Data-driven performance reviews are regularly scheduled, structured meetings used by organizational leaders and managers to review and analyze data on progress toward key performance goals and other management-improvement priorities. They are generally used to target areas where leaders want to achieve near-term performance improvements, or to accelerate progress through focused senior leadership attention. Over the past several years, Congress and the executive branch have taken steps to improve federal performance management by requiring that agencies conduct regular data-driven review meetings. In 2010, OMB released a memorandum establishing the expectation that federal agencies would hold data-driven reviews at least once every quarter to review progress on their priority goals and assure that follow-up steps would be taken to achieve improved outcomes. The memorandum specified that discussions during these meetings were to be guided by analyses of performance data, to focus on progress toward desired outcomes, to explore why variations between targets and actual outcomes occurred, and to prompt adjustments when needed. Congress, through the passage of GPRAMA, made the expectation that agencies would hold regular data-driven reviews a statutory requirement. Specifically, GPRAMA requires that, not less than quarterly, the head of each agency and COO, with the support of the PIO, should review progress on agency priority goals (see text box). GPRAMA Requirement for Quarterly Priority Progress Reviews GPRAMA requires that, not less than quarterly, at all agencies required to develop agency priority goals, the head of the agency and Chief Operating Officer, with the support of the agency Performance Improvement Officer, shall: For each agency priority goal, review with the appropriate goal leader the progress achieved during the most recent quarter, overall trends, and the likelihood of meeting the planned level of performance; Coordinate with relevant personnel within and outside the agency that contribute to the accomplishment of each agency priority goal; Assess whether relevant organizations, program activities, regulations, policies, and other activities are contributing as planned to the agency priority goals; Categorize agency priority goals by risk of not achieving the planned level of performance; and For agency priority goals at greatest risk of not meeting the planned level of performance, identify prospects and strategies for performance improvement, including any needed changes to agency program activities, regulations, policies, or other activities. While GPRAMA established requirements for agencies to conduct the reviews, GPRAMA also required that OMB prepare guidance on the implementation of GPRAMA. In 2011, OMB released guidance for federal agencies that reinforced the requirements in GPRAMA, specified that the reviews should be held in person, and outlined the specific purposes of the data-driven review meetings, the roles and responsibilities of agency leaders involved in the review process, and how the reviews should be conducted. In 2012, OMB released updated guidance for data-driven reviews.throughout this report. GAO-13-228. and federal level who shared their experiences and lessons learned.These practices, along with additional insights on why the application of these practices is important, are noted and summarized throughout this report. Nine Leading Practices Identified by GAO That Can Be Used to Promote Successful Data-Driven Performance Reviews Reviews are conducted frequently and regularly. Leaders use data-driven reviews as a leadership strategy to drive performance improvement. Key players attend reviews to facilitate problem solving. Rigorous preparations enable meaningful performance discussions. There is capacity to collect accurate, useful, and timely performance data. Staff have skills to analyze and clearly communicate complex data for decision making. Reviews ensure alignment between goals, program activities, and resources. Leaders hold managers accountable for diagnosing performance problems and identifying strategies for improvement. Participants engage in rigorous and sustained follow-up on issues identified during reviews. Taken together, the GPRAMA requirements, OMB guidance, and leading practices identify the elements necessary to carry out effective data- driven reviews: (1) those that are used to engage agency leaders in the rigorous assessment of agency performance; (2) support faster and better informed responses to identified performance problems; (3) improve communication and collaboration across an agency; and (4) enhance individual and collective accountability for improving progress toward agency goals. GPRAMA Requirement: Quarterly Reviews GPRAMA requires that agency leaders conduct reviews on progress toward agency priority goals (APGs) not less than quarterly. OMB Guidance: Quarterly Reviews OMB guidance directs agency leaders to run data-driven performance reviews on each of their APGs at least quarterly. This guidance also stresses that reviews should be conducted in person, as significant experience in federal agencies, states, localities, and other countries demonstrates that in-person engagement of senior leaders greatly accelerates learning and performance improvement. Leading Practice for Data-Driven Reviews: Frequency and Regularity Data-driven review meetings should be frequent and regularly scheduled. Data-driven performance review meetings that are held frequently and regularly help foster a culture of active and ongoing performance management, problem solving, and continuous improvement. As OMB has noted, the purpose of conducting performance reviews at least quarterly is to ensure that agency leaders regularly review agency performance on top priorities, along with the short- and long-term actions agencies are taking to improve performance, and bring together the people, resources, and analysis needed to drive progress on priority goals. Of the 23 CFO Act agencies surveyed, 20 agencies reported that they hold data-driven review meetings at least quarterly, with some agencies holding them more frequently. See table 2 for a summary of the frequency with which each agency holds in-person review meetings to, among other things, review progress on APGs. As shown in the table, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) does not hold the required in-person review meetings. The five case-study agencies we selected for more in-depth review – the Departments of Commerce (Commerce), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Transportation (DOT); General Services Administration (GSA); and Social Security Administration (SSA) – all hold in-person review meetings involving agency leaders and APG goal leaders at different frequencies. This reflects differences in leadership preferences and organizational structures and processes. See appendix II for more detailed information on the approach used by each of the five selected case-study agencies. OMB guidance is clear that reviews should be held in person to bring together senior leaders and officials involved in all levels of program delivery. This can help ensure coordination across agency silos and enable rapid decision making. This guidance states that while written communication may replace in-person review meetings in rare circumstances, it should only be a stopgap measure to continue performance reviews in a process that otherwise operates primarily in person. A few agencies, including the Department of Agriculture (USDA), DHS, and HHS, reported that they do not hold in-person reviews of progress on APGs at least quarterly as called for in GPRAMA and OMB guidance. The Department of State (State) reported that agency officials participate in one data-driven review meeting each quarter; however, each meeting is used to review progress on only one APG. Agriculture. According to USDA officials, the Deputy Secretary meets weekly with officials and staff from the Office of Budget and Program Analysis (OBPA), including the PIO, to discuss budget and regulatory issues, which also provides opportunities to discuss APG progress and performance-related issues. USDA officials also told us that written updates on APGs and performance data are provided quarterly, and that the Deputy Secretary and PIO meet as necessary to review progress toward, and discuss issues related to, specific APGs. However, these are not regularly scheduled meetings. In addition, they told us that staff from the OBPA have frequent conversations with program officials as part of the review of regulatory documents, funding availability notices, executive budget documents, and other related documents so they have not had separate, regularly scheduled meetings to discuss progress toward the APGs. However, in subsequent discussions with USDA officials, they informed us that they intend to begin holding regularly scheduled quarterly meetings led by the COO and involving senior USDA leadership, as directed by OMB in Circular A-11 guidance. Homeland Security. DHS reported that in-person review meetings ceased due to competing priorities and demands at the end of 2013, when a change in leadership brought alternative management priorities. Agency leaders continue to review written performance updates quarterly. According to a DHS official, a meeting involving the Deputy Secretary and APG goal leaders to review goal results from fiscal year 2015 is being scheduled. Health and Human Services. HHS leaders hold in-person review meetings for each APG twice a year and review APG progress two more times a year through reviews of written progress updates. Officials from HHS said that, due to the longer-term nature of the agency’s APGs, performance data that are tracked for each goal show little meaningful change from quarter to quarter, so agency officials have not considered meeting quarterly to be an effective use of participants’ time. One HHS official said that managers convene meetings with their program teams more frequently to track progress on efforts contributing to each goal. State. Each year, State holds one joint, in-person meeting to review progress on the APG to support the implementation of low emission development strategies, which it co-leads with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). State also holds one meeting each year to review progress on the APG to improve consular service delivery. State officials attend three other reviews on APGs led by USAID held throughout the year. Therefore, progress on each APG is only reviewed by officials from State in an in-person review meeting once a year. A State official stated that the performance measures used to track progress on the two APGs for which the agency either leads or co-leads show little meaningful change from quarter to quarter, and believes it would not be beneficial for stakeholders to attend meetings more often than annually.