At a Glance: Voluntary Programs Could Benefit from Internal Policy Controls and a Systematic Management Approach



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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Inspector General
At a Glance
2007-P-00041
September 25, 2007
Why We Did This Review
We developed this report to
identify current voluntary
program management
challenges. Our goal was to
determine whether (1) the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has consistent
Agency-wide policies that
govern voluntary programs;
(2) EPA's definitions of
voluntary programs are
understood by its staff and the
public; and (3) EPA has the
necessary processes to
consistently develop, test, and
review these programs.
Background
EPA increasingly relies on
voluntary programs as tools
for protecting the
environment. EPA's
54 headquarters voluntary
programs are diverse,
reportedly providing a variety
of benefits to several different
customer groups, including
some non-governmental
organizations and the public.
For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional and Public
Liaison at (202) 566-2391.
To view the full report,
click on the following link:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2007/
20070925-2007-P-00041 .pdf
Catalyst for Improving the Environment
Voluntary Programs Could Benefit from Internal Policy
Controls and a Systematic Management Approach
What We Found
EPA has no Agency-wide policies that require voluntary programs to collect
comparable data or conduct regular program evaluations. Without a consistent set
of policies, EPA cannot determine the overall environmental impact of its
voluntary programs. EPA lacks internal controls that outline specific ways to
determine the success or failure of EPA's overall voluntary program effort. As a
result, EPA cannot determine which voluntary programs are succeeding or failing.
EPA also cannot determine which programs should serve as models for future
program development.
EPA program offices have difficulty applying the current voluntary program
definitions. This is because the scope of EPA's voluntary program definitions has
changed drastically in the last 4 years. Depending on the source, the number of
EPA voluntary programs varies between 54 and 133. However, the actual number
of voluntary programs has not significantly changed. Instead, changes to program
definitions simply expanded the scope of the populations. This problem can
confuse EPA staff, participants, and the public.
EPA does not have a system to develop, test, and market new programs. EPA also
lacks a system to evaluate existing programs, and may benefit from adopting a
research and development model. Without a consistent management system, EPA
cannot ensure that programs have the necessary elements to demonstrate their
impact. Further, EPA lacks a systematic method to design, evaluate, and model
programs that are effective at achieving environmental results.
What We Recommend
We recommend that the Deputy Administrator provide the Associate
Administrator for the Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation with the
authority to develop, implement, and oversee mandatory Agency-wide
management policies for voluntary programs. Further, those mandatory policies
should implement a systematic management approach similar to a research and
development model, and develop specific definitions or criteria that outline the
general intent and function for the groups or categories of EPA voluntary
programs that are currently implemented.
Agency respondents generally concurred with our recommendations. However,
we remain uncertain exactly how the Agency plans to address and resolve each of
our individual recommendations. We therefore consider our report
recommendations to be open and unresolved.

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