Integrated Accountability System Embracing Opportunities and Building a

Integrated Accountability System Embracing Opportunities and Building a New Tomorrow

Basic Accountability Questions • What needs to be done and where? • How much time and dollars will it take? • Do we have the necessary resources and are they in the right place and have the right skills? • What is being done and how long did it take to do for how many dollars? • What environmental benefits were achieved?

IAS Vision • Integrated accountability system • Web-based, user-friendly • Standard reports, available to public and employees • Customized analyses for leadership • Data warehouse with linked databases • Access defined by position to ensure security • Data entered only once • Decision Support System – Scenario building

Steps to Elevating Accountability • Fully involving Partnership in on-going development and enhancement of IAS • Integrating Budgeting, Allocations, Strategic and Annual Planning, and Performance Measurement • Providing training to agency and partnership in accountability system • Use of Knowledge in Management Reviews and Oversight and Evaluation

Integrated Accountability System

President’s Management Agenda n In August the President launched a Management Reform Agenda targeted to "address the most apparent deficiencies where the opportunity to improve performance is the greatest. " Working with the President’s Management Council, the OMB developed standards for success in each of the five governmentwide initiatives: n Strategic Management of Human Capital; n Expanded Electronic Government; n Competitive Sourcing; n Improved Financial Performance; and n Budget and Performance Integration.

President’s Management Agenda An Executive Branch Management Scorecard will be used to show: n How well a department or agency is executing the management initiatives, and n Where it scores at a given point in time against the overall standards for success. This scorecard will be provided to the Department and the President on a regular basis.

President’s Management Agenda The progress side will track whether a department’s work plan for the initiatives is being successfully executed according to established timetables. In the OMB pass back in November 2001, the Department received their scorecard for the five initiatives. The current status show a red status for all initiatives except E-Government which is yellow.

President’s Management Agenda In the Budget and Performance Integration Initiative: OMB stated that the Department shall: “ provide revised performance plans that integrate planning and budgeting…and demonstrate progress in linking budget resources with program performance…. ”

Goals of the IAS • A complete system with all data integrated • Easy access – web based – user friendly • Minimized field reporting and side records • Maximized information usage • Centralized data links • Responsive to customers/conservation partners

Full IAS Component Integration • Development of Web. Farm • Common Data Dictionary • Full Integration of Planning, Managing, Accounting, Reporting

Improved Accountability Tools • • • Performance and Results Measurement System Time and Cost Accounting (TCAS) Quarterly Goals Conservation Journal (future) Conservation Information System (CIS)

Create visibility for national goals at the local level • • Recognize that all national goals are implemented locally • Build a system valued both by national and local users

Strategic Planning

Geographically-based Decision Support System • Natural Resource and Socio-economic Needs • Short- and Long-term Workload • Current and Future Workforce and Skills • “Real-time” Performance Reporting • Integration of Needs and Performance • Geographically-based Information

NRCS Strategic Goals • Enhance natural resource productivity to enable a strong agricultural and natural resource sector. • Reduce unintended adverse effects of natural resource development and use to ensure a high quality environment • Reduce risks from flooding and drought to protect public health and safety • Deliver high quality services to the public to enable natural resource stewardship

National Resources Inventory

Resource Concerns - WLA 2001

Resource Concerns - WLA 2001 • 7 major resource concerns

National Census of Agriculture, 1997

Conservation Programs

Workload Analysis • Describes the time required by discipline for what employees do at the field level as described in 28 Core Work Products. • Captures the core field activities and the time to accomplish them for the NRCS field staff and our Conservation Partners field staff. • Used to estimate the staff years required to complete fiscal year projected workload and total resource conservation needs.

Workload Analysis by Partnership

Skill Needs Assessment for Conservation Planning Workload Analysis

Workforce Management • Field- and State Office-level Staff • NRCS and Partnership • Permanent vs. Temporary • Filled vs. Vacant Are staff sufficiently trained? Are staff in the “right” place? Is there the correct mix of skills? What skills do our partnerships bring?

Workforce Planning Assist leadership in making staffing determinations that will result in securing the appropriate skills needed to meet the customers’ changing needs. • Identifies skills needed and potential gaps • Forecasts and projects • Based on resource needs and locally led priorities • Identifies strategies to bridge gaps

Geospatial Coverages Congressional Districts Federal Lands Counties Land Resource Regions Soils Major Land Resource Areas Soil Conservation 2, 4, 6, and 8 Districts digit Hydrologic Units

FY 2001 Performance by County

FY 2001 Performance by Congressional District

Objective: Maintain, restore, and enhance cropland productivity Maintaining soil productivity depends on controlling erosion and maintaining organic content, tilth, soil fauna, and soil chemical balance. These challenges vary in degree by state and region across the Nation. While much progress has been made in addressing conservation needs, more remains to be done. NRI Measures & • Promote conservation planning and Targets management that addresses multiple soil Strategies - factors • Focus efforts on the most serious erosion problems; • Promote crop residue management to increase soil organic matter and store carbon; • Strengthen assistance to help operators to remain in compliance with HEL provisions; • Assist operators to examine alternatives for cropland where existing systems are inadequate to protect the resource. WLA Baseline - In 1999, about 232 million cropland acres (or 61 percent of total cropland) were found to be in need of conservation treatment to sustain productivity and quality.

Objective: Maintain, restore, and enhance cropland productivity (continued) Recent Accomplishments - PRMS Annual Performance Goals During Fiscal Year 2000: • 10, 200, 000 acres of Conservation Plans were applied on Cropland to the Resource Management System level. • 4, 100, 000 acres of cropland that were eroding above two times the soil’s tolerable level are now protected against excessive erosion Conservation Systems Applied on Cropland to the Resource Management System (Acres) Performance Target • By 2005, 89 percent the annual conservation need will be met - 20 million acres will be treated each year. Related Annual Performance Measures - • Resource Management Systems Applied on Cropland (Acres) • Excessive Erosion Controlled on Cropland (Acres) • Conservation Tillage Applied on Cropland (Acres) FY 2001 Performance Goals • • Source: NRCS, Performance and Results Measurement System data, 2001 11 million cropland acres with conservation systems applied 4 million cropland acres protected against excessive erosion

Business Planning • Completed at the National, Regional, State levels. • “Roadmap” to successful completion of goals. • Contains real, concrete, tangible actions with specific completion dates, and responsible individuals. • Updated at least quarterly.

PRMS Simplified Data Entry (SDE) Simplified Data Entry PRMS Current PRMS Customer Assisted Conservation Systems Erosion Control Conservation Tillage Applied

Map-based Data Entry Simplified System

Simplified Input & Reporting • Map-based data entry

Resource Need vs. Performance Resource Need Performance

State and Local Options State and Local Programs State and Local Measures

State and Local Options - Meets Accountability Data Needs at the State Level • Voluntary • Consistent with National PRMS guidelines • Does not duplicate national measures • Includes Partners in data needs decisions • Customizable by the user to specific counties

State and Local Options Data Salt load reduction data State program data Staff providing service data

Time and Cost Accounting • Salaries and Benefits of Employees by Activity and Program

SL—State and Local Programs • This code is available to states for capturing time associated with assistance to State or local programs. • Monitored programs will be selected by the State Conservationist and will be assigned a 6 -digit code. • State & Local Programs will be linked to appropriate national programs & modifiers

TCAS Provides Time Standard Reports Available to County & Office Level Or Download and Create Your Own Custom Reports Using Access or Excel

Journal Approach Quick date selection Journal approach adds convenience. One screen lists multiple journal entries. Can select for edit by simple click.

Conservation Journal Approach Collects Journal information such as: • Date and Time • Customer Reference • Program • Activity • Program Modifier • Affiliation • Location • Multiple Performance Measures

Conservation Journal Approach Simplified, single-entry screen for user-selected performance measures, driven by what the user selected on the prior screen. Entry fields for multiple measures (example shows 3) appear on the same screen. No need to enter customer information, location, program or affiliation multiple times.

Conservation Journal Approach Review data entered, make edits and submit. Conservation Journal submits data to both PRMS and Web TCAS. Conservation Partnership Time could be stored in data warehouse for contributions reports and partnership use such as timekeeping.

Conservation Journal • • • Optional Can enter time and performance Will populate Web TCAS and PRMS Flexible—State and local options Useful by partners

What’s In It for the Partnership? • • • Saves time Improves efficiency New system for time and performance Available anywhere, anytime Management tool for all levels Partners can use it Improves data integrity Validates what we do as an Agency Takes advantage of latest technology

Quarterly Goals - Benefits • Supports field bottom up approach of working with the partners • Provides NRCS and Partners a real-time management tool • Simple and easy web-based software

FY 2002 Performance Goal-setting Input Screen Goals by Conservation Program by Quarter

Completion of the quarterly goal process • Gather resource data – – NRI, AG Census, etc WLA FY amount for county PRMS 2000 and 2001 accomplishments 2001 performance goals (if available) • Develop County Goals • Subdivide goals by applicable program – Use of PRMS Summary report by program • Develop goals by quarter – Use of PRMS Summary report by quarter • Enter Data

CIS – Example of Quarterly Goal Report

Conservation Information System

What is the Conservation Information System? • a tool that provides direct on-line access to relevant information in a useful and navigable format; • timely, accurate, and navigable; • allows management at all levels in the conservation partnership to easily access data for: management, analysis and planning; and • renamed from the Executive Information System to convey usefulness to users at all levels.

The NRCS CIS should accommodate the following user groups: • • • Congress NRCS and District Field Employees Top Management National, Regional, and State Office Employees Conservation Partners General Public (linked to First. Gov)

What is the Conservation Information System? • The Conservation Information System (CIS) is a tool that provides direct on-line access to relevant information in a useful and navigable format. • The CIS is timely, accurate, and navigable. • Allows management at all levels in the conservation partnership to easily access data for: management, analysis and planning

The NRCS CIS should accommodate the following user groups: • • • Congress NRCS and District Field Employees Top Management National, Regional, and State Office Employees Conservation Partners General Public (linked to First. Gov)

CIS Report Examples CIS Standard Report CIS Ad-hoc Report

CIS Report Metadata

Conservation Information System

Goals, Progress, and Performance by County and Affiliation Report Example

Full IAS Component Integration • Development of Web. Farm • Common Data Dictionary • Full Integration of Planning, Managing, Accounting, Reporting

Progression from Data to Knowledge • Integration of Assorted Databases into Web. Farm • Use of Assorted Analytical Tools • On-line Analytical Processing (OLAP) • Customized User Views Through Portal Technology

Example Trending Analysis

In closing. . . “Much has been made of the fact that government management have no “bottom line” of profit and loss by which success can be measured. But bottom line for government does exist. Goals can be set, deadlines established, and output measured. Hard decisions can be made and progress accomplished. The bottom line in government is not profits; it is performance. And it is that bottom line for which we are accountable to the public, the Congress, and the President. ” Alan Campbell, Former Director, U. S. Office of Personnel Management (Quote from “Management” Magazine)

Thank you!