GPRA and the Chain of Command

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   Hit delete now or put a pillow on your keyboard to prevent hurting your head when you fall asleep reading this.

	For congestion or headache relief, recruit three slugs.

	The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) and Executive Order 12866 (October 1993) require agencies to reevaluate the effectiveness, benefits and costs of their programs and regulations after they have been in effect for some time. Also see OMB Circular A-11, Part 2.

	Companies have measures of effectiveness (MOE) to judge the goodness of their decisions. When asking for capital improvement, documentation predicts the expected return on investment(ROI). If the ROI isn't high enough the project does not get funded. If the project does get funded, there will be reviews to determine how well the project is performing. Those reviews are used to improve the forecasting tools.

	GPRA and evaluation of effectiveness of Federal Regulations seems to have fallen out of favor. An echelon in the chain of command has the ability to reverse a decision. As long as there are an odd number of echelons between the top of the food chain and the Dave Gehrs, John Lansfords and Rick Powells, who are looking out for the public's transportation needs, the top will agree with the bottom and all is well.

	But introduce or delete an echelon and the top no longer agrees with the bottom. Chaos reigns.

	Examples of introduced or deleted echelons which have screwed the pooch.

	Stan Parris' Juliette Lowe bill which eliminated the decision power of the people that actually rode and drove on the reversible lanes of Shirley Highway. Prior to Juliette Lowe, the HOV requirements were FOUR and the intent was to keep ALL lanes flowing smoothly. With Juliette Lowe, occupancy was dropped to THREE and the emphasis was switched to moving cars. Congestion ensued.

	Review of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. I'm not sure where the added or deleted echelon is. But reviews of FMVSS are not being conducted, or are being conducted poorly. Conclusions from NTSB crash reports are biased to a party line rather than a reduction in crashes or a mitigation of crash effect.

	Companies are beginning to act on the realization that poor transportation is affecting their bottom line. Hence more action by company CEOs demanding transportation improvement.

	The bridge to nowhere? Alaska still gets the pork and Senator Stevens is a hero and will get reelected. Same number of echelons. Business as usual. One attempt to reinstate an odd number of echelons is the public private investment on projects which were previously PUBLIC WORKS.

	Review your budget. What is the largest line item? Taxes? Are you getting your money's worth?

	No?

	Pitchforks, torches, storm the castle.

	Soap box back to you.

	dickboyd@aol.com

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dickboyd Members Profile Find Members Posts New Slug Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Location: California Status: Offline Points: 0	Post Options Post Reply Quote dickboyd Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: GPRA and the Chain of Command Posted: 18 Feb 2006 at 1:19pm
	Hit delete now or put a pillow on your keyboard to prevent hurting your head when you fall asleep reading this. For congestion or headache relief, recruit three slugs. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) and Executive Order 12866 (October 1993) require agencies to reevaluate the effectiveness, benefits and costs of their programs and regulations after they have been in effect for some time. Also see OMB Circular A-11, Part 2. Companies have measures of effectiveness (MOE) to judge the goodness of their decisions. When asking for capital improvement, documentation predicts the expected return on investment(ROI). If the ROI isn't high enough the project does not get funded. If the project does get funded, there will be reviews to determine how well the project is performing. Those reviews are used to improve the forecasting tools. GPRA and evaluation of effectiveness of Federal Regulations seems to have fallen out of favor. An echelon in the chain of command has the ability to reverse a decision. As long as there are an odd number of echelons between the top of the food chain and the Dave Gehrs, John Lansfords and Rick Powells, who are looking out for the public's transportation needs, the top will agree with the bottom and all is well. But introduce or delete an echelon and the top no longer agrees with the bottom. Chaos reigns. Examples of introduced or deleted echelons which have screwed the pooch. Stan Parris' Juliette Lowe bill which eliminated the decision power of the people that actually rode and drove on the reversible lanes of Shirley Highway. Prior to Juliette Lowe, the HOV requirements were FOUR and the intent was to keep ALL lanes flowing smoothly. With Juliette Lowe, occupancy was dropped to THREE and the emphasis was switched to moving cars. Congestion ensued. Review of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. I'm not sure where the added or deleted echelon is. But reviews of FMVSS are not being conducted, or are being conducted poorly. Conclusions from NTSB crash reports are biased to a party line rather than a reduction in crashes or a mitigation of crash effect. Companies are beginning to act on the realization that poor transportation is affecting their bottom line. Hence more action by company CEOs demanding transportation improvement. The bridge to nowhere? Alaska still gets the pork and Senator Stevens is a hero and will get reelected. Same number of echelons. Business as usual. One attempt to reinstate an odd number of echelons is the public private investment on projects which were previously PUBLIC WORKS. Review your budget. What is the largest line item? Taxes? Are you getting your money's worth? No? Pitchforks, torches, storm the castle. Soap box back to you. dickboyd@aol.com