You asked if any state agency (1) identifies long-term trends, (2) analyzes how they affect state policies and programs, and (3) recommends appropriate policy and programmatic changes.

STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT DIVISION

Although the Office of Policy and Management (OPM) is responsible for performing these strategic planning tasks, much of its time is devoted to other tasks. OPM's Strategic Management Division must "identify, research, and analyze trends that are or will be the driving forces shaping our future and ... develop recommendations on how the delivery of state services must change in response to these trends" (www. opm. state. ct. us/mgmt/about/goals. htm). (OPM's Policy Development and Planning Division examines emerging needs affecting the state's natural resources when it prepares the State Plan of Conservation and Development, which is discussed below. )

During the mid 1990s, the Strategic Management Division performed its analytical tasks and additionally introduced agencies to strategic business planning. It prepared a manual explaining the planning process, which involved setting five-year goals, developing strategies to accomplish them, and constructing statistical indicators measuring the extent to which they do so. This process was designed to help each agency produce a plan they could use to align their policies, programs, and budgets with their five-year goals. The agencies would redo the process every five years, reevaluating their goals and revising the plans accordingly.

In 2000, the division's staff was assigned other tasks, including implementing some components of the Adriaen's Landing Project. Consequently, it now analyzes trends and helps agencies prepare strategic business plans only on an ad hoc basis.

CONNECTICUT PROGRESS COUNCIL

It seems that OPM turned to strategic business planning in lieu of an approach the legislature initiated. In 1993, the legislature created the Connecticut Progress Council as a permanent body responsible for preparing and revising long-range goals and benchmarks, which are statistical indicators that measure the extent to which those goals are met (CGS § 4-67r). The council completed the goals and benchmarks in 1995, but never revised them.

A 1995 law required OPM to report annually to the council and the legislature on how it would use the benchmarks to prepare the state's budget. In lieu of this requirement, OPM instructed agencies to incorporate performance measures in their budget requests. Some were based on the council's benchmarks. Performance measures and benchmarks both used statistics to measure progress toward meeting goals. But they differ in that they address goals set by different entities: performance measures address goals the agencies set, while benchmarks address goals the council set and, in some cases, assigned to one or more agencies.

While the Progress Council's benchmarks have played little role in the budget process, OPM has used them and their related goals to develop the State Plan of Conservation and Development. The plan tries to balance the competing needs to conserve and develop land by channeling new development away from rural, undeveloped land to areas that already have the infrastructure needed to support new development. OPM must determine if proposed state projects comply with the plan. Municipalities must only consider the plan when updating their comparable local plans.

Attachment 1 is a recent OLR memo giving more details about the Progress Council (2002-R-0875).

JR: ts