OMB: How to get to green

One of the big education tasks Angela Styles, administrator of the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Federal Procurement Policy, faces in the coming months will be to make sure everyone understands the new criteria against which agencies will be graded on the President's Management Agenda score card.

The governmentwide percentage goals of 15 percent and 50 percent of positions competed to receive a yellow or green score, respectively, have been eliminated. The new criteria are:

Yellow

* Agency has developed an OMB-approved "yellow" competition plan.

* Agency has conducted at least one standard competition or publicly announced standard competitions for more positions than the agency identified in its plan.

* In the past two quarters, the agency has completed 75 percent of the streamlined competitions (for 65 positions or fewer) within the 90-day time frame.

* In the past two quarters, the agency has canceled less than 20 percent of all publicly announced competitions.

Green

* Agency has an OMB-approved "green" competition plan.

* Agency has followed the schedule outlined in its plan for publicly announcing competitions.

* Since January 2001, the agency has completed at least 10 competitions of any size.

* In the past year, the agency has completed 90 percent of all standard competitions within the 12-month time frame.

* In the past year, the agency has completed 95 percent of all streamlined competitions within the 90-day time frame.

* In the past year, the agency has canceled fewer than 10 percent of all publicly announced competitions.

* OMB has approved all of the agency's justifications for the positions listed as not open to competition.