ANNUAL PERFORMANCE AGREEMENT(APA)

In order to expedite public service and its effrciency, the Govemment of Bangladesh formed Public Administration Reform Commission (PARC) in the year 1997. The PARC in its report in 2000 acknowledged that the success of any organization depends on its performance in a given time (GOB 2000). Tracking the financial and physical outcome of any organization after a particular time depends on the predetermined performance indicators of that organization. Here, targets need to be consistent with budget allocation available for the year. Government of Bangladesh (GOB) introduced the Budget Management Act in 2009 which also indicated the introduction of performance management system. GOB had also introduced Medium Term Budgetary Framework (MTBF) in 2009 which was the primary step to introduce Govemment Performance Management System (GPMS) in Bangladesh. Moreover; Govemment also formulated National Integrity Strategy (NIS) in 2012 with a vision to building a happy prosperous Bangladesh. Considering all these initiatives, Government introduced GPMS in the name of Annual Performance Agreement (APA) in 2014-15 at Ministry & Division level (GOB, 2012). During introduction the Govemment had a plan to cascade it down to the lowest level of the organization. Consequently, it was extended to department level in 2015-16 and to field level in 2016-17. APA is a record of understanding between two government offices (higher oflice and its subordinate office) to focus on activities from process-oriented to result oriented. It also aims to ensure institutional transparency, accountability, proper utilization of resources and above all enhancing institutional efficiency. The main purposes of introducing APA are: (a) shifting the focus of the govemment organization from process-orientation to result-orientation activities; and (b) providing an objective and fair basis to evaluate overall peformance at the end of the year. APA provides a summary of the most important results that a government office expects to achieve during the financial year. The Cabinet Division, every year, prepare an APA guideline for all offices. The guideline describes APA preparation procedure, provide the general principles, APA calendar and reveals the Mandatory Strategic Objectives (MSOs) and activities to meet the MSOs.