AmeriCorps employs performance management practices to foster a culture of accountability focused on achieving equitable outcomes. The agency’s first goal in its FY 2022–26 Strategic Learning and Evidence Building Plan is to “partner with communities to alleviate poverty and advance racial equity.”

Reporting to the chief of staff, AmeriCorps’ strategic planning team oversees performance management. This team — which includes a member from the Office of Research and Evaluation as well as enterprise risk management specialist, chief data officer governance specialist, chief operating officer, and Office of Budget Management and Program analyst — meets quarterly with agency leadership to review progress toward strategic goals. Performance outcomes guide agency decisions, and the FY 2022–26 strategic plan, approved by the White House Office of Management and Budget, includes performance indicators. Additionally, the agency has developed an internal implementation tracker to assess progress toward its goals and objectives.

AmeriCorps demonstrates how performance data supports outcomes in underserved communities by analyzing how programmatic changes, like increased living allowances from the American Rescue Plan Act, impact participation in national service programs. By assessing the redesign of service experiences and using performance data, the agency can refine its strategies to build a diverse pipeline of service members. Additionally, evidence from grantmaking models shows that removing barriers, such as waiving cash match requirements, can improve access for community-based organizations in underserved areas. AmeriCorps will use this learning to improve its programs.

ACF’s performance management practices have three main components. First, a dedicated employee collaborates with each program office to annually update performance metrics and enhance decision-making for equitable outcomes. Second, ACF conducts regular performance reviews, aligning with the budget process and providing at least three updates per year. These measures and data are shared with ACF and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leadership and included in key reports, such as the HHS Annual Performance Plan and Report. ACF also offers quarterly updates supporting an Organizational Health Assessment as mandated by Office of Management and Budget Memo 23-15.

Finally, ACF’s strategic goals align with the FY 2022-26 HHS Strategic Plan, with key performance metrics highlighted in Senior Executive Service Performance Plans and contributing to Objective 4.1 of the HHS Strategic Plan: improving program design, delivery and outcomes by emphasizing science, evidence and inclusion.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a performance improvement officer (PIO) who serves on the Performance Improvement Council and provides department-wide oversight on performance management. Within ACL, the Deputy Administrator for Policy and Evaluation for the Center for Policy and Evaluation (CPE) oversees performance management. As part of ACL’s performance strategy and learning approach, Office of Performance and Evaluation (OPE) staff reviews and reports performance data to inform agency and programmatic direction, engages with and educates constituents, and acts as a part of the federal budget formulation process. Performance data are reviewed by ACL leadership as part of the budget justification process that informs program funding decisions. As part of evaluation planning efforts, OPE staff consult with ACL program staff and center directors to identify evaluation priorities and review proposed evaluation approaches to ensure that the evaluation questions identified will provide information that will be useful for program improvement.

ED uses performance management practices to improve the operational decision-making process and create a culture of accountability to achieve equitable outcomes. The agency’s performance improvement officer (PIO) oversees the performance management system. Each quarter, the PIO issues a data call to solicit updates to performance metrics aligned with agency goals and strategic objectives. An internal system captures metric data, associated narrative data (e.g., examples of activities included in a count), and an indicator of progress toward goals. 

Once data are collected, the cross-office team responsible for a given goal meets to review performance data and prepare a quarterly update for the Deputy Secretary and the department-wide performance review team, including plans for accelerating progress toward the stated goal. Reports are then reviewed at quarterly meetings of the ED-wide performance team to identify additional opportunities to support goal-directed work and prioritize action.

In addition to the work done by the PIO and team, ED uses performance data to achieve equitable outcomes. ED’s FY 2025 Performance Plan and 2023 Performance Report include performance management of several related strategic goals, including: (a) to promote equity in student access to educational resources, opportunities and inclusive environments; (b) to support a diverse and talented educator workforce and professional growth to strengthen student learning; and (c) to increase postsecondary value by focusing on equity-conscious strategies to address access to high-quality institutions, affordability, completion, post-enrollment success and support for inclusive institutions.

DOL uses performance management practices to improve the operational decision-making process and create a culture of accountability to achieve equitable outcomes. The agency’s performance improvement officer oversees DOL’s performance management system. The FY 2022-26 Strategic Plan sets DOL’s strategic goals and objectives, which inform annual budget requests, annual Agency Management Plans and individual performance plans for the department’s workforce. The first strategic goal in the current strategic plan is “Build Opportunity and Equity for All.”

Each year, the Strategic Review of agency strategic objectives includes the areas of performance management, evaluation and research, budget formulation and execution and enterprise risk management. This review supports the formulation of the President’s Budget Request and culminates in the Annual Performance Report — a public-facing high-level report on DOL’s performance for the previous year.

DOT leverages performance management to enhance decision making, ensure accountability and advance equitable outcomes. The Office of Performance, Evaluation, and Enterprise Risk (PEER) oversees quarterly reviews of each Operating Administration’s progress toward its performance goals, which are summarized annually in the DOT’s Annual Performance Plan and shared with the White House Office of Management and Budget. DOT’s Strategic Plan includes a strategic goal of equity, which involves several objectives and a set of related performance goals. Since 2023, PEER has successfully launched and scaled an online platform that is now routinely used to store and share performance data, improving coordination for DOT’s internal “data calls.”

DOT’s equity goals focus on increasing contract awards to small disadvantaged businesses to support wealth creation for underserved communities. DOT has set an ambitious target to raise these awards from 18.2% in FY 2021 to 21.5% in FY 2025. Additionally, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has implemented a goal to direct more outreach activities toward underserved communities, increasing hazardous materials awareness and preparedness. PHMSA’s outreach efforts grew significantly, from none in early FY 2022 to 42% by FY 2023, surpassing its 40% target.

All MCC investments have a singular objective: to reduce poverty through economic growth. Each program is thus measured by its ability to meet this goal. Additionally, MCC leadership has named three strategic priorities for the agency, one of which is inclusion and gender. In order to improve operational decision-making processes and create a culture of accountability to achieve equitable outcomes, MCC uses performance management practices.

The Department of Policy and Evaluation handles the measurement of project performance and the use of the evidence generated through project performance. Within this department, the Selection & Eligibility Division reviews key performance indicators, closeout economic rates of return, evaluation findings and post-compact sustainability results to recommend whether a country should be eligible for a subsequent MCC investment. They use this information to submit a Country Prospectus to the MCC Board of Directors. In addition, MCC utilizes lessons learned from evaluation outcomes to inform investment decisions, such as project design and implementation. For example, evidence from past MCC water evaluations suggests that the inclusion of institutional strengthening and regulatory reform activities are critical to achieving the long-term impacts of reduced disease-causing pathogens in piped and stored water and groundwater. From its evaluations of projects in Zambia, Lesotho and Tanzania, MCC learned to emphasize local capacity and incentives to maintain infrastructure, implement policy reforms and ensure sustainability. These lessons informed the design of the Timor-Leste Water, Sanitation and Drainage Project.