Keeping an Eye on Big Brother
September 27, 2006
I recently came across an article that discusses making progress in government through public disclosure or embarrassment. It pointed out a website called ExpectMore.gov which exposes how well government programs are performing to the general public. The website provides detailed information on all programs that have taken part in the assessment; including the program’s parent organization and financial breakdowns. Through use of the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), ExpectMore.gov asks some basic, but important questions, and rates various programs according to their response. Some sample questions:
- Is the program designed so that it is not redundant or duplicative of any other federal, state, local or private effort?
- Does the program have a limited number of specific long-term performance measures that focus on outcomes and meaningfully reflect the purpose of the program?
Based on their results, the following snapshot from the website evaluates our government's overall effectiveness:
Number of Programs Assessed - 793
Effective 15%
Moderately Effective 29%
Adequate 28%
Ineffective 4%
Results Not Demonstrated 24%
Not a terribly bleak assessment. 72% of the programs measured by PART are "performing". In other words, they are well managed, hitting goals, and achieving results. The other 28% are "not performing". How this type of public exposure affects Managers, or the organizations they belong too could prove an interesting drama.
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