Federal Manager's Daily Report: Tuesday, November 9, 2004 FEDweek is the largest information resource in the federal government with now over one million weekly readers. To Subscribe, Go to http://www.fedweek.com/subscribepopup.htm *********************************************************** Valued Added Service to Our Readers:
Federal Job Search http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Job Bulletin Board http://www.fedweek.com/Jobs/default.asp Unlimited Internet Access for as low as $10.90 http://fedweeknet.com Our Readers Will Get Special Discounted Travel Rates Including, Airfare, Hotels, RV's, Car Rentals, and Special Weekend Getaways--Anywhere in the world http://www.fedweek.com/images/adart/travel_redirect.htm ********************************************************** In This Week's Issue 1. New Round of Base Closings Slated for 2005 2. Good Performance Budgets 'Get Performance Into Debate,' Says AABPA 3. EPA, State, Discuss Performance Budget Strategy 4. Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published New Publication Announcement: The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php *********************************************************** 1. New Round of Base Closings Slated for 2005 It's too early to tell how many civil service jobs will be lost or shuffled in the process, but the Defense Department base closing process will go forward next year as a new round of closings and restructuring takes shape, following President Bush's signature of the fiscal 2005 Defense Department authorization bill. According to the Department of Defense, a key component to the 2005 base realignment and closure initiative is whether a military installation "contributes to and accommodates joint operations," or joint war-fighting, to combat "21st century threats like global terrorism." By prioritizing certain facilities and functions, the 2004 initiative will affect thousands of civil service jobs due to mission changes or transfers of entire functions from one base to another. DoD keeps the actual list secret until release, though Congress gets it early. The announcement comes next year and the actions are subject to an up or down vote -- no changes -- although actual base closures and realignments take place over several years and not much happens immediately. BRACs from 1988 to 1995 closed 97 bases and realigned 57, and DoD figures it has about 23 percent of excess infrastructure remaining. Officials said that Pentagon officials are valuing "speed and surprise," have noted that, "multi-service cooperation in the transportation field in recent years has greatly leveraged the Army's combat projection power," and that they intend to merge certain military research and laboratory facilities this time around. 2. Good Performance Budgets 'Get Performance Into Debate,' Says AABPA Good performance budgets, rather than leading to more funding outright, do the job of "getting performance into the debate," while their development equips managers to make solid program decisions, according to the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis, which recently hosted a panel session with representatives from four agencies who reviewed their budget formats, processes, development teams, visions and implementation plans. It said the Department of Energy laid out its objective as one designed to link and align components of its performance framework, which DoE said it accomplished by defining units associated with the Government Performance and Results Act that consist of activities with discrete budget and agency codes to be assessed with the Program Assessment Rating Tool. DoE has 63 GPRA units that are discussed within the agency's performance budget format: "strategic context followed by mission, benefits, strategic goals, funding by general goal, annual performance results and targets, means and strategies, validation and verification, research and development investment criteria, and PART assessments," according to AABPA. It said that HHS, which is developing its first performance budget for fiscal 2006, incorporated performance into its existing budget structure and used a design team, budget working group and a performance working group to analyze requirements while looking to performance experts and the experiences and formats of other agencies to move forward. HHS plans to eliminate redundancies between the budget and performance plans, keep information concise and remain flexible in placing performance information, said the association. It said the idea is for the performance budget to consist of an agency overview, narrative by activity, and supporting information -- and for the implementation plan to include consulting with the appropriations committee throughout fall 2004. The panel reached a consensus that "variation in perspectives and levels of acceptance for performance budgets is a concern for agencies, and that the most effective implementation plan will engage committees early and throughout the process," said the association, recommending that agencies "outline clear rationale for their objectives, keep the committees aware of changes and developments, and provide crosswalks to help reorient thinking." 3. EPA, State, Discuss Performance Budget Strategy The Environmental Protection Agency used the "business reference model" to develop a performance framework and budget, and presented its initial challenge at the AABPA session as one of "defining programs and projects that would provide stability as performance budgets and strategic plans were developed and revised, and at the same time define what EPA does, taking into account the many programs that are statutorily mandated and the differences in support programs versus direct programs," according to the association. It said such program definitions allowed EPA to link resources and performance by sub-objectives for the agency, as well as to link performance components for the programs and work in measures from the PART reviews -- though it noted a consensus on the panel that once a framework is in place, the agency would have to remain vigilant about keeping these processes integrated. The panel also agreed that EPA's PART reviews do not need to result in additional agency goals, said AABPA, which recommended that EPA limit and complement them with its program measures. The Department of State "integrated various strategic and program planning processes into one system that links each program to a performance goal for the agency, and performance goals to major strategic goals, each contributing up to a major mission of the agency," said the association. It said the entire agency could use the system for ongoing management and facilitating justification to Congress as well as the production of internal planning documents. "The PART has also been incorporated into the system, allowing the agency to drill down to the performance targets for each program and at the same time see how program performance measures relate up to the mission of the agency," according to AAPBA. 4. Brand New Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide Just Published New Publication Announcement: The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php Passman & Kaplan announces the October 2004 publication of the SECOND EDITION of the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide. This comprehensive book, first published by Passman & Kaplan in 1999, has been called the definitive how-to guide for enforcing the rights of federal employees. The second edition of the Guide includes 100 PAGES OF ADDITIONAL NEW MATERIAL (now 616 total pages) and useful advice. New features include information on internet legal research, preparing for and conducting a hearing, sample discovery requests, and up-to-date contact information for federal personnel agencies. The Guide also includes a listing of frequently used civil service acronyms and practical appendices of sample forms, charts illustrating appeal rights, and commonly-needed deadlines. As with the first edition of the Guide, Passman & Kaplan has attempted to move away from the "legalese" which so often complicates an already-bewildering array of regulations and policies. Although the Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide, Second Edition is clearly an invaluable resource for practioners, Passman & Kaplan has maintained its commitment to target the book to the average federal employee. *********************************************************** To place your order for The Federal Employees Legal Survival Guide just go to http://www.fedweek.com/pub/index.php and place your secure order online. The cost of this publication is only $49.95 Plus $6 s&h--Remember, this is a 616 page reference that is chalked full of invaluable information that every federal manager must have! Or you can mail your order with payment of $55.95 to FEDweek, PO Box 5519, Glen Allen, VA 23058. This is a one of a kind book you can't afford to be without! Published by FEDweek 11541 Nuckols Rd. Suite D Glen Allen, VA 23059 (804) 288-5321 Website: http://www.fedweek.com [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are subscribed to federalmanagersdailyreport as [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
