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TITLE: Vice President Gore Announces First Performance-Based Organization in Federal Government
AUTHOR: Vice President Gore
Date: 9/14/95 7:57 PM

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President

Vice President Gore Announces First Performance-Based Organization in Federal Government

Vice President Gore announced today that the Patent and Trademark Office will be the first of a series of agencies to be transformed into a performance-driven, customer-oriented organization. Legislation will be introduced shortly to grant the new Intellectual Property Organization the flexibility to use commercial business practices and be given waivers from selected government controls in exchange for being accountable for agreed-upon performance gains.

The Vice President said, "The Patent and Trademark Office is the right kind of agency to lead the way in this new initiative. It has clearly identifiable customers and products, it is fully funded by user fees, and it has a system in place for measuring results and customer satisfaction."

The concept of creating performance-based organizations in the federal government is based on a similar initiative undertaken in other countries, most notably Britain. The British Patent Office converted to a performance-based organization six years ago and in that time, costs have dropped 40 percent and productivity increased 3 percent a year.

The legislation, to be introduced shortly, would:

• Separate policymaking from service operation functions by moving all "inherently governmental" responsibilities to a new under secretary for intellectual property in the Department of Commerce. Service operations would be placed in a renamed "Intellectual Property Organization."
• Create the position of Chief Executive Officer to head the new Intellectual Property Organization. The CEO would be hired on contract through a competitive search, for a fixed term, with a clear contract for services to be delivered. Half of his or her pay would be based on performance. The CEO would have to meet the targets set in his or her annual performance agreement to be eligible for all or some of the bonus.
• Require the Secretary of Commerce and the CEO to set clear, measurable goals and measures of progress and productivity.
• Allow the organization increased flexibility in human resource management, procurement, and other administrative functions in exchange for increased accountability for performance and improved customer service.