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The 9th National Conference on Strategic Planning for Government: IMPLEMENTING THE RESULTS ACT
Washington, DC
January 21 - 22, 1998

Summary by Federal Communicators Network representative Glenn Nordin
Executive Secretary
DCI Foreign Language Committee
Community Management Staff
glennhn@odci.gov
703.482.2677

The two-day conference presented by the International Quality & Productivity Center was jump-started with a "cybervision" of the 21st Century outlining the transformation of organization and processes now underway in the Air National Guard. By using information age technology, the Guard's leadership is gaining timely management oversight while empowering the workforce with direct input to top-level planning and execution. Stressing the need for performance planning and measurement, Maj. Gen. Donald Shepperd, asked the audience to grasp the future and the opportunities that technology and the emerging diverse workforce offer.

As advertised and executed, the conference provided a rich mixture of interpretations of the Government Performance Results Act of 93, strategic management philosophy, and examples of how different organizations have pioneered the way to better planning and execution in response to GPRA requirement. Experience in strategic and annual planning and performance reporting with linkage to budget submission and execution was provided by a variety of organizations including a county health service administration and a military base. All presenters placed emphasis on "customer" satisfaction, validated (or at least agreed) performance measures, managerial accountability, and consultation with Congress as essentials to successful fulfillment of GPRA requirements.

Strategic planning based on the mission of the organization and a vision of the future provides the goals to be attained over a finite period of time. Collection and analysis of baseline data on the organization and its operating environment provide the starting point for setting measurable annual performance objectives or results. The annual plan then incorporates the target performance results and other stretch targets and links these to the budget submission. If possible, consultation on the plan with the next higher level or ultimately theappropriate congressional committee should be done early and often to ensure mutual understanding of goals and measures. Finally, the required annual report will provide the scorecard on agency performance.

"It's the Law" is a general theme that ran throughout the presentations. The Government Performance Results Act of 93 is a law of the land and as such demands our attention in planning, budgeting, executing and reporting to the Congress. Appropriations in future years will be directly related to the effectiveness of performance planning and measurement.