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Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART)
The Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) was developed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/ 
to assess the performance of federal programs and help inform management actions, budget requests, and legislative proposals directed at achieving results. The PART guidance underscores the need for agencies to conduct program evaluations that evaluate the effectiveness and impact of federal programs. In particular PART Questions 2.6 and 4.5 ask about the role of program evaluation in filling gaps in performance information, supporting program improvements, and determining whether federal programs are effective and achieving results. For more information about the PART, please go to OMB's website at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/part/
Evaluation programs from across the federal government are working within their agencies and with OMB to address program evaluation in the PART. For the past two years, representatives from several federal agencies have led presentations and discussions at OMB about program evaluation, including evaluation in the context of Regulatory and Research & Development programs. OMB has included this information on it's PART website under "Supporting Materials/References". Presentation materials are below:
- July 2006 Evaluation Dialogue, General Session – Federal Evaluators' 2006 OMB Briefing Slides (PDF 31 pages, 421K)
- July 2006 Evaluation Dialogue, Regulatory Breakout – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Program Evaluations Presentation (PDF 20 pages, 212K)
- April 2005 Evaluation Dialogue, General Session – (Please see the updated, July 2006 version above)
- April 2005 Evaluation Dialogue, Breakout Sessions – Examples of Evaluation Approaches (PDF 42 pages, 453K)
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has conducted a series of reports on the PART. The reports are listed below. To access copies of these reports please go to http://www.gao.gov .
- Program Evaluation: OMB's PART Reviews Increased Agencies' Attention to Improving Evidence of Program Results, October 2005 [Report number GAO-06-67].
- Performance Budgeting: PART Focuses Attention on Program Performance, but More Can be Done to Engage Congress, October 2005 [Report number GAO-06-28]
- Performance Budgeting: Observations on the Use of OMB's Program Assessment Rating Tool for the Fiscal Year 2004 Budget [Report number GAO-04-174].