2001 Performance Plan Executive Summary

Departmental Performance Plan

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) exists to give meaning, purpose, and reality to America’s commitment to veterans. The requirements, preferences, and expectations of veterans directly shape the benefits and services we provide. The FY 2001 Performance Plan describes how the Department will provide high quality, timely benefits and services to the men and women who have served our country in the armed forces. The plan describes our strategic goals, objectives, and performance goals we can achieve with the funds we request in the FY 2001 Budget.

This document, along with the budget submissions covering each VA program, provides information to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Congress, veterans service organizations, and the general public concerning not only what we do, but more importantly, how we intend to meet our commitments to the Nation’s veterans and their families.

Executive Summary

VA continues to develop and implement an integrated strategic management process that links planning, budgeting, and performance measurement. The driver of this process is the VA Strategic Plan, which sets forth the long-term course and direction for the Department. VA’s Annual Performance Plan builds on the Strategic Plan by identifying the specific performance targets that will bring us closer to achievement of our goals and objectives.

The FY 2001 Performance Plan contains several sections. We describe the improvements to our performance planning efforts, particularly our increased focus on outcome goals and measures. After summarizing the Department’s mission, vision, and program descriptions, we present detailed information on the goals, objectives, and performance measures VA’s leadership considers critical to the success of the Department. The Performance Plan also contains discussions of:

the means and strategies that will be used to achieve our performance targets;
external factors that may have an impact on our ability to achieve those targets;
major management challenges;
data verification and validation activities;
crosscutting activities VA has ongoing with other government and private sector organizations;
program evaluation efforts;
budget account restructuring activities;
efforts that are in place to enhance accountability for performance; and
steps we will take to ensure this plan is communicated to VA staff as well as to our external stakeholders.

Finally, we present two sets of data tables. The first displays all of our performance measures by Departmental goal and objective, while the second displays the measures by program.

Reviewed/Updated 2/17/2000
Comments/Questions should be directed to Thom Rochford @ 202.273.5675.

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