CSREES Planning and Accountability: Meeting Accountability Needs and Overcoming Challenges

1. The Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service Planning and Accountability Overview Larry R. Miller, Acting Associate Administrator; Bart Hewitt, Program Analyst, Planning and Accountability; Greg Crosby, National Program Leader

2. What we’ll discuss • Accountability – needs and challenges • Budget Performance Cycle • AREERA Plan of Work and Annual Report • Generic Logic Model for CSREES reporting • One Solution

3. Accountability – Needs and Challenges • Needs: • Increasing need for accountability • Accountability is necessary for program management • Accountability required by stakeholders (e.g., OMB/USDA, Congress) • Challenges: • Aggregate accomplishments, outcomes and impacts across a diverse array of programs • Link accomplishments, outcomes and impacts to USDA Goals and Objectives • Reduce reporting burden over time • Maximize usefulness of information

4. Budget-Performance Cycle

5. States Plans of Work and Annual Reports • The Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (AREERA) • Amended the Smith-Lever Act, the Hatch Act, and the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (the funding authorities for Extension and Research activities) • Requires approved Plans of Work from extension and research in order to receive federal funding

6. States Plans of Work and Annual Reports • The AREERA Plan of Work covers all uses of • Federal Funds: • Hatch • Smith-Lever 3(b) and (c), not 3(d) • 1890 Extension • Evans-Allen • All required non-federal matching funds • CSREES formula and required matching funds must be used for purposes defined in the Farm Bill (AREERA)

7. Plan of Work Data Use • How will CSREES use the information from the Plan of Work for planning and accountability? • NPL State Liaison communication • Portfolio reviews • OMB PART process • Budget performance integration • GAO and OIG inquiries • Answer Congressional and departmental inquiries • Bring greater visibility of successes of formula funded programs

8. Plan of Work – What’s Required? • A completed plan needs to include: • Stakeholder input documentation • Peer review for research, Merit review for extension • Multi-state Extension and Integrated Research and Extension financial data • Planned programs • States define their own program unit of work • Requires each planned program to be classified using knowledge areas • Structured around a basic logic model format

9. Generic Logic Model for CSREES reporting • Situation • Inputs • Activities • Outputs • Outcomes • Knowledge • Actions • Conditions

10. One Solution = CSREES Information System • Web-based, one-stop-shop for report submission, review, and analysis • Every agency investment aligned with outputs, outcomes, and impacts • Goals • Reduce burden on partners • Increase quality of data • Business case 2005 • Project plan 2006 • Implementation tasks (in progress)

11. One Solution • One Solution will restructure existing, uncoordinated systems into a more efficient arrangement that simplifies reporting processes

12. One Solution

13. One Solution

14. One Solution update • Plan of Work on-line • Knowledge area classification system • Standard report for research, education, and extension • Leadership management dashboard for submission and review • Smith Lever (3d) and other extension programs required to report • CRIS transition to CIS

15. Further information • Planning and Accountability • www.csrees.usda.gov/about/strat_plan.html • Bob MacDonald (202) 720-5623 rmacdonald@csrees.usda.gov • One Solution • www.csrees.usda.gov/onesolution • Greg Crosby (202) 401-6050 gcrosby@csrees.usda.gov