Question 50

Does the Executive’s Budget Proposal or any supporting budget documentation present nonfinancial data on results (in terms of outputs or outcomes) for at least the budget year?
 * a. Yes, nonfinancial data on results are provided for each program within all administrative units (or functions).
 * b. Yes, nonfinancial data on results are presented for all administrative units (or functions) but not for all (or any) programs.
 * c. Yes, nonfinancial data on results are presented for some programs and/or some administrative units (or functions).
 * d. No, nonfinancial data on results are not presented.
 * e. Not applicable/other (please comment).

Note on nonfinancial data
The budget should disclose not only the amount of money that is being allocated on a program but also any information needed to analyze that expenditure. Nonfinancial data and performance targets associated with budget proposals are used to assess the success of a given policy. For example, even when allocated funds are spent according to plan, there remains the question of whether the policy delivered the results that it aimed to achieve.

Nonfinancial data can include information on:
 * Inputs - These are the resources assigned to achieve results. For example, in regards to education, nonfinancial data on inputs could include the number of books to be provided to each school or the materials to be used to build or refurbish a school.
 * Outputs - These are products and services delivered as a result of inputs. For example, the number of pupils taught every year; the number of children that received vaccines; or the number of beneficiaries of a social security program.
 * Outcomes - These are the intended impact or policy goals achieved. For example, an increase in literacy rates among children under 10, or a reduction in rates of maternal mortality.

In addition, governments that set performance targets must use nonfinancial data for outputs and outcomes to determine if these targets have been met.

Guidelines
Question 50 asks about the availability of nonfinancial data on results for the budget year. Nonfinancial data on results can include data on both outputs and outcomes, but not on inputs (which are addressed in Question 49).

To answer “a,” the Executive’s Budget Proposal or supporting documentation must present, for at least the budget year, nonfinancial data on results for each individual program within all administrative units (ministries, departments, and agencies). It is also acceptable if nonfinancial data on results for each individual program is organized by functional classification. To answer “b,” the Executive’s Budget Proposal or supporting documentation must present nonfinancial data on results for all administrative units or all functional classifications, but not for each individual program (or even for any programs) within those administrative units or functions. A “c” response applies if nonfinancial data on results are presented only for some programs and/or some administrative units or some functions. Answer “d” applies if no nonfinancial data on results is presented.

1) What if nonfinancial data on results are presented for most but not all administrative units?
In OBS 2021 in the United States, individual agencies each released an Annual Performance Plan and Report around the time of the budget. Nonfinancial data on results can be found for all programs in these documents. The Department of Energy was the only agency that did not release an APP&R in a timely manner. Since its budget accounts for less than 3% of the total budget, we still scored this question "a" for the US, not "c".