Government Performance & Results Act (GPRA)
The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 — as substantially updated by the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 — is the federal law that requires every federal agency to develop strategic plans, set measurable performance goals, and publicly report whether they achieved those goals. GPRA creates the framework through which Congress, the President, and the public evaluate whether federal agencies are actually accomplishing their missions and spending taxpayer money effectively.
Current Law (2026)
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| Governing statutes | GPRA of 1993; GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 |
| Coordinating office | Office of Management and Budget (OMB) |
| Agency plans required | Strategic plans (every 4 years), annual performance plans, annual performance reports |
| Federal priority goals | Government-wide cross-agency goals, reviewed quarterly |
| Agency priority goals | High-impact goals for each major agency, updated every 2 years |
| Performance website | Performance.gov (public transparency portal) |
| Chief Operating Officers | Deputy agency heads serve as COOs responsible for management and performance |
| Performance Improvement Officers | Senior executives designated at each agency to drive performance |
| Performance Improvement Council | Government-wide council of PIOs, chaired by OMB |
| Exemption threshold | Agencies with outlays under $20M may be exempted by OMB |
Legal Authority
- 31 U.S.C. § 1115 — Federal Government and agency performance plans (OMB coordinates with agencies to develop government-wide and agency performance plans, submitted with the annual budget; plans must establish measurable, outcome-oriented goals)
- 31 U.S.C. § 1116 — Agency performance reporting (agencies must publish annual performance updates on their public websites comparing actual results to performance goals; must explain why goals were not met and describe improvement plans)
- 31 U.S.C. § 1120 — Federal Government and agency priority goals (OMB coordinates government-wide priority goals covering cross-agency challenges; agencies set their own 2-year priority goals for high-impact outcomes)
- 31 U.S.C. § 1121 — Progress reviews (OMB conducts quarterly reviews of progress on federal and agency priority goals with designated lead officials)
- 31 U.S.C. § 1122 — Transparency (requires a single public website — Performance.gov — displaying agency programs, priority goals, performance data, and federal spending information)
- 31 U.S.C. § 1123 — Chief Operating Officers (deputy agency heads serve as COOs responsible for improving management and performance)
- 31 U.S.C. § 1124 — Performance Improvement Officers and Council (each agency designates a PIO; PIOs form a government-wide Performance Improvement Council to share best practices and coordinate improvement efforts)
- 31 U.S.C. § 1125 — Elimination of unnecessary reporting (agencies must identify and recommend elimination of outdated or duplicative reports to Congress)
- 31 U.S.C. § 1126 — Program Management Improvement Officers (each agency designates a PMIO responsible for overseeing program and project management practices)
How It Works
GPRA operates through a plan-measure-report cycle. Every four years, each agency publishes a strategic plan defining its mission, long-term goals, and the strategies it will use to achieve them. Annually, each agency publishes a performance plan with specific, measurable performance goals for the upcoming fiscal year. After the year ends, each agency publishes a performance report comparing actual results to goals — explaining gaps, identifying causes, and describing corrective actions.
The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 added several powerful mechanisms. Federal priority goals are a limited number of government-wide performance targets that cut across agencies — for example, reducing improper payments, improving cybersecurity, or addressing veterans' homelessness. OMB designates a lead official for each goal and conducts quarterly reviews of progress, creating a regular cadence of accountability that didn't exist under the original GPRA.
Agency priority goals are 2-year targets that each major agency sets for its most important outcomes. These goals are informed by financial data from the CFO Act framework and findings from Inspectors General. These are more specific and time-bound than strategic plan goals, and they're subject to the same quarterly review process. The combination of short-term priority goals and quarterly reviews creates a management discipline modeled on private-sector performance management.
Performance.gov is the public transparency platform where all of this information is displayed. Citizens, journalists, and Congress can see each agency's strategic plan, priority goals, quarterly progress updates, and annual performance reports in one place.
The institutional infrastructure includes Chief Operating Officers (the deputy heads of agencies, responsible for management performance), Performance Improvement Officers (senior executives who drive performance improvement), and the Performance Improvement Council (a government-wide body that shares best practices). Program Management Improvement Officers were added to strengthen oversight of agencies' project and program execution.
Congressional reporting is streamlined: § 1125 requires agencies to identify and recommend elimination of outdated congressional reporting requirements, reducing the cumulative burden of decades of accumulated reporting mandates.
How It Affects You
If you're a taxpayer, voter, or citizen who wants to know whether federal agencies are doing their jobs: Performance.gov is your primary resource — the public transparency portal required by 31 U.S.C. § 1122 where every major federal agency posts its strategic plans, priority goals, quarterly progress updates, and annual performance reports. Search by agency or by cross-cutting goal area (veterans' homelessness reduction, cybersecurity, improper payment reduction, etc.). Each agency priority goal shows a target, the current status (on track, behind, achieved), and the responsible official. This isn't PR — agencies must report actual results vs. targets, including goals they missed. GAO regularly audits GPRA compliance and publishes assessments of whether agencies' performance information is credible and whether it's actually being used to improve outcomes. For deeper analysis: agency Inspector General reports, GAO's High Risk List, and the Federal Program Inventory (at usaspending.gov) complement Performance.gov's reporting.
If you're a member of Congress or congressional staff doing oversight or appropriations work: GPRA was explicitly designed to give Congress performance data to use in authorization, appropriation, and oversight decisions. Agency strategic plans and annual performance reports are submitted to Congress alongside the President's budget request. When a program consistently misses its performance targets, that's a signal for oversight hearings, structural reform, or reallocation of resources. The quarterly review data at Performance.gov shows progress in real time rather than waiting for annual reports. For appropriations: OMB's Analytical Perspectives (a companion document to the President's budget) summarizes GPRA performance data by function and agency — a useful starting point for identifying programs with efficiency problems. The EVIDENCE Act of 2018 complemented GPRA by requiring agencies to build program evaluation capacity; evaluation results can inform whether programs' performance data actually reflects real-world outcomes.
If you're a federal agency executive, COO, or Performance Improvement Officer: GPRA's management framework is only as effective as the agency's leadership commitment to using performance data. The quarterly reviews convened by OMB (31 U.S.C. § 1121) are the most important accountability mechanism — lead officials for each priority goal are expected to demonstrate real-time progress, explain gaps, and commit to corrective actions. Best practice: integrate GPRA priority goals into your agency's budget requests (so resources align with performance priorities), use performance data in organizational management decisions (not just for reporting), and ensure your agency's performance measures actually capture outcomes rather than just outputs. GAO has consistently found that agencies that meaningfully embed performance data into budget and management decisions achieve better outcomes than those that treat GPRA as a compliance exercise. The Program Management Improvement Officer (PMIO) position (§ 1126) is your internal champion for project management discipline — leverage it.
If you're a policy researcher, government management scholar, or nonprofit evaluator: GPRA's 30-year track record offers rich data on what it takes to make government performance management work. The government-wide dataset is publicly accessible: historical performance plans and reports for every CFO Act agency are archived at Performance.gov and individual agency websites. The GPRA Modernization Act (2010) changes are well-documented before-and-after — priority goals with quarterly reviews produce more sustained attention than annual-report-only accountability. Research questions that remain live: Which types of performance goals predict meaningful program improvement vs. goal-gaming? How does political transition (new administration, leadership turnover) affect goal continuity and performance? The EVIDENCE Act (2018) layered an evidence-building requirement on top of GPRA — tracking how agencies are building and using program evaluation evidence is a growing research area.
State Variations
GPRA applies to the federal government. Many states have adopted similar performance management frameworks:
- Most states require strategic planning and performance reporting by state agencies
- Some states have dedicated performance management offices analogous to OMB's role
- State performance management systems vary widely in rigor and transparency
- Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) standards encourage performance reporting by state and local governments
Implementing Regulations
GPRA and the GPRA Modernization Act are implemented through OMB Circular A-11 (preparation/submission of strategic plans, annual performance plans, and performance reports) and internal agency procedures. No CFR implementing regulations exist — OMB guidance directs agency compliance.
Pending Legislation
No standalone GPRA reform bills pending in the 119th Congress.
Recent Developments
GPRA implementation has matured significantly since the 2010 Modernization Act. The quarterly review process has become an established management practice, with OMB regularly convening agency leaders to review progress on priority goals. Performance.gov has expanded its data offerings and improved usability. GAO has reported that agencies' use of performance information in decision-making has improved but remains uneven — some agencies deeply integrate performance data into budget and management decisions, while others treat GPRA as a compliance exercise. The EVIDENCE Act of 2018 complemented GPRA by requiring agencies to build capacity for program evaluation and evidence-based policymaking.