The Department of Commerce Process for
Strategic Planning and Performance Reporting

Management Strategic Framework, Performance Planning, and Reporting at a Glance

Performance Management Process An overall performance management process ensures that performance feedback, accountability, performance results, corrective action, and performance planning occur.

The Department’s Strategic Plan provides a comprehensive vision for fostering the conditions that create jobs; increase the productivity of the American economy; encourage the economic growth that benefits all U.S. industries, workers, and consumers; enhance technological leadership and environmental stewardship; and support market growth strategies. The plan puts forth broad objectives, targets specific outcomes and identifies key challenges. The strategic plan released in FY 2003 can be found at:
http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/DOCSTPLAN.htm.

The Department’s Annual Performance Plan (APP) provides the Department of Commerce’s bureau-specific performance goals and measures that align with the Department’s strategic goals and objectives. These performance goals, are linked with the resource requirements for the past, current, and upcoming fiscal years. The Plan is integrated with the President’s budget submission to Congress. The Department-wide FY 2006 APPs can be found at:
http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/DOCSTPLAN.htm.

This Department’s Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) provides a public accounting of Commerce’s FY 2005 performance results and completes the Department’s performance management process. The Web address of the FY 2005 PAR is: http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/DOCSTPLAN.htm.

The appendices of the FY 2005 PAR provide details of the Department’s performance and explanatory materials supporting the program results. Commerce’s goal structure has three levels. Strategic goals describe outcomes that emerge from the Department’s mission. Each of these goals in turn has outcome goals or objectives that define the results that the bureaus aim to achieve. These are long-term objectives that often involve more than one Department bureau. Within each strategic objective are performance goals tied to specific bureaus that support each outcome goal and provide program-level clarity of purpose. Each has associated indicators and targets to measure the Department’s impact on a continuous basis.

How the Department Selects Its Performance Goals and Measures

Performance goals articulated in the introductory material for each goal in the APP are aimed at achieving one or more strategic outcomes, and convey a sense of how the Department creates value for the American public. Performance measures, depict tangible progress by Commerce program activities towards these goals. Commerce has tailored performance measures to be more outcome-oriented (described in the next section). When considered along with external factors and information provided in program evaluations, these measurements give valuable insight into the performance of Department programs, and are meant to broadly illustrate how Commerce adds value to the U.S. economy. The FY 2005 PAR depicts a top-level, integrated system for managing for results within the Department, and is not an exhaustive treatment of all Department programs and activities. This report must also be read with each Commerce bureau’s own performance results to gain a comprehensive picture of Commerce’s accomplishments in FY 2005. More in-depth performance results for FY 2005 and prior years are available in Appendix A, and other information about the bureaus can be found on individual bureau Web sites. The directory of Web sites is located on the back cover of this report and provides a good foundation for researching additional information.

Performance Validation and Verification

Commerce uses a broad range of performance goals and measures to make reporting useful and reliable. It is imperative to demonstrate that performance measures are backed by accurate and reliable data; valid data are important to support management decisions on a day-to-day basis. The data and the means to validate and verify the measures are also diverse. A general discussion of the Department’s process follows. The APPs of each bureau provide the data validation and verification tables for each measure and describe how the data are validated and verified. They can be found at
http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/DOCSTPLAN.htm.

Currently, the Department reviews its performance validation and verification processes to ensure that the performance data are accurate. These reviews are based on the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) identification of the Department’s strategic planning and performance measurement efforts as a management challenge. Specifically, OIG recommended that the Department continue to improve upon its strategic planning and performance measurement in accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). As a result of this recommendation, Commerce developed a new quarterly performance monitoring process that provides reviews of performance measurement data as well as the measures themselves. Departmental staff review bureau performance data on a quarterly basis. These reviews involve selecting different performance measures each quarter, requiring that the bureaus provide all the data used for determining the actuals for these measures, reviewing the measures for validity, and then making recommendations for improving the measures.

Performance Controls and Procedures

Performance Data: Commerce’s performance measurement data are collected by its 13 bureaus, each with systems to manage their data validation and verification processes. Some of these are automated systems and others are manual processes. The validity of the data is certified by each bureau’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Under Secretary, and can be divided into three types: Financial Data, Data Management Methods, and Data from Manual Processes. The controls and procedures used to validate and verify the data can be found in the validation and verification tables in the FY 2006 APPs at: http://www.osec.doc.gov/bmi/budget/FY2006APP.htm. As of September 30, 2005, Department staff reviewed 20 measures. Some examples include: jobs created or retained (EDA), lead time of tornado warnings (NOAA), and trademark applications filed electronically (USPTO).

Financial Data: As stated above, the Department has a high degree of confidence in its financial data. Normal audit and other financial controls maintain the integrity of these data elements. During the FY 2005 consolidated financial statement audit, tests and reviews of the core accounting system and internal controls were conducted as required by the Chief Financial Officers Act.

Performance Reviews: The Department also conducts quarterly performance reviews. These reviews involve a bureau head (or representative) reporting on the current status of bureau performance, including planned and achieved priorities and accomplishments. They also report on the status of measures that eventually appear at the end of the year in this report.

Future Enhancements to Financial and Performance Information

The Department is continuously making improvements in its financial and performance data, particularly in integrating the information. As demonstrated by its efforts in improving internal processes, Commerce is building on its existing Commerce Business System (CBS) to bring these two data sets together.