Pursuit's Take
Past proposals to reform the federal government have not been fully realized and can take many years to implement. According to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), “successful reforms or transformations depend upon following change management practices, such as agreement on reform goals, and the involvement of the Congress, federal employees, and other key stakeholders.”
This report identifies the key questions that Congress, OMB, and agencies can use to assess the development and implementation of agency reforms. Among them are:
- To what extent has the agency established clear outcome-oriented goals and performance measures for the proposed reforms?
- How and to what extent has the agency consulted with the Congress, and other key stakeholders, to develop its proposed reforms?
- To what extent has the agency addressed areas of fragmentation, overlap, and duplication—including the ones GAO identified—in developing its reform proposals?
- Is there a dedicated implementation team that has the capacity, including staffing, resources, and change management, to manage the reform process?