§306 — Title 5 Government Organization and Employees | U.S. Code

Summary

Require each agency head to post a public strategic plan on the agency website by the first Monday in February of the year after a President’s term begins, and tell the President and Congress when it’s posted. The plan must say what the agency’s main job is, list its big goals (including results it wants), explain how those goals tie to federal priority goals, and show how the goals will be reached. That includes the processes, skills, technology, money, and staff needed, and how the agency will work with other agencies. The plan must say how Congress’s views were used, how the agency’s performance goals relate to the plan’s goals, what outside factors could stop the agency from meeting its goals, and what program evaluations were used and are planned. For agencies that must make certain other plans, the plan must also assess the agency’s statistics, evaluations, research, and analysis work, covering what is being evaluated, how useful the work is, whether methods are appropriate, and whether the agency has the staff and systems to do and share good evaluations. Each plan must cover at least 4 years after the fiscal year it is sent in. Agencies can change the plan if big changes happen, but they must tell Congress. Performance plans must match the strategic plan and can’t cover years not in a current strategic plan. Agencies must consult with relevant congressional committees, including both majority and minority views, and other interested parties at least once every 2 years. Only federal employees may write these plans. “Agency” means an Executive agency under section 105, excluding the CIA, the GAO, the U.S. Postal Service, and the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Title 5, §306

Government Organization and Employees — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Not later than the first Monday in February of any year following the year in which the term of the President commences under section 101 of title 3, the head of each agency shall make available on the public website of the agency a strategic plan and notify the President and Congress of its availability. Such plan shall contain—

(1)a comprehensive mission statement covering the major functions and operations of the agency;

(2)general goals and objectives, including outcome-oriented goals, for the major functions and operations of the agency;

(3)a description of how any goals and objectives contribute to the Federal Government priority goals required by section 1120(a) of title 31;

(4)a description of how the goals and objectives are to be achieved, including—

(A)a description of the operational processes, skills and technology, and the human, capital, information, and other resources required to achieve those goals and objectives; and

(B)a description of how the agency is working with other agencies to achieve its goals and objectives as well as relevant Federal Government priority goals;

(5)a description of how the goals and objectives incorporate views and suggestions obtained through congressional consultations required under subsection (d);

(6)a description of how the performance goals provided in the plan required by section 1115(a) of title 31, including the agency priority goals required by section 1120(b) of title 31, if applicable, contribute to the general goals and objectives in the strategic plan;

(7)an identification of those key factors external to the agency and beyond its control that could significantly affect the achievement of the general goals and objectives;

(8)a description of the program evaluations used in establishing or revising general goals and objectives, with a schedule for future program evaluations to be conducted, and citations to relevant provisions of the plans required under section 312, as applicable; and

(9)with respect to the head of an agency required to develop a plan described in subsection (a) or (b) of section 312, an assessment of the coverage, quality, methods, effectiveness, and independence of the statistics, evaluation, research, and analysis efforts of the agency, including—

(A)a list of the activities and operations of the agency that are currently being evaluated and analyzed;

(B)the extent to which the evaluations, research, and analysis efforts and related activities of the agency support the needs of various divisions within the agency;

(C)the extent to which the evaluation research and analysis efforts and related activities of the agency address an appropriate balance between needs related to organizational learning, ongoing program management, performance management, strategic management, interagency and private sector coordination, internal and external oversight, and accountability;

(D)the extent to which the agency uses methods and combinations of methods that are appropriate to agency divisions and the corresponding research questions being addressed, including an appropriate combination of formative and summative evaluation research and analysis approaches;

(E)the extent to which evaluation and research capacity is present within the agency to include personnel and agency processes for planning and implementing evaluation activities, disseminating best practices and findings, and incorporating employee views and feedback; and

(F)the extent to which the agency has the capacity to assist agency staff and program offices to develop the capacity to use evaluation research and analysis approaches and data in the day-to-day operations.

(b)The strategic plan shall cover a period of not less than 4 years following the fiscal year in which the plan is submitted. As needed, the head of the agency may make adjustments to the strategic plan to reflect significant changes in the environment in which the agency is operating, with appropriate notification of Congress.

(c)The performance plan required by section 1115(b) of title 31 shall be consistent with the agency’s strategic plan. A performance plan may not be submitted for a fiscal year not covered by a current strategic plan under this section.

(d)When developing or making adjustments to a strategic plan, the agency shall consult periodically with the Congress, including majority and minority views from the appropriate authorizing, appropriations, and oversight committees, and shall solicit and consider the views and suggestions of those entities potentially affected by or interested in such a plan. The agency shall consult with the appropriate committees of Congress at least once every 2 years.

(e)The functions and activities of this section shall be considered to be inherently governmental functions. The drafting of strategic plans under this section shall be performed only by Federal employees.

(f)For purposes of this section the term “agency” means an Executive agency defined under section 105, but does not include the Central Intelligence Agency, the Government Accountability Office, the United States Postal Service, and the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 306, added Pub. L. 103–62, § 3, Aug. 3, 1993, 107 Stat. 286; amended Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title IX, § 902, Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat. 717; Pub. L. 108–271, § 8(b), July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814; Pub. L. 109–435, title VI, § 604(b), Dec. 20, 2006, 120 Stat. 3241, related to strategic plans, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 111–352, § 2, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3866.

Amendments

2024—Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 118–190, § 7(a)(1), inserted “, as applicable” after “section 312”. Subsec. (a)(9). Pub. L. 118–190, § 7(a)(2), inserted “with respect to the head of an agency required to develop a plan described in subsection (a) or (b) of section 312,” before “an assessment” in introductory provisions. 2019—Subsec. (a)(7). Pub. L. 115–435, § 101(c)(1), substituted semicolon for “; and” at end. Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 115–435, § 101(c)(2), inserted “, and citations to relevant provisions of the plans required under section 312; and” after “to be conducted” and struck out period at end. Subsec. (a)(9). Pub. L. 115–435, § 101(c)(3), added par. (9).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2019 Amendment Pub. L. 115–435, title IV, § 403, Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5557, provided that: “Except as otherwise provided, this Act [see

Short Title

of 2019 Amendment note set out under section 101 of this title], and the

Amendments

made by this Act, shall take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 14, 2019].”

Construction

of 2019 Amendment Pub. L. 115–435, title IV, § 401, Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5556, provided that: “Nothing in this Act [see

Short Title

of 2019 Amendment note set out under section 101 of this title], or the

Amendments

made by this Act, may be construed— “(1) to require the disclosure of information or records that are exempt from disclosure under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘Freedom of Information Act’); “(2) to create or expand an exemption from disclosure under such section; “(3) to override, limit, or otherwise affect intellectual property rights, including rights under titles 17 and 35, United States Code; “(4) to affect the authority of a Federal agency regarding the use, disclosure, or licensing of—“(A) confidential business information that could be withheld under section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code; or “(B) data assets restricted from disclosure under a contract or other binding, written agreement; or “(5) to affect the independence, responsibilities, or work products of an Inspector General of any agency.” [For definition of “agency” as used in section 401 of Pub. L. 115–435, set out above, see section 101(e)(4)(A) of Pub. L. 115–435, set out as a note under section 311 of this title.] GAO Report Pub. L. 115–435, title I, § 101(d), Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5533, provided that: “Not later than 2 years after the date on which each strategic plan required under section 306(a) of title 5, United States Code, is published, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to Congress a report that— “(1) summarizes agency findings and highlights trends in the assessment conducted pursuant to subsection (a)(9) of section 306 of title 5, United States Code, as added by subsection (c); and “(2) if appropriate, recommends actions to further improve agency capacity to use evaluation techniques and data to support evaluation efforts.” [For definitions of “agency” and “evaluation” as used in section 101(d) of Pub. L. 115–435, set out above, see section 101(e)(4) of Pub. L. 115–435, set out as a note under section 311 of this title.] Biennial OMB Report Pub. L. 115–435, title II, § 202(g)(2), Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5544, provided that: “Not later than 1 year after [the] date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 14, 2019], and biennially thereafter, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall electronically publish a report on agency performance and compliance with this Act [see

Short Title

of 2019 Amendment note set out under section 101 of this title] and the

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made by this Act.” [For definition of “agency” as used in section 202(g)(2) of Pub. L. 115–435, set out above, see section 101(e)(4)(A) of Pub. L. 115–435, set out as a note under section 311 of this title.] Use of Existing Resources Pub. L. 115–435, title IV, § 402, Jan. 14, 2019, 132 Stat. 5557, provided that: “To the extent practicable, the head of each agency shall use existing procedures and systems to carry out agency requirements and shall select existing employees for appointments under this Act [see

Short Title

of 2019 Amendment note set out under section 101 of this title] and the

Amendments

made by this Act.” [For definition of “agency” as used in section 402 of Pub. L. 115–435, set out above, see section 101(e)(4)(A) of Pub. L. 115–435, set out as a note under section 311 of this title.]

§306 Agency Strategic Plans

Summary

Title 5, §306

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