The fed. gov¿t. must seek to deliver results more efficiently. The prior Administration sought to improve efficiency under the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) by requiring programs to have at least one efficiency measure and procedures for improving efficiency, and show annual efficiency gains. This report examined: (1) the types of PART efficiency measures and the extent to which they included typical elements of an efficiency measure; (2) the extent to which selected programs showed gains and how they used efficiency measures for decision making; (3) the challenges selected programs faced in developing and using efficiency measures; and (4) other strategies that can be used to improve efficiency. Illustrations.

Government contracting is one of the most important issues facing federal, state, and local governments. As governments contend with lower tax revenues and a growing belief that smaller government is better government, contracting has become a fundamental means of providing goods and services to citizens. This volume, which is geared toward practitioners as well as students, addresses the broad range of issues that comprise government contracting – from the political, economic philosophy, and value of contracting – to the future of government contracting. Throughout the volume academic theory provides a foundation to address practical subjects, including the contract process, monitoring and evaluating contracts, ethics, and both federal and state local government contracting. Contributors to this volume are both academicians and practitioners, who together offer their scholarly expertise and practical experience, encouraging readers to ask the very question "What is the role of government in American society?" Through this approach, students will acquire the knowledge needed to understand the various aspects of government contracting, and practitioners will enhance their public procurement skills. Government Contracting is ideally suited to MPA students, practitioners in the public sector, and elected officials looking to enhance their understanding of privatization and contracting in order to provide public services more effectively.

While FG funding has been increasing, long-standing concerns remain about the fed. government's grants mgmt. and the lack of effective oversight tools to reasonably assure that FG are used for their intended purposes and that risks of fraud, waste, and abuse are minimized. The Admin. recognizes these concerns; it included improving grants mgmt. as a part of its initiative to eliminate waste in the U.S. gov't. and has various efforts underway to improve grants oversight. This testimony addresses the: (1) significance of FG funding; (2) risks and vulnerabilities in key controls in the FG life cycle; and (3) improvements needed to make the single audit process an effective accountability mechanism. Illustrations. This is a print on demand report.

Congress created the Farm Labor Housing (FLH) Loan and Grant Program in the early 1960s to support the development of affordable housing for farm workers. In 2010, Congress appropriated $19.7 million for this program, which is administered by the Rural Housing Service (RHS). This report examined: (1) demand for the FLH program; (2) RHS's processes for ensuring that the program is providing decent housing for eligible farmworkers; and (3) the financial status and financial management of FLH properties. To do this work, the auditor analyzed agency data and regulations; convened a group of experts; and selected and inspected 20 properties in five states. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.

Fed. gov¿t policymakers are interested in user fees as a means of financing new and existing services. User fees can be designed to reduce the burden on taxpayers to finance the portions of activities that provide benefits to identifiable users above and beyond what is normally provided to the public. User fees can promote economic efficiency and equity. However user fees must be well designed. This report studies how user fee design characteristics may influence the effectiveness of user fees. The author examined how the 4 key design and implementation characteristics of user fees -- how fees are set, collected, used, and reviewed -- may affect the economic efficiency, equity, revenue adequacy, and administrative burden of cost-based fees.

Thousands of measures are in use today to assess health and health care in the United States. Although many of these measures provide useful information, their usefulness in either gauging or guiding performance improvement in health and health care is seriously limited by their sheer number, as well as their lack of consistency, compatibility, reliability, focus, and organization. To achieve better health at lower cost, all stakeholders - including health professionals, payers, policy makers, and members of the public - must be alert to what matters most. What are the core measures that will yield the clearest understanding and focus on better health and well-being for Americans? Vital Signs explores the most important issues - healthier people, better quality care, affordable care, and engaged individuals and communities - and specifies a streamlined set of 15 core measures. These measures, if standardized and applied at national, state, local, and institutional levels across the country, will transform the effectiveness, efficiency, and burden of health measurement and help accelerate focus and progress on our highest health priorities. Vital Signs also describes the leadership and activities necessary to refine, apply, maintain, and revise the measures over time, as well as how they can improve the focus and utility of measures outside the core set. If health care is to become more effective and more efficient, sharper attention is required on the elements most important to health and health care. Vital Signs lays the groundwork for the adoption of core measures that, if systematically applied, will yield better health at a lower cost for all Americans.