Performance Measures

Office of Gulf Coast Restoration

U.S. Department of the Treasury

December 2017

Direct Component Grants 

RESTORE Act
Outline

Why measure project performance?

Best practices for designing performance measures

Performance measures vs. project milestones

List of recommended performance measures

5. Tips and suggestions

4.

3.

2.

1.

1
It’s Required:

2

Why measure project performance?

• Performance measures and reporting are required by the OMB 

Uniform Guidance at 2 C.F.R. 200.301

The recipient’s performance should be measured in a way that will help 

the Federal awarding agency and other non-Federal entities to improve 

project outcomes, share lessons learned, and spread the adoption of 

promising practices. (2 C.F.R. 200.301 in relevant part)

• Performance reporting with associated performance measures are 

required by 2 C.F.R. 200.328

• Direct Component and Centers of Excellence Research grant 

recipients must report on progress every six months
4 benefits of measuring project performance:

3

Why measure project performance?

1. Determining whether the project achieved its objectives

2. Allowing adaptive management of the project

3. Reporting on the aggregate benefit of multiple Deepwater 

Horizon-funded projects

4. Informing future projects in the Gulf Coast region and beyond
Grantees must submit the following reports at the time of application 

and every six months:

4

Reporting on project performance

• Performance Progress Report (SF-PPR)

• RESTORE Act Status of Performance Report

• RESTORE Act Milestones Report
Status of Performance Report

5
• Specific – indicate exactly what result is expected

• Measureable – intended result is something that can be measured

• Attainable – target is reasonably achievable

• Results-Oriented – measures an end or intermediate outcome

• Time-Bound – sets a specific time frame for the results to be produced

6

Designing performance measures

SMART Performance Measures: 
What makes a good performance measure for 

a Direct Component grant project?

7

Based on the project’s objective, which relates to the eligible activity

Represented numerically

Can be applied to many projects, if possible

Is not a milestone
Performance measures ≠ milestones

Milestones demonstrate progress in completing the activities or tasks 

described in the project’s scope of work

8

Performance measures demonstrate progress towards reaching the 

project’s objectives

• Based on the objective of the project, which relates back to the eligible activity

• Measureable

• Reported on in the Status of Performance Report 

• Based on the project’s scope of work

• Discrete tasks that can be completed

• Reported on in the Milestones Report
Example: planning & infrastructure project

Project activity: planning and constructing a dock

Eligible activities: infrastructure projects benefitting the economy or 

ecological resources, including port infrastructure; planning 

assistance

Objective: to increase dock capacity

• Complete engineering, design, and 

permitting

• Advertise for and select a contractor

• Begin construction

• Complete construction

• Number of planning deliverables 

completed

• Number of vessels that can be docked

Milestones Performance Measures

9
Status of Performance Report

6 2 # vessels that can be 5/2020

docked

10 20 0 0

To increase dock capacity for recreational boaters

Dock Improvement Project

Sept 30

8 1 # planning deliverables 9/2018

completed

0 2 1 1

May be delayed by recent hurricanes 

One design plan has been completed. One permit 

application will be submitted summer 2018. 

10
Status of Performance Report

6 2 # vessels that can be 5/2020

docked

10 20 0 0

To increase dock capacity for recreational boaters

Dock Improvement Project

Sept 30

8 1 # planning deliverables 9/2018

completed

0 2 1 1

May be delayed by recent hurricanes 

One design plan has been completed. One permit 

application will be submitted summer 2018. 

11

SMART Criteria: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Oriented, Time-Bound 
Example: habitat restoration project

Project activity: creating marsh habitat with dredged material

Eligible activity: restoration and protection of the natural resources, 

ecosystems, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, beaches and 

coastal wetlands of the Gulf Coast Region

Objective: to restore 10 acres of marsh habitat

• Number of acres restored

• Stem density of marsh plants

• Percent cover of vegetation

• Marsh elevation

Milestones Performance Measures

• Construct a berm

• Place fill material

• Plant native vegetation

• Complete monitoring of pre- and postconstruction activities

12

Monitored 1 year and 

2 years after project 

completion
Example: workforce development project

Project activity: training individuals to work in the trucking industry

Eligible activity: workforce development and job creation

Objective: to increase the number of individuals qualified to work in 

and employed by the trucking industry

• Complete curriculum 

development

• Advertise and recruit participants

• Conduct training classes

• Conduct post-project monitoring 

activities

• Number of individuals trained for 

workforce

• Number of industry certifications received

• Percent of graduates employed in industry 

6 months after training completed

Milestones Performance Measures

13
Recommended performance measures

14

• Based, in part, on performance measures used by the 

Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council and National 

Fish and Wildlife Foundation

• Recipients are encouraged, but not required, to select 

measures from the list

Examples: - Total number of acres restored

- Number of jobs created

- Number of recreational fishers

- Number of monitoring events

- Number of miles of road constructed

- Number of visitors

OGCR has developed a list of ~70 performance measures that 

may be applicable to Direct Component grant projects.
Tips and suggestions

15

• Quality over quantity: fewer, meaningful measures are better than 

more, less-meaningful measures

• Base performance measures on the project objective

• Differentiate between performance measures and project milestones, 

and report each on the appropriate form

• Use performance measures from the recommended list, when 

applicable

• Make sure performance measures can be represented numerically and 

check that the target and baseline values are in the same units
16

Should relate to the 

true purpose of the 

project.

Should relate to the project goal and 

should be different from the 

milestones.

Should both be numbers 

and have the same units

Status of Performance Report
Tips and suggestions

17

• Think about the project objectives and performance measures early in the 

planning process, preferably at the MYP stage

• Not all information needs be known at the time of application 

• Target value may be determined by planning activities included in the 

project

• Baseline value may be determined by monitoring activities included in the 

project

• Project monitoring:

• Consider monitoring needs during the early stages of project development

• Monitoring costs can be included in the project budget
Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Trustees. Final Programmatic Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan and Final Programmatic 

Environmental Impact Statement. Chapter 5 “Restoring Natural Resources,” Appendix E, “Monitoring and Adaptive Management Framework,” 

Pg. 5-366 – 5-405. February 2016. http://www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/wp-content/uploads/Chapter-5_RestoringNatural-Resources_508.pdf.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Effective Monitoring to Evaluate Ecological Restoration in the Gulf of 

Mexico. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/23476.

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council. DRAFT Interim Guidance Observational Data Plan. https://www.restorethegulf.gov/gcercgrants-office/gcerc-grants-resources. 

Project monitoring

Pre- and post- project monitoring both may be necessary, depending 

on the nature of the project and its objectives.

18

Pre-project monitoring may be necessary to determine the baseline

Post-project monitoring may be necessary to determine the project’s success 

in achieving its objectives

Project Monitoring Resources:
Questions?

restoreact@treasury.gov

19