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EPA Receives Highest Management Honor for Second Year in Row

Release Date: 12/05/2008
Contact Information: Dave Ryan, (202) 564-4355/7827 / ryan.dave@epa.gov

(Washington, D.C. – Dec. 5, 2008) For the second straight year, EPA has received the federal government’s highest honor for strong and effective management – the President’s Quality Award for Management Excellence.

“We are the first agency ever to win this award back-to-back,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock. “It’s just another sign of EPA’s commitment to accountability and excellence.”

The President’s Quality Award was established in 1988 to recognize excellence in quality and productivity, applying to the public sector similar criteria used for the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Improvement Awards for private organizations. In 2002, the President’s Quality Award was redesigned to improve government management in five priority areas: human capital, competitive sourcing, financial performance, electronic government, and budget and performance integration.

EPA is the only agency to win the highest tier of the award for overall management. This year’s award recognizes EPA’s continued efforts to develop a data-driven, results-oriented culture. Among its 2008 accomplishments, EPA launched EPAStat, an integrated management system that engages senior leadership in improving performance by using environmental and operational data to drive decision-making. At EPAStat meetings, senior management from across the agency meet regularly with the Deputy Administrator to discuss the latest performance data, steps that can be taken to improve performance, and successful strategies that should be shared across EPA offices to improve results. EPA also led development of improved efficiency measures for research projects across the federal government. In addition, EPA launched new efforts to engage states and other partners in its planning and operational decisions and to efficiently and effectively collect performance-based data. These efforts further enable EPA to accomplish its mission of protecting human health and the environment.

In addition to this award, EPA has been acknowledged by the Government Accountability Office as a leader among federal agencies and departments in its use of performance management data.

Information on EPA’s President’s Quality Award and other accomplishments: epa.gov/pqa

Information on the President’s Quality Award: http://www.opm.gov/pqa/

EPA Deputy Administrator Marcus Peacock’s “Greenversations” blog entry on the award:
https://blog.epa.gov/blog/2008/12/05/another-first/