The Program Assessment Rating Tool, or PART, was a program run through the United States Office of Management and Budget instituted by President George W. Bush in 2002 to rate all federal programs on their effectiveness. By the conclusion of the Bush administration, PART was applied to just over 1,000 federal programs, representing 98% of the federal budget. The Obama administration discontinued the use of PART assessments. Actual PART assessments can still be viewed among George W. Bush online presidential archives: http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/omb/expectmore/part.html
History
The PART was introduced in the 2004 Fiscal Year Federal budget, and explained by the Bush Administration as a program that built upon previous efforts of American Presidents to make sure federal programs were accountable and achieved results. The tool grew out of an early Bush administration blueprint for administration called the President's Management Agenda, which set a goal of integrating performance data with the federal budgeting process.
Implementation
PART was spearheaded by the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Mitch Daniels, and OMB staff had primary responsibility for designing the tool, and setting the final evaluation assigned to a program. PART itself was a survey instrument, developed by OMB staff with outside advice. The instrument asked 25-30 questions divided into four categories: program purpose and design, strategic planning, program management, and program results. Based on the responses to those questions, programs were given a numerical score that aligned with a categorical scale of performance ranging from effective, moderately effective, adequate or ineffective. In cases where evaluators felt they could not make a judgment, programs were assigned a “results not demonstrated†judgment, which was generally believed to be a negative assessment on a par with an ineffective grade. To complete the tool, OMB budget examiners conducted extensive consultation with agency staff, though the final judgment rested with the OMB.
Utilization
President Bush used the rating tool to partially justify cuts or elimination of 150 programs in his 2006 FY budget. One study found that PART scores had a modest correlation with budget changes proposed by the President.
Reception
Reaction from the United States Congress has been mixed. However, Congress paid little attention to the PART scores. Scholars at the Heritage Foundation support the program and its potential to reduce the size of government. The program won the 2005 Government Innovators Network Award, noting that the programs reception has led to similar program evaluation systems in Scotland and Thailand.
Efforts to institutionalize the PART into a permanent process failed in Congress, and PART was viewed with suspicion by Democratic lawmakers in particular.
References
External links
- Official Website -Expectmore.gov
