Guest blog by the Office of the Secretary CFO/ASA-Performance Excellence Team, Kathryn Miller, Graduate Student Intern; Elizabeth Guo, Undergraduate Student Intern.

The Department of Commerce published progress updates on its five Agency Priority Goals (APGs) for the first and second quarters of FY 2020. The detailed action plans and Q1-Q2 progress for each APG can be found at https://performance.commerce.gov/.

Agency Priority Goals are two-year initiatives to improve the performance of specific high-priority policy or management areas. Each APG has a results-based goal statement, strategies, a plan of actions and milestones, and measurable performance targets. Most importantly, accomplishing these APGs will have a significant positive impact on the lives of all U.S. citizens. The Department’s FY 2020-2021 APGs are:

• Conduct a Complete and Accurate 2020 Decennial Census
• Mitigate Flood Impacts by Demonstrating Improved Decision Support Services to Emergency Managers
• Increase the Economic Impact of U.S. Trade
• Rural Wireless Broadband for Public Safety
• Space Situational Awareness

Despite the impacts of COVID-19, the Department continues to make progress towards accomplishing all APGs. For example, the Department’s first APG’s Goal Statement is: The U.S. Census Bureau will conduct a complete and accurate 2020 Decennial Census U.S. population count by executing for optimal self-response with a nationwide target of 60.5% in 2020, delivering apportionment counts to the President by December 31, 2020, and releasing counts for redistricting by April 1, 2021. At the end of Q2, the 2020 Census response rate was on track.

Likewise, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) milestones, to enhance flood inundation information and mapping capabilities to mitigate flood impacts, were on track at the end of Q2. While the APG to Increase the Economic Impact of U.S. Trade experienced unfavorable effects from the global pandemic, the Department’s International Trade Administration (ITA) sees increased opportunities to provide export assistance to small and medium-sized U.S. companies and accelerate our Nation’s economic recovery.

The APG to enhance wireless broadband capabilities for public safety in rural areas exceeded its Q1 performance targets for “Percent of Rural Population Covered” and “Number of Rural Population Covered” and is projected to exceed these targets for Q2. The Space Situational Awareness APG milestones are also on track, particularly with the establishment of technology capabilities.

The Department’s APG third-quarter updates are scheduled to be posted by the end of September 2020.

To read the Department of Commerce APG Q1-Q2 full updates and interact with their performance data, please visit https://performance.commerce.gov/