Agency Performance and Accountability Commission (APAC)

Summary of Policy Considerations and Agency Recommendations

Policy Considerations

The Oklahoma State Legislature may consider the following:

• Amending the provisions of 62 O.S. § 45.3 that currently require five-year strategic plans to be resubmitted every two years to instead require a five-year strategic plan that is followed with an annual update regarding outcomes. The Legislature may additionally consider requiring agencies’ strategic plans to be made publicly available.
• Requiring agencies to enact a phased implementation of outcome-based budgeting practices that align with an agency’s strategic plan.
• Creating an Innovations Fund for the purpose of providing loans for qualified State agency projects that demonstrate an ability to repay the loan with State savings generated from the project.
• Amending 62 O.S. § 35.9 to replace the current requirement for agencies to submit quarterly progress reports on the State’s IT consolidation efforts with a report detailing the expected return on investment for any Information Systems acquisitions and expenditures.
• Amend contracting standards to enable the State to have a vendor correct discovered defects after the payment for product or services has been rendered.

Agency Considerations

Agencies across State government should adopt the following business practices:

• Prior to developing a strategic plan, agencies should first evaluate the legislative intent of a program and then align the program’s strategic plan to deliver customer-oriented outcomes.
• The Executive’s Cabinet should regularly coordinate with agencies in developing strategic goals and outcomes for the State.
• Agencies’ requests for new programs or funding should be accompanied by a projection of qualitative or quantitative returns on the State’s investment or a description of the long- term impact of the investment.
• Agencies should gather metrics before and after implementation of a recommendation to demonstrate any change.
• Any agency estimating costs or developing a fee or use structure for stakeholder services should include all operational expenses, including stepwise, variable, and fixed costs.
• Agencies should conduct an agency stakeholder assessment as part of any independent audit or review and communicate with any agency about recommendations that may impact that agency.
• Agencies should outline in contracts with third-party independent auditors any expected deliverables, including a summary of all recommendations, an implementation strategy and schedule, and explanation of methodologies and calculations.