests. Taken together, these elements should clearly describe the outputs and outcomes the Department expects to deliver for the resources expended. The objectives of this audit were to determine whether the Department had implemented the requirements of the Results Act by (1) integrating the planning, budgeting, and performance measures for its programs into a unified, Departmentwide strategy; (2) developing specific, measurable, and results-oriented performance standards to which its programs and contractors could be held accountable; and (3) developing the means to collect reliable performance data and to use that data in evaluating whether performance actions produce intended results. The information in the Fiscal Year 1999 budget requests for the Offices of Environmental Management, Defense Programs, Energy Research, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and Nuclear Energy Science and Technology formed the basis of the review