ABSTRACT
Originally from: Public Administration Review 67 (2007): 28-39. Policy impact statements and scorecards are common tools for prodding
public administrative organizations to pay attention to specific concerns and values. In federal administration, environmental impact statements, which were first broadly mandated by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Public Law 91-109), are complemented by impact statements and assessments regarding the potential effects of agency rules and policies on family values, federalism, environmental justice, and other matters (see Executive Orders 12606 [1987], 12612 [1987], and 12898 [1994]). The contemporary widespread use of scorecards began following the publication of Robert Kaplan and David Norton’s (1992) now-classic article, “The Balanced Scorecard: Measures That Drive Performance.”We have scorecards for the war on terrorism, freedom, civil liberties, school breakfasts, legislative performance, and corporate social responsibility, among others (American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, 2002; Food Research and Action Center, 2005; Fluke & Kump, 2004; Human Rights Campaign, n.d.; Levitt, 2002; Marcus, 2006). During the George W. Bush administration, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) used a scorecard to assess agencies’ progress toward the goals of the President’s Management Agenda (PMA) (U.S. Office of Management and Budget, 2001). Conspicuously missing from the plethora of impact statements and scorecards
available today are those focusing on the protection and promotion of democratic-constitutional values, including individual rights, constitutional integrity, transparency, and the rule of law. This chapter proposes (1) that democratic-constitutional impact statements be required as part of all substantial prescriptions for administrative reform and (2) that evaluations of program and policy implementation routinely include democratic-constitutional scorecards. The term democratic-constitutional refers to those aspects of American government and politics that have democratized the original constitutional design, as amended. Examples include freedom of information, open meetings, the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 (Public Law 79-404), and the expansion of individual rights through constitutional law. It is understood that the United States is a republic, not a democracy.
