ECC Presentations

The ECC makes a number of presentations to promote the use of outcome based performance measures in compliance and enforcement programs and to encourage new thinking and approaches in program management. Sample presentation are shown below. If your agency is interested in a presentation, contact Aisha Washington for more information.

  From Oversight to Insight
Presented at the August 2006 ECOS meeting, Compliance Committee, in Portland, OR.

  The Evolution of State/Federal Relations: The Win/Win Path Forward
Presented at the April 2004 ECOS meeting, Data Management Workgroup, in Hot Springs, AR.

Compliance Measurements and Reporting

Compliance and Enforcement Measures, Performance Accountability, and Federal Role
Presented at the OECA Distinguished Speakers Series, January 26, 2006

This presentation argues that good outcome-focused compliance and enforcement measurement methods already exist and that the challenge is getting EPA to use them. It also warns that a lack of clarity and confusion regarding accountability expectations (for what, by whom) are a significant barrier impeding increased state and EPA emphasis on outcomes and urges EPA, especially OECA and OCFO, to try to fix this. In addition, the presentation argues that the EPA role needs to evolve, especially in the information age, and suggests how it should do that. Many examples of effective measurement methods are included in this presentation.

  Compliance Measurement and Reporting
Presented at the Spring 2002 ECOS Meeting in Madison, WI.

  Region 1 Quarterly Compliance Meeting
Presented to EPA Region 1 and New England States, September 11, 2003.

Performance Accountability Expectations

Navigating Performance Accountability Pitfalls: A New Notion of Performance Accountability
Presented at Governing Managing Performance conference, Oct. 7, 2005

When agencies are expected to set goals and measure performance relative to the goals, fears set in.  Are agencies expected to meet their targets? What happens if they don't?  These fears often lead agencies and their organizational sub-divisions to shy away from goals, especially outcome-focused and challenging ones.  Yet specific, challenging, outcome-focused goals are the one that result in the greatest performance improvement.  This presentation proposes an alternate set of accountability expectations that will minimize fear and maximize outcome improvements: agencies should not be expected to meet all their targets or they will not set any challenging ones, which stimulate the most innovation. They should, however, be accountable for: setting specific outcome-focused goals, measurement mastery, interactive inquiry and analysis, cogent strategies, and implementation of those strategies.  Managers and grantees (e.g., states) should be held accountable for these practices.

Environmental Performance Measures

 Practical, Affordable Performance Measurement: How and Why?
Presented to the Northeast Environmental Summit, Providence , Rhode Island , September 28-29, 2005.

Goals, Measures, Grants, Federal Role, Budget Office Role
Presented to the Office of Managment and Budget and Government Accountability, October 2005.

No Longer Flying Blind
Presented at the April 2004 EPA National Environmental Assistance Summit on measures government agencies and regulated facilities can use to assess their progress and improve their performance in Baltimore, MD.

  Results-Focused Environmental Protection
Presented to the Corporate Environmental Enforcement Council, December 2003.

  Practical Environmental Performance Measurement
Presented at the Fall 2002 National Compliance Assistance Provider's Forum in San Antonio, TX.

  Environmental Performance Measures
Presented to the NJ DEP in Trenton, NJ, November 2002.

  Practical Environmental Performance Measures
Presented at the Spring 2002 ECOS Meeting in Madison, WI.

  Friends of Chicago River
Presented to the Friends of the Chicago River on how performance goals and measures helped clean up of the Charles, September 27, 2002.

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