The CFPB Has Established Effective GPRA Processes, but Opportunities Exist for Further Enhancement

Commendable Action: The CFPB Voluntarily Developed an Effective QPR Process

Although not applicable to the CFPB, we found that the agency has developed an effective QPR process. Every quarter, each CFPB division holds a QPR meeting to track the division’s progress in meeting its performance goals. As shown in table 4, the CFPB’s QPR process incorporates practices that GAO identified as promoting successful QPRs.

Table 4: The CFPB’s Implementation of GAO-Identified Practices That Promote Successful QPRs

GAO-identified practice	CFPB implementation
Agency leaders use QPRs to drive performance improvement.	Regular participants in CFPB division QPRs include the Director of the CFPB, the Chief of Staff, and the Chief Strategy Officer, as well as the Division Associate Directors and Assistant Directors. One Division Associate Director stated that the division uses QPR information to identify areas for improvement, develop tasks to address the areas for improvement, and assign staff and set target dates to complete the tasks. An OCSO official also stated that QPRs are useful tools for tracking division progress in meeting agency goals.
QPRs ensure alignment of agency goals, program activities, and resources.	Each CFPB QPR assesses the division’s payroll and headcount metrics, division-level performance goals and measures, and the agency-wide strategic goals for which that division is responsible. Each division goal is also tied to a higher-level agency-wide goal.
Rigorous preparation enables meaningful performance discussions.	The CFPB has implemented a thorough QPR preparation process. First, the OCSO provides a QPR template to each division populated with operational performance information and information from previous QPRs. The divisions then enter the remaining performance information, including potential talking points. The OCSO reviews the complete draft QPR and meets with the divisions to identify substantive issues likely to be of interest to the Director of the CFPB.
Participants engage in rigorous and sustained follow-up on issues identified during QPRs.	The CFPB has incorporated a follow-up process into its QPRs. At the conclusion of QPR sessions, meeting participants follow up on issues raised in previous QPRs to determine progress as well as to identify additional follow-up items for the next quarter. One Division Associate Director stated that follow-up on QPR items sometimes occurs with the Director of the CFPB more frequently than quarterly.

• Source: OIG analysis of the CFPB’s use of GAO-identified practices for QPRs.

The CFPB’s QPR process evolved from a narrative-based process that was inconsistent in structure and tone to a more standardized, data-driven process. For each QPR, the division provides performance information on its agency-level and division-level performance goals and associated performance measures, including progress toward achieving each goal. This practice led to the effective alignment of the CFPB’s agency-level and division-level strategic and performance planning processes into the QPR process. Additionally, one division representative stated that the QPR process helped the CFPB develop consistent management practices. Further, multiple division representatives acknowledged that the process has become streamlined and is an accurate and useful management tool. The evolution of the CFPB’s QPR process is indicative of the agency’s effort to create a data-driven culture focused on consistently improving performance.