About PRG – General information

The reporting of the results of governmental programs and services is referred to as Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) reporting for government. This type of reporting encompasses not only information about the acquisition and use of resources, but also includes information about the outputs and outcomes of the services provided. Information is included about the relationship between the use of resources (costs) and those outputs and outcomes—what may be referred to as measures of performance. A variety of measures are needed to assist users in assessing governmental performance, including measures of inputs, outputs, efficiency, and outcomes (measures that relates service efforts to service accomplishments), and external factors that influence results.

SEA reporting is the act of preparing and publishing a report measuring the efficiency and effectiveness in which an organization operates in trying to achieve desired results. SEA reporting produces information on the results of government programs or services that can be used to help make decisions. Literally, it provides citizens and other users with measures or indicators of the volume, quality, efficiency, and results of public services. These indicators of performance, when publicly reported, are yardsticks that can be used to figure out if government is working well or poorly, or somewhere in between.

Reporting of SEA performance information is more effective if the government's officers, elected officials, citizens, public entities and organizations, and public servants realize they are all accountable for their performance and the use of public resources. The reporting of this information for assessing accountability is more commonly done internally, but there is a growing desire for the external users/recipients (such as citizens) to know how the government is performing. "Citizens want to know what's being accomplished with their tax dollars, not just how much is being spent and on what" (Walters. Measuring Up. 1998. Page 6).

The overall process of using and reporting SEA performance information to increase public accountability is often referred to as performance management. This management approach focuses on selecting, defining, and then working to achieve results that are important to the stakeholders of an organization. The organization develops a shared, widely understood framework using SEA performance information in setting goals and objectives, managing, allocating resources, and evaluating its level of accomplishment. The reporting of SEA performance information is one part of the process of performance management. Performance management can be beneficial to governments for improving the focus on key results and sharpening the organization's management skills to achieve those results. It is a tool for more responsive and accountable government.