Observations on the National Science Foundation's Fiscal Year 1999 Performance Report and Fiscal Year 2001 Performance Plan Page: 4 of 23
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B-285479
agency's IG had previously identified and (2) identify whether the agency's fiscal year
2001 performance plan had goals and measures applicable to the major management
challenges. As agreed, in order to meet the committee's tight reporting time frames,
our observations were generally based on the requirements of GPRA, guidance to
agencies from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for developing
performance plans and reports (OMB Circular A-11, Part 2), previous reports and
evaluations by us and others, our knowledge of NSF's operations and programs, and
our observations on NSF's other GPRA-related efforts. We did not independently
verify the information contained in the performance report or plan. We conducted
our review from April through May 2000 in accordance with generally accepted
government auditing standards.
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
We provided a draft of this report to NSF and the Office of the Inspector General for
their review and comment. We met with NSF officials, including the Director, Office
of Integrative Activities; the Acting Chief Financial Officer; the Director, Information
and Resource Management; and the Inspector General, who generally agreed with the
accuracy of the facts presented in the draft report. NSF officials, however, provided
comments relating to three areas of concern about the GPRA process.
* First, NSF officials said that the agency's approach in this first year of reporting
had been to keep the report brief, succinct, low in cost to taxpayers, and on
schedule, which may have resulted in a lack of detailed, graphic, and descriptive
information needed by some readers. We believe that NSF would not have to
greatly expand the report or its plans to cover the key information that was
missing. Moreover, NSF officials also indicated that they were concerned with
the sequencing of products because the information needed for the fiscal year
1999 GPRA reports is also essential for the fiscal year 1999 accountability report
and the performance plans for fiscal years 2000 and 2001. Therefore, according to
NSF officials, the current timing of GPRA reports and plans represents a
challenge. We believe that when timing is an issue, NSF should state clearly what
information is not available for it to develop its reports and plans.
* Second, NSF officials said that in using the alternative format to report outcomes,
it used examples chosen to demonstrate the importance of NSF funding in
achieving those results. The officials believed that most examples reflect
outcomes that are achieved over the long term but are not linked to specific dollar
amounts. We believe that NSF's fiscal year 1999 performance report is still unclear
on the criteria and method used in determining that its funding played a major
role in achieving these outcomes. We believe that in future reports, NSF should
demonstrate its role in achieving these outcomes and address this point more
clearly in selecting and using examples.
* Third, NSF officials said that the agency did not consider including a discussion of
the management challenges in the performance report appropriate because GPRAGAO/RCED-00-205R NSF's FY 1999 Performance Report and FY 2001 Performance Plan
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United States. General Accounting Office. Observations on the National Science Foundation's Fiscal Year 1999 Performance Report and Fiscal Year 2001 Performance Plan, text, June 1, 2000; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc302409/m1/4/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.