Government Performance: 2007 Federal Managers Survey on Performance and Management Issues: (GAO-08-1036SP, July 2008), an E-supplement to GAO-08-1026T

Background

This e-publication supplements our testimony GAO-08-1026T by presenting the item by item results of our web-based survey of federal managers which was conducted between October, 2007 and January, 2008.

The purpose of the survey was to update information obtained from three previous GAO surveys of federal managers conducted over the last decade. The questionnaire was designed to obtain the observations and perceptions of respondents on various aspects of such results-oriented management topics as the presence and use of performance measures, hindrances to measuring performance and using performance information, and agency climate. In addition, the questionnaire included a section requesting respondents� views on the Office of Management and Budget�s (OMB) Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) and the priority that should be placed on various potential improvements to it. The questionnaire was administered to a stratified random probability sample of 4,412 persons from a population of approximately 107,326 mid-level and upper-level civilian managers and supervisors working in the 24 executive branch agencies covered by the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 (CFO). Survey stratification by agency included an additional breakout of 5 selected agencies that are components of the CFO Act agencies.

We received useable questionnaires from about 70 percent of the eligible sample. The response rate across the 29 agencies ranged from 55 percent to 84 percent. This e-publication presents the weighted survey percentages for all respondents, i.e., government-wide, and for each of the 29 agencies. The unweighted number of respondents for each item is also shown. See the report referenced above for a more detailed discussion of our scope and methodology as well as a discussion of survey results. Please note that for questions 15 through 19 in the PART section, only respondents who indicated on question 14 at the beginning of the PART section that they had low to extensive knowledge of the PART were instructed to complete the remaining PART items. The �No response� category includes all other respondents who were instructed to skip these questions. Also, for these items, we do not display responses by individual agency due to the low number of respondents at some agencies.

We conducted our work in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

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