The FY 2012 Program Evaluation gives an overall assessment of how well fiscal programs functioned in fiscal year 2012 in preparation for a review of the FY 2012 Settlement of Accounts by the National Assembly. This report covered 33 topics—including key fiscal issues in national finance, major national projects, and projects run by several ministries—and classified them into three volumes, i.e. multi-ministerial programs, economic and industrial programs, and social programs. In the last four years, the National Assembly Budget Office evaluated the organization of the government’s performance plans and performance report. This year, we instead focused on major fiscal programs.
Performance evaluation of multi-ministerial programs confirms persistent problems in the reliability of performance reporting (the weak link between program results and budget) and inadequacies in performance indicators, performance goal-setting, and measurement. Other problems include inadequate improvements according to certain performance indicators, poorly conceived program objectives, insufficient program coordination among ministries, and non-compliance with regulations. Some programs were found to have actually fallen short of the objectives that were claimed to have been achieved in their own reports, and this naturally calls into question the credibility of performance reporting. The seed purchase and supply (loan) program of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, for example, was found to be performing poorly, not as well as claimed in reports; and some of the programs under the Crime Victims Protection Fund of the Ministry of Justice showed that they had little relevance with the initial funding objectives. A separate chapter on performance management should be instituted in the National Finance Act in order to regulate all aspects of performance management.
The funding for the youth employment program, which is a major multi-ministerial program, was found to have been used to support employment of middle-aged persons 35 years of age or older, education and training of medical and pharmaceutical professionals, and other programs that provide scholarship-like funds to graduate schools. Thirteen programs involving nine ministries had no record of helping low-income groups or other groups that experience difficulty obtaining employment; and seven programs involving six ministries achieved not more than 5% of their initial targets. These findings reveal that the youth employment program scope is not clearly defined. Funding for the infant and preschool children childcare support program may not be sustainable due to underfunding by local governments compared to the funding from national coffers. There is also a need to prevent the quality of childcare services from deteriorating by lowering the debt ratio limit for nurseries. In the case of the voucher program, it was found that vouchers were illegally used in elderly care services, in-home caregiver services, and regional social services. Voucher programs run by local government agencies were found to have been executed without verification of whether the operators were capable of executing the programs. The child protection program of the Police Agency needs more rigorous screening of prospective child protectors as well as more efficient coordination with the school protection program of the Ministry of Education.
The new growth-engine projects implemented as key national projects by the previous administration were found to have issues in overall management, and only KRW16.4 trillion, or 67% of the KRW24.5 trillion earmarked for them, was executed. In R&D programs, few license agreements were signed over the three years from 2010 to 2012 relative to the R&D outcomes, an indication of low industrial application of R&D results.
Jeong Yuhoon
Performance evaluation of multi-ministerial programs confirms persistent problems in the reliability of performance reporting (the weak link between program results and budget) and inadequacies in performance indicators, performance goal-setting, and measurement. Other problems include inadequate improvements according to certain performance indicators, poorly conceived program objectives, insufficient program coordination among ministries, and non-compliance with regulations. Some programs were found to have actually fallen short of the objectives that were claimed to have been achieved in their own reports, and this naturally calls into question the credibility of performance reporting. The seed purchase and supply (loan) program of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs, for example, was found to be performing poorly, not as well as claimed in reports; and some of the programs under the Crime Victims Protection Fund of the Ministry of Justice showed that they had little relevance with the initial funding objectives. A separate chapter on performance management should be instituted in the National Finance Act in order to regulate all aspects of performance management.
The funding for the youth employment program, which is a major multi-ministerial program, was found to have been used to support employment of middle-aged persons 35 years of age or older, education and training of medical and pharmaceutical professionals, and other programs that provide scholarship-like funds to graduate schools. Thirteen programs involving nine ministries had no record of helping low-income groups or other groups that experience difficulty obtaining employment; and seven programs involving six ministries achieved not more than 5% of their initial targets. These findings reveal that the youth employment program scope is not clearly defined. Funding for the infant and preschool children childcare support program may not be sustainable due to underfunding by local governments compared to the funding from national coffers. There is also a need to prevent the quality of childcare services from deteriorating by lowering the debt ratio limit for nurseries. In the case of the voucher program, it was found that vouchers were illegally used in elderly care services, in-home caregiver services, and regional social services. Voucher programs run by local government agencies were found to have been executed without verification of whether the operators were capable of executing the programs. The child protection program of the Police Agency needs more rigorous screening of prospective child protectors as well as more efficient coordination with the school protection program of the Ministry of Education.
The new growth-engine projects implemented as key national projects by the previous administration were found to have issues in overall management, and only KRW16.4 trillion, or 67% of the KRW24.5 trillion earmarked for them, was executed. In R&D programs, few license agreements were signed over the three years from 2010 to 2012 relative to the R&D outcomes, an indication of low industrial application of R&D results.
Jeong Yuhoon