OMB’s Johnson calls agency progress on PMA historic

CAMBRIDGE, Md. — Federal employees’ efforts on the President’s Management Agenda have been historic, Clay Johnson yesterday told an audience of feds. Working on the five agenda items has increased agencies’ focus on program results, developing employees’ skills and rewarding top performers.As the federal government enters the third year of work on e-government, competitive sourcing, budget and performance integration, human capital management and financial improvement, Johnson, the Office of Management and Budget’s deputy director for management, said agencies are setting the pace in meeting OMB’s requirements.“What started off as the President’s Management Agenda now is the agency management agenda,” said Johnson, who gave the keynote address at the Interagency Resources Management Conference. “Agencies see this as really good for them because it is about changing how agencies perform their mission for the better.”Johnson said although most of his evidence is anecdotal, from speaking with agency officials, he sees the changes in attitudes at OMB’s quarterly PMA review meetings.Agencies exhibit four common success factors when they improve their grades on the PMA scorecard, he said: Johnson said it is up to agency executives to take employees to the next level on the PMA scorecard.“I’m not sure if this much attention has been paid to the quality of IT investments ever,” he said. “The investments are being focused on improving the results for citizens. This is about being committed to clear accountability.”