What are the three objectives of OMB Circ. A-76?

What are the three objectives of OMB Circ. A-76?

• A. Enhance economy and productivity; keep inherently governmental activities in-house; rely on the commercial sector
• B. Improve efficiency; expand outsourcing; centralize procurement
• C. Increase defense spending; privatize all functions; reduce oversight
• D. Standardize budgeting; eliminate outsourcing; emphasize in-house

Answer: (A)

OMB Circular A-76 sets how the government decides, for commercial activities, whether to perform work in-house or contract it out, aiming to improve efficiency, preserve government authority where needed, and rely on the private sector when it makes sense. The three objectives are: to enhance economy and productivity by driving competition and cost-effective performance; to keep inherently governmental activities in-house because they involve public judgment and the exercise of sovereign authority; and to rely on the commercial sector by using competition with contractors to obtain best value. This framing ensures work that the government can do more efficiently or safely on its own isn’t outsourced unnecessarily, while commercial tasks can be competitively provided by the private sector. The other options don’t fit because they either imply expanding outsourcing or centralization, privatizing all functions, or eliminating outsourcing altogether, none of which align with the circular’s emphasis on competition, cost-effectiveness, and preserving in-house capability for inherently governmental work.

OMB Circular A-76 sets how the government decides, for commercial activities, whether to perform work in-house or contract it out, aiming to improve efficiency, preserve government authority where needed, and rely on the private sector when it makes sense. The three objectives are: to enhance economy and productivity by driving competition and cost-effective performance; to keep inherently governmental activities in-house because they involve public judgment and the exercise of sovereign authority; and to rely on the commercial sector by using competition with contractors to obtain best value. This framing ensures work that the government can do more efficiently or safely on its own isn’t outsourced unnecessarily, while commercial tasks can be competitively provided by the private sector.

The other options don’t fit because they either imply expanding outsourcing or centralization, privatizing all functions, or eliminating outsourcing altogether, none of which align with the circular’s emphasis on competition, cost-effectiveness, and preserving in-house capability for inherently governmental work.