Enhancing U.S. Coast Guard Metrics

The U.S. Coast Guard needs to measure its operational-level performance effectively to make informed decisions about resource allocation. To assist the Coast Guard in this effort, the authors worked with official documentation and subject-matter experts to develop logic models describing each of the 11 statutory missions of the Coast Guard and using the descriptions to ascertain what aspects of these missions should be measured. The authors examined existing metrics in the light of these logic models, evaluating the metrics in terms of their validity (how well they measured elements of the logic models), reliability (how consistently measurements can be made), and feasibility (how readily measurements can be made). They also analyzed the extent to which existing metrics measure elements of the logic models. They then developed and evaluated sets of potential metrics that could improve on or complement the existing metrics, together with a framework for applying metrics in decisionmaking. This report describes the logic models, existing metrics, and potential metrics, including their relationships with one another and their derivation from Coast Guard sources. Note that, as of this writing, the Coast Guard is considering these findings and has not adopted them as doctrine.