The importance of these results is elevated in the context
of the General Accounting Office’s 1999 finding that
a continuing lack of confidence in the credibility of performance
information was a major concern for agencies
implementing the requirements of the Government Performance
and Results Act. In other words, the good news
is that imperfect data can still generate information that
might effectively guide program managers in improving
agency performance. To realize these benefits, however,
federal managers and local program administrators may
have to change how they use the performance-management
information once it is collected.