U.S. Office of Government Ethics

Strategic Plan 

Fiscal Year 2014 – Fiscal Year 2018

A Message from the Director

I am pleased to present the Strategic Plan of the U.S. Office of Government Ethics 

(OGE) for fiscal years 2014 through 2018. OGE fulfills the vital governmental needs of 

preventing conflicts of interest in the federal executive branch, endeavoring to foster ethical 

cultures in federal agencies, promoting transparency and ensuring that the public can have 

confidence in the impartiality of executive branch officials.

With oversight provided by OGE, more than 5,000 federal ethics officials carry out these 

critical functions in over 130 agencies across the executive branch. These dedicated 

professionals, who make up our vibrant government ethics community, bring to life the world’s 

most rigorous ethics program. Fundamental to their efforts is a shared belief that public service 

is a public trust. The Strategic Plan reflects OGE’s continued commitment to that shared belief 

and to an executive branch ethics program that is part of the very foundation of public service. 

An academic once characterized the mission of the government ethics program as being

“ethics in action.” Consistent with that view, the Strategic Plan highlights OGE’s efforts to 

transform ethical aspirations into practical realities. It focuses on the following three strategic 

goals and describes in practical terms the work that OGE has planned to achieve these goals: 

Uniformity

• Advance a strong, uniform executive branch ethics program by interpreting and 

advising on ethics laws, policies, and program management; holding executive branch

agencies accountable for carrying out an effective ethics program; contributing to the 

professional development of ethics officials; and modernizing and implementing the 

ethics rules and regulations.

Continuity

• Contribute to the continuity of senior leadership in the executive branch by providing 

assistance to the President and the Senate in the Senate confirmation process, 

promoting leadership support of the executive branch ethics program, and supporting 

succession planning in the executive branch ethics program. 

Transparency 

• Promote transparency of the executive branch ethics program by raising the visibility

of both the executive branch ethics program and the U.S. Office of Government 

Ethics, and by ensuring that ethics information is publicly available. 

In developing practical approaches for achieving these goals, OGE actively consulted 

with key stakeholders both inside and outside the government. The input of these stakeholders 

was invaluable in clarifying OGE’s understanding of the ethics mission, the program’s effect on 

the executive branch, and the direction in which OGE should lead the ethics community. The 

Vision: To achieve a high level of public confidence in the integrity of 

executive branch programs and operations. 

Part I - Mission 

 The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE), established by the Ethics in Government 

Act of 1978, provides overall leadership and oversight of the executive branch ethics program 

designed to prevent and resolve conflicts of interest.

Part II - Organizational Structure 

 The section below describes OGE’s organizational structure and its relationship with the 

executive branch ethics community. 

Office of Government Ethics 

OGE’s greatest resource is its multi-disciplinary staff of attorneys, ethics and financial 

experts, and support personnel. OGE is a lean organization, with approximately 80 full-time 

equivalents (FTEs). OGE is led by a Director who is appointed to a five-year term by the 

President. As shown in the organizational chart below, in addition to the Office of the Director, 

OGE is divided into four divisions that work in 

concert to carry out OGE's mission. Appendix I 

contains a detailed description of each OGE division 

and branch. 

OGE and the Executive Branch Ethics Community 

 OGE sets policy for the entire executive 

branch ethics program while the head of each agency 

has primary responsibility for implementation of the 

ethics program in that agency. To support the day-to-day activities of the ethics program, each 

agency head appoints individuals to serve as the agency's 

Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) and Alternate 

Designated Agency Ethics Official (ADAEO). Depending on the 

size of the agency, there may be additional professional ethics 

staff that supports the ethics program. Approximately 5,600 fulltime and part-time ethics officials work in the executive branch 

to provide all executive branch employees assistance in detecting 

and resolving potential conflicts of interest. 

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Part III - Strategic Goals and Objectives

 To develop the Strategic Plan, OGE consulted with and sought feedback from Congress, 

executive branch ethics officials, public citizens, and government watchdog groups. The current 

Plan reflects feedback provided to OGE by these external stakeholders. 

OGE’s Strategic Plan is structured around three strategic goals, nine strategic objectives, 

and two management objectives. 

Strategic Goalsi

OGE’s three strategic goals are (1) uniformity, (2) continuity, and (3) transparency.

They reflect the broad, long-term outcomes OGE aspires to achieve in order to fulfill its mission

of preventing conflicts of interest and its vision of achieving a high level of public confidence in 

the integrity of executive branch programs and operations. 

Strategic Objectivesii

The nine strategic objectives represent 

OGE’s key functions and express the path OGE will 

take towards achieving each of the three strategic 

goals. 

Management Objectivesiii

The two management objectives represent

OGE’s management priorities and directly support 

achievement of OGE’s mission. 

The figure above illustrates the basic framework of OGE’s plan for achieving its 

mission. 

 The section below describes each strategic goal and its underlying strategic objectives, as 

well as OGE’s management objectives. Each description explains how the strategic goal and 

underlying objectives contribute to OGE achieving its mission as well as the key activities that 

support achievement of each strategic objective. 

Figure 3

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Strategic Goal #1: Advance a strong uniform executive branch ethics program 

 The public can trust the integrity of agency programs and operations because a strong 

uniform ethics program is in place to detect and resolve potential conflicts of interest. 

 To advance a strong uniform executive branch ethics program, OGE focuses on the 

following four areas: (1) Laws and Regulations, 

(2) Advice and Guidance, (3) Education and 

Training, and (4) Oversight. 

Maintaining a legal framework for ethics 

in the executive branch ensures that all 

executive branch employees are held to the same 

standards. Providing executive branch agencies

with guidance and individual support ensures 

that ethics officials are aware of how the ethics laws and regulations should be interpreted. 

Providing professional development through education and training opportunities ensures that 

ethics officials have the knowledge and skills necessary to apply the ethics laws and regulations. 

Conducting oversight and monitoring activities ensures that agency ethics programs are held 

accountable. These four areas combined contribute toward maintaining and improving the 

uniformity and overall effectiveness of the executive branch ethics program. 

 OGE prioritizes work within each area by continuously conducting outreach to the ethics 

community and analyzing multiple data sources. This approach ensures that OGE allocates its 

resources according to areas with the greatest demand and need for additional guidance, training, 

or oversight. 

The following four strategic objectives directly support Strategic Goal #1: 

Strategic Objective 1.1: 

Interpret and advise on 

ethics laws, policies, and 

program management 

OGE interprets and advises on ethics laws, rules, 

policies, and program management to promote consistent 

interpretation and application across the executive branch. To 

effectively carry out the duties of their positions, ethics 

officials need timely access to the most up-to-date ethics 

guidance that enables them to provide accurate guidance to 

employees. OGE will continue to develop and publish 

comprehensive written guidance. To fulfill this need, OGE 

works to ensure that its policies are sound and practicable and 

that the guidance it develops to implement these policies is 

understandable, clearly communicated, and disseminated 

widely. 

 

Laws and 

Regulations

Advice and 

Guidance

Education 

and 

Training

Oversight

Figure 4

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OGE will also continue to provide on-demand support 

to agency ethics officials through its Desk Officer program. 

Desk Officers provide agency ethics officials with instant 

access to expert advice in applying the ethics laws and 

regulations. This advice, in turn, enables ethics officials to 

better serve the employees of their own agencies. 

 To strengthen OGE’s relationship with the ethics 

community and to further ensure that ethics officials have 

access to the most up-to-date ethics information, OGE will 

continue to expand its communication and outreach efforts 

with the ethics community.

Strategic Objective 1.2: 

Hold executive branch 

agencies accountable for 

carrying out an effective 

ethics program

 

OGE holds agencies accountable for carrying out an 

effective and compliant ethics programs through its oversight 

and monitoring activities. Oversight and monitoring allow 

OGE to mitigate program vulnerabilities in specific agencies, 

identify executive branch-wide trends, and disseminate model 

practices.

 

OGE will continue to evaluate agency ethics programs

through onsite reviews; collect and analyze annual reports 

about program administration from agencies; review annual, 

periodic transaction, and termination financial disclosure 

reports of senior government officials; monitor senior 

government officials’ compliance with ethics agreements; and

support the work of inspectors general and prosecutors. 

Strategic Objective 1.3: 

Contribute to the 

professional development 

of ethics officials 

 

OGE contributes to the professional development of 

ethics officials so that executive branch employees can have 

confidence in the counsel they receive from these officials. 

Executive branch employees rely on ethics officials in their 

agencies to assist in the detection and avoidance of potential 

conflicts of interests. Therefore, OGE focuses on providing 

ethics officials with opportunities to attain the knowledge and 

skills necessary to successfully carry out the duties of their 

positions. 

 To expand the number of ethics officials with access 

to professional development opportunities, OGE will continue 

to provide training using cost effective methods of delivery 

such as distance learning technologies and large ethics 

education symposia hosted in government facilities. These 

events also provide opportunities for ethics officials to 

collaborate and learn from one another. To increase 

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consistency and decrease duplication of effort, OGE will also 

focus on developing products ethics officials can incorporate 

into their ethics programs and providing opportunities for 

ethics officials to share products they have created with one 

another. 

Strategic Objective 1.4: 

Modernize and 

implement the ethics 

rules and regulations

Ethics rules and regulations serve as the building 

blocks of the executive branch ethics program. Based on its 

more than three decades of practical experience, OGE will 

make targeted revisions to the ethics rules and regulations to 

ensure their continued effectiveness and applicability to 

situations faced by employees in a 21st century government.

As part of the process, OGE will solicit feedback and 

involvement from the ethics community.

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Strategic Goal #2: Contribute to the continuity of senior leadership in the executive 

branch

 OGE contributes to the continuity of senior leadership in the executive branch by 

assisting with the President’s constitutional duty to nominate and appoint officers to the 

executive branch. OGE uses the nomination process as an opportunity to ensure that incoming 

leaders are free of conflicts of interests. Because agency leaders play a significant role in 

fostering an ethical culture, OGE promotes leadership support of the executive branch ethics 

program by imparting to incoming leaders the importance of the ethics program and each

leader’s role in supporting the program. OGE also supports succession planning efforts in 

executive branch ethics programs. Succession planning is vital to mitigating the loss of expertise 

resulting from the retirement of senior executive branch officials. 

The following three strategic objectives directly support Strategic Goal #2: 

Strategic Objective 2.1: 

Provide assistance to the 

President and the Senate 

in the Presidential 

Appointment Process

OGE provides assistance to the President and the 

Senate in the Presidential appointment process. Working with 

the White House and executive branch agencies, OGE will 

continue to provide assistance by reviewing the financial 

interests of Presidentially appointed, Senate-confirmed 

nominees for possible conflicts of interest with their 

prospective duties. When such conflicts are found, OGE will 

identify remedies to resolve them so that the President’s 

appointees can carry out their duties free from those conflicts. 

 In response to a Congressional mandate in the Stop 

Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012, OGE will 

develop an executive branch-wide electronic filing system for 

public financial disclosure, which will streamline the process 

and reduce the reporting burden for filers.

Strategic Objective 2.2: 

Promote leadership 

support of the executive 

branch ethics program

OGE promotes leadership support of the executive 

branch ethics program. OGE realizes that the success of each 

agency’s ethics program is, in part, dependent on the 

commitment of the agency’s leadership to, and involvement 

in, the ethics program. Therefore, OGE will leverage existing 

opportunities such as the nominee and program review 

processes to highlight the importance of the ethics program. 

OGE will also work with agency ethics officials to identify 

steps OGE can take to provide assistance in gaining 

leadership support for individual agency’s ethics programs. 

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Strategic Objective 2.3: 

Support succession 

planning in executive 

branch ethics programs 

 

OGE supports succession planning in executive 

branch ethics programs to minimize the impact of employees 

leaving the workforce. Succession planning requires the 

documentation of current processes, transfer of institutional 

knowledge, and availability of personnel prepared to assume 

ethics official positions at all levels.

 To support succession planning in the executive 

branch ethics program, OGE will focus on providing training 

to less experienced ethics officials and leveraging the 

expertise of experienced ethics officials. OGE will reach 

ethics officials with less experience by offering an intensive 

and comprehensive curriculum of courses specifically 

designed for new ethics officials. In addition, OGE will train 

ethics officials with more experience to deliver OGEdeveloped ethics courses in their own agencies. In addition to 

providing training, OGE will encourage agencies to create 

and maintain standard operating procedures for current 

processes. 

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Strategic Goal #3: Promote transparency of the executive branch ethics program 

OGE promotes transparency of the executive branch ethics program. Transparency 

increases accountability and provides information to citizens about the inner workings of 

government and its decision-making processes. In support of the President’s commitment to the 

principle of an open government, OGE will direct resources toward raising the visibility of the 

systems in place to detect and resolve conflicts of interest and making ethics documents publicly 

available. 

The following two strategic objectives directly support Strategic Goal #3: 

Strategic Objective 3.1: 

Raise the visibility of the 

executive branch ethics 

program and the Office 

of Government Ethics 

Strategic Objective 3.2: 

Ensure that ethics 

information is publicly 

available 

Raising the visibility of the executive branch ethics 

program and of OGE are critical steps toward building 

awareness of the systems in place to protect the integrity of 

government operations and programs. 

To raise the visibility of the executive branch ethics 

program, OGE will conduct outreach with stakeholders both 

within and outside the Federal government. OGE will pursue 

strategic communication strategies that educate, engage, and 

encourage collaboration with external stakeholders. To

conduct outreach, OGE will rely on traditional 

communication methods, such as speaking engagements, but 

will also increasingly refine its use of digital and social 

media. 

 Ensuring that ethics information is publicly available

assures the American public that senior leaders are making 

decisions based on the interests of the public rather than their 

own personal financial interests. Ethics information includes 

public financial disclosure reports, program review reports on 

agency ethics programs, and written policy guidance. The 

availability of this information also assists executive branch 

employees in understanding the basic obligations of public 

service, holds OGE accountable for its activities, and supports 

ethics officials in carrying out the duties of their positions. 

OGE will continue to ensure that ethics information is 

publicly available. OGE will direct its efforts toward posting 

documents timely and making them easy to access and locate.

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MANAGEMENT OBJECTIVES 

The following two management objectives directly support OGE in achieving its mission: 

Management Objective 

4.1: 

Promote professional 

development 

opportunities aimed at 

building OGE 

employees’ knowledge, 

skills, and abilities 

The executive branch ethics community relies on OGE 

to provide timely, accurate, and useful services and products 

to assist in the daily management of its ethics programs. OGE 

is committed to continuously improving these services and 

products. In furtherance of this commitment, OGE will 

continue its Employee Development Program, which provides 

time, resources, and organizational support to enhance the 

professional development and expertise of OGE staff. 

Drawing on OGE’s experience and internal talent, this

program will improve upon the high quality of services and 

products provided by the agency.

Management Objective 

4.2: 

Transform the way OGE 

conducts business 

through process 

improvement 

 OGE strives for excellence by continuously reviewing 

and refining its strategies for achieving its mission. In an 

effort to work smarter, OGE will study its processes and 

procedures for programs that both support the ethics 

community and OGE’s internal operations (Privacy, IT 

Security, Records Management, etc.). OGE is also committed 

to equal employment (EEO) and will focus specifically on 

continuous enhancement of its EEO program. OGE will aim 

to improve its overall effectiveness and will look for ways to 

streamline and standardize without affecting the integrity of 

the program. OGE will formalize policies and procedures in 

writing.

 

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Part IV - External Factors 

OGE’s Strategic Plan establishes a framework for OGE to use when developing planned 

work to carry out its mission over the next five years. The Plan assumes adequate levels of fiscal 

and human resources. From experience, OGE knows that the agency will face certain external 

factors and, to the extent possible, has factored those into the Plan. One particular external factor 

OGE is prepared to face during the next five years is a Presidential transition. 

 In fiscal year 2017, OGE will carry out one of its most crucial roles; supporting the 

transition to a new Administration during a Presidential election year. During a transition from 

one Presidential Administration to the next, OGE experiences a particularly large and varied 

workload, requiring it to shift its resources to support the Administration in the Senate 

confirmation process. 

As a result, during times of transition, OGE must balance the immediate needs of the new 

Administration and matters not directly related to the transition. OGE has successfully navigated 

this challenge and other external factors in the past, and is confident that the executive branch 

ethics program will remain strong in light of any other external factors OGE may face during the 

next five years. 

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APPENDIX I: Organizational Structure

Office of the Director

The Office of the Director provides overall 

direction to the executive branch ethics 

program and is responsible for ensuring that 

OGE fulfills its congressional and 

Presidential mandates. The Director is 

appointed to a five-year term by the 

President and is confirmed by the Senate.

The Director is a member of the Council of 

Inspectors General for Integrity and 

Efficiency (CIGIE) and the Integrity 

Committee of the CIGIE, which reviews 

allegations of misconduct against inspectors 

general. The Director also serves as a 

member of the Administrative Conference 

of the United States.

General Counsel and Legal Policy 

Division

The General Counsel and Legal Policy 

Division (GCLPD) is responsible for 

(1) establishing and maintaining a legal 

framework for the executive branch ethics 

program, and (2) providing assistance to the 

President and Senate in the Presidential 

appointment process. 

Ethics Law and Policy Branch 

The Ethics Law and Policy Branch (ELPB)

develops, drafts, and issues all executive 

branch ethics regulations. ELPB also 

reviews agency specific regulations 

supplementing executive branch ethical 

standards. When appropriate, ELPB drafts 

recommendations for changes in the 

conflicts of interest and ethics statutes. 

ELPB sets forth executive branch-wide 

policy and interpretive guidance of the 

executive branch ethics laws and 

regulations. To promote consistent 

interpretation and application of the ethics 

laws, regulations, and policy guidance 

across the entire executive branch, ELPB 

publishes written guidance in the form of 

Legal Advisories. 

Presidential Nominations Branch 

The Presidential Nominations Branch (PNB) 

works closely with the White House and 

agency ethics officials to help prospective 

Presidential nominees to Senate-confirmed 

positions comply with the extensive 

financial disclosure requirements of the 

Ethics in Government Act. PNB carefully 

evaluates the nominee’s financial disclosure 

report and works with the agency ethics 

official to prepare an individualized ethics 

agreement to avoid and resolve potential 

conflicts of interest before the nominee 

enters government service. 

Program Counsel Division 

The Program Counsel Division (PCD) is 

responsible for (1) coordinating and 

conducting outreach between OGE and its

many stakeholders such as Congress, OMB, 

government watchdog groups, and the 

public; (2) developing and providing 

training to agency ethics officials; 

(3) carrying out initiatives that reach across 

executive branch agencies such as e-filing; 

(4) providing agency-specific legal support 

to OGE; (5) managing OGE’s budget, 

performance, and legislative affairs

programs; and (6) supporting agency ethics 

officials, through its Desk Officer program, 

in carrying out the executive branch ethics 

program. 

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Legal, External Affairs and Performance 

Branch 

The Legal, External Affairs, and 

Performance Branch (LEAP) supports OGE 

through a range of cross-cutting 

programmatic responsibilities. 

LEAP provides agency specific legal 

support to OGE. LEAP manages OGE’s 

strategic initiatives including efiling, 

performance management, budget, 

communications, and legislative affairs

programs. LEAP serves as OGE’s liaison to 

the Federal Register and the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs within 

the Office of Management and Budget and

oversees OGE’s Freedom of Information 

Act, Privacy Act, and Records Management 

programs. 

LEAP also develops and provides

substantive training to agency ethics 

officials and OGE staff to help them attain 

the knowledge and skills necessary to carry 

out the duties of their position. 

Agency Assistance Branch 

The Agency Assistance Branch (AAB) 

provides vital services and support to agency 

ethics officials throughout the executive 

branch. Through its Desk Officer program, 

AAB provides timely and accurate advice to 

ethics officials in response to questions 

regarding unique or emerging ethics-related 

issues. In addition to responding to requests 

for advice, AAB Desk Officers actively 

reach out the ethics community to address 

issues and challenges that are of common 

interest in order to arrive at and share 

collaborative solutions. 

Compliance Division

The Compliance Division (CD) is 

responsible for (1) managing elements of the 

public financial disclosure program; and 

(2) monitoring and reviewing agency ethics 

programs to ensure compliance with 

applicable ethics requirements established 

by statutes, rules, regulations, and Executive 

Orders. 

Financial Disclosure Branch (FDB) 

The Financial Disclosure Branch (FDB) 

ensures executive branch leaders who have 

been appointed by the President and 

confirmed by the Senate, as well as 

Designated Agency Ethics Officials 

(DAEOS), remain free of conflicts of 

interest after they take office by collecting 

and analyzing their annual, termination, and 

periodic transaction public financial 

disclosure reports. FDB reviews each report 

to ensure completeness and to resolve 

potential conflicts of interest. In addition to 

reviewing these reports, FDB posts reports 

to OGE’s website. 

FDB also monitors compliance with ethics 

agreements made by Presidential Appointees 

during their Senate confirmation process to 

ensure commitments made to resolve 

potential conflicts of interests are timely met 

and appropriately resolved.

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Program Review Branch (PRB)

The Program Review Branch (PRB) 

exercises oversight of the executive branch 

ethics program through onsite monitoring of 

agency ethics programs. PRB’s oversight 

activities are designed to mitigate program 

vulnerabilities and disseminate model 

practices. PRB conducts onsite monitoring 

through plenary reviews and inspections. 

Plenary reviews comprehensively address all 

program elements while inspections provide 

a snapshot of the quality of an agency’s 

implementation of selected core ethics 

program elements. PRB summarizes its 

findings and issues recommendations for 

improvement in written reports. 

Internal Operations Division (IOD) 

The Internal Operations Division (IOD) is 

responsible for supporting OGE’s internal 

operations. IOD oversees the following 

functions that support OGE: (1) information 

technology, (2) procurement, (3) payroll, 

(4) facilities and property management, 

(5) travel, and (6) human resources 

management.

 

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APPENDIX II: Key Performance Goals 

The chart below provides OGE’s 20 key performance goals for fiscal years 2014-2018. For more 

information on OGE’s annual performance targets, see OGE’s Annual Performance Plan.

 

Strategic Goal #1: Advance a strong uniform executive branch ethics program.

Strategic Objectives Performance Goals

Strategic Objective 1.1 

Legal and Program Advisories help ethics 

officials perform their job duties.

Ethics officials believe OGE timely addresses 

new ethics issues.

OGE Desk Officer assistance helps ethics 

officials perform their job duties.

Strategic Objective 1.2

Public financial disclosure reports (annual, 

termination, and transaction) required to be 

submitted to OGE are closed within 

established time frames.

Agencies subject to program review implement 

recommendations for improvements and 

acknowledge the identification of broader 

systemic weaknesses by OGE. 

Compliance with ethics agreements occurs 

within the established time frame.

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Strategic Objective 1.3 

Ethics officials use training products made 

available by OGE.

After participating in an OGE training event 

offered through the Institute for Ethics in 

Government, ethics officials better understand 

the subject matter presented.

After participating in an OGE training event 

offered through the Institute for Ethics in 

Government, ethics officials believe they can 

more effectively perform their job functions. 

Strategic Objective 1.4

Milestone: efiling system has capacity to 

process financial disclosure reports. 

Milestone: Draft revisions to Subparts B and F 

of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for 

Executive Branch Employees.

Milestone: Submit revisions to Subparts B and 

F of the Standards of Ethical Conduct for 

Executive Branch Employees to the 

Department of Justice and the Office of 

Personnel Management. 

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Strategic Goal #2: Contribute to the continuity of senior leadership in the executive branch.

Strategic Objectives Performance Goals

Strategic Objective 2.1

Identifiable substantive conflicts of interest of 

Presidential nominees for Senate-confirmed 

appointments are successfully resolved by 

ethics agreements no later than five days after 

nomination. 

OGE successfully resolves technical reporting 

issues in the financial disclosure reports of 

Presidential nominees for Senate-confirmed 

appointments no later than five days after 

nomination. 

Strategic Objective 2.2 Agency leaders demonstrate support of the 

ethics program. 

Strategic Objective 2.3 

Ethics officials increase their confidence level 

in one or more skill areas after attending 

OGE’s Intensive Curriculum in Ethics. 

Strategic Goal #3: Promote transparency of the executive branch ethics program

Strategic Objectives Performance Goals

Strategic Objective 3.1

Increase the number of external stakeholders 

that are aware of OGE and the executive 

branch ethics program.

Strategic Objective 3.2 Ethics documents are posted online within 

established time frames.

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Management Objectives Performance Goals

Management Objective 4.1 OGE employees participating in the Employee 

Development Program increase their 

confidence level in one or more skill areas. 

Management Objective 4.2 Create or revise standard operating procedures 

for key agency programs. 

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APPENDIX III: Evaluation and Research

 OGE has long understood the importance of using evidence and evaluation to measure 

the effectiveness of both the executive branch ethics program and OGE’s mission activities in 

support of the executive branch ethics program. Historically, OGE has used evidence gathered 

through direct feedback from executive branch agency ethics officials and other audiences in 

written and verbal form. OGE uses all of its mission activities as opportunities to evaluate its 

effectiveness, including: 

• Surveying ethics officials annually to assess their satisfaction with OGE’s guidance, 

training, and overall efforts; 

• Evaluating agency ethics program compliance by gathering information from each 

agency, such as the number of financial disclosure reports filed at an agency, the number 

of Department of Justice prosecutions or Inspector General referrals made on ethicsrelated issues, and the number of disciplinary actions taken on ethics-related charges; 

• Collecting written evaluations from participants after OGE’s training events to ensure 

that training is effective and useful; 

• Surveying annually executive branch ethics officials regarding compliance with the 

Ethics Pledge, as required by the President’s Executive Order on Ethics (E.O. 13490); 

• Utilizing agency ethics program reviews to obtain valuable feedback from agency ethics 

officials about OGE’s programs and support; 

• Utilizing internal applications, such as OGE’s Agency Information Management System, 

that track requests for guidance from agency ethics officials and the public; and 

• Utilizing metrics gathered from the OGE website.

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i A statement of aim or purpose that is included in a Strategic Plan. Strategic goals articulate clear statements of 

what the agency wants to achieve to advance its mission and address relevant national problems, needs, challenges 

and opportunities. These outcome-oriented strategic goals and supporting activities should further the agency’s 

mission. OMB Circular A-11 (Section 200.20 (2012)). ii Strategic objectives break down broader strategic goals to express more specifically the path an agency plans to 

follow to achieve or make progress on the broader strategic goal. Each objective is tracked through a suite of 

performance goals and other indicators. Performance goals should facilitate prioritization and assessment for 

planning, management, reporting, and evaluation purposes. Agencies should use strategic objectives to help decide 

which indicators are most valuable to provide leading and lagging information, monitor agency operations, show 

how employees contribute to the organization’s mission, determine program evaluations needed, communicate 

agency progress, and consider the impact of external factors on the agency’s progress. Agency strategic objectives 

should be comprehensive of all agency activity and are generally outcome-oriented. OMB Circular A-11 Section 

200.20 (2012). iii An agency’s strategic objectives may focus on management functions critical to the success of the strategic goal 

(e.g., a major IT project that is essential to overall progress or new skills training essential to delivery of the 

mission). In general, strategic objectives will directly support a strategic goal. OMB Circular A-11 Section 200.20

(2012). Management Objectives: Agencies are encouraged to establish management-focused objectives that reflect 

key priorities of the agency. OMB MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES MEMORANDUM NO. 2013-01

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