Federal Performance Project

OVERVIEW

Managing for Results
The Federal Performance Project finds that
mission clarity, while rare, is one of the strongest predictors of management success

ISSUE AREAS

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Accountability Gap
Agencies are struggling to resolve long-standing
financial management problems. In the meantime, resources are squandered and citizens suffer.

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
Fighting for Talent
Poorly planned downsizing and the coming wave of baby boomer retirements have agencies battling to attract, train and keep sufficient staff to accomplish their missions.

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
Risking IT
Computer security is the biggest information management challenge facing federal agencies.

PHYSICAL ASSETS MANAGEMENT
Things Fall Apart
Facilities and equipment often fare badly in the annual competition for budget dollars. Eventually the government pays for its neglect.

GRADING THE AGENCIES

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
Riding Out the Storm
After a stormy 10-year modernization, the National Weather Service is reaping the benefits of new technology, better facilities and a restructured workforce.

POSTAL SERVICE
Letter Barriers
The Postal Service is one of the better-run agencies in government, but still is projecting huge losses this year.

ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES
A Fresh Start
States applaud agency's shift from adversary to advocate in alliance for poor families.

NASA
The Few, the Tired
A decade of downsizing and budget tightening has left NASA exploring the universe with a less experienced staff and older equipment.

BUREAU OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS
Travel Advisory
Management improvements at the Bureau of Consular Affairs rest on a shaky funding base.

FOREST SERVICE
Timber Tension
The Forest Service is at the center of a national debate over federal land management policies.

BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
Trail of Trouble
Woeful management at the Bureau of Indian Affairs is the legacy of government's historical oppression of the people the agency serves.

A YEAR LATER

Coast Guard

Army Corps of Engineers

Veterans Benefits Administration

National Park Service

Office of Student Financial Assistance

EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

Making the Grades
The agencies examined in the Federal Performance Project are true bureaucracies that cannot benefit from the private-sector discipline of the bottom line.

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