Performance Monitoring & Evalution System(PMES) to enrich the Quality of Governance in India | What is PMES?

The Union Budget 2011-12 sought to enrich the quality of governance by strengthening Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System (PMES). The Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said in Lok Sabha that as per the recommendations of Second Administration Reforms Commission, the Government has set up a PMES to assess the effectiveness of Government departments in their mandated functions. PMES involves preparations of a Results Framework Document (RFD) by each department, highlighting its objectives and priorities for the financial year and achievements against pre-defined targets at the end of the year. This document would be available for public information on the departmental websites. In the first phase, 62 departments have been covered under PMES.

THE PERFORMANCE MONITORING AND EVALUATION SYSTEM

The Performance Monitoring and Evaluation System (PMES) is a public management tool that will be used to improve the way in which government achieves results by examining outcomes and impacts of projects, programmes and policies which can be used for informed decision-making. It provides a means whereby reliable performance feedback can be ascertained.

The System will focus on a more integrated approach to planning and performance reporting; consistent tabling of plans and performance reports before Parliament and the provision of supporting guidance documents to Permanent Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers of government organizations.

This System will facilitate a number of improvements to the current system of managing accountability across government. The targeted improvements will be:

a) A strengthened accountability framework for Permanent Secretaries and Chief Executive Officers of Executive Agencies and Public Bodies. This will be achieved by implementing the Performance Management and Appraisal System (PMAS) component of the Government of Jamaica Accountability Framework for Senior Executive Officers. PMES requirements will be included in the Ongoing Commitments section of the performance evaluation instrument as well as, the identification and implementation of agreed priority areas, for which senior executives will be held accountable for the achievement of results;

b) The development of a government-wide business plan which will include the requirements of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), and the Jamaica Public Investment Framework (JPIF). The MTEF will provide the framework through which government‟s expenditure is brought back in line with available resources, while maintaining efficiency and effectiveness in its operations. MTEF will provide a tool which will link policy, planning and budgeting over the medium term and will help managers to make strategic decisions about the allocation of financial resources in line with government priorities and policies. Ministries will be required by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, to produce MTEF submissions which will identify the programmes and activities as well as, the budgetary support required for funding such programmes/activities.

The Jamaica Public Investment Framework will provide the mechanism through which the allocation of budgetary resources for government investment projects will be based on a formal process of reviewing, ranking and placement of such programmes in the portfolio of projects under MTEF which should receive budgetary support;

c) Regular tabling of plans and reports in Parliament;

d) Developing policies, standards and procedures to support planning, monitoring and evaluation of Government policies and programmes;

e) Cross-sectoral networking and collaboration; and

f) Establishing clear linkages across all the following three operational levels of the public sector:

1. Whole of Government (Macro) Level - across Ministries and strategic priorities;
2. Organizational (Meso) Level - between Ministries, their Divisions, Departments and Performance Based Institutions and Agencies; and
3. Individual (Micro) Level - at the Divisional/Department, and individual levels within an organization.