Implementing budget performance management aims to make the allocation of fiscal funds more transparent and efficient, promoting the principle of "spend less, do more, and do it well." In the process of deepening fiscal and tax system reforms, budget performance management reform is a crucial point and a breakthrough, requiring intensified efforts to address weaknesses and issues.

The construction of "sponge cities" that naturally accumulate, infiltrate, and purify water is related to creating a beautiful China and enhancing the well-being of the people. The state invests substantial financial resources to support this initiative. How has this money been spent? Recently, the Ministry of Finance published the performance evaluation results of the central fiscal sponge city construction demonstration subsidy funds for 2023, listing the performance evaluation results of 60 sponge city construction demonstration cities. Implementing budget performance management is intended to make the use of fiscal funds more transparent and efficient, promoting the principle of "spend less, do more, and do it well."

In recent years, China has accelerated the construction of a comprehensive, full-process, and full-coverage budget performance management system, promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of fiscal resource allocation and use. Recently, many provinces and cities have further introduced regulations and detailed performance assessment work based on the progress of reforms. For example, Yunnan Province has introduced interim measures for provincial budget performance evaluation management, improving the decision-making mechanism for major policies and projects, and strengthening the application of assessment results. Henan Province actively promotes cost budget performance management, integrating the concept of cost-effectiveness throughout the entire budget management process. "Spending must be questioned for effectiveness, and ineffectiveness must be held accountable" is increasingly becoming a conscious practice in various regions, using performance management to drive the concentration and enhancement of fiscal funds.

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Budget performance management is a long-term systematic project that cannot be achieved overnight. At present, while significant achievements have been made, there are still issues such as the need to enhance the awareness of performance concepts, insufficient breadth and depth of performance management, and the phenomenon of "focusing on investment and neglecting management, focusing on expenditure and neglecting performance" is still prevalent. Under the tight balance of fiscal revenue and expenditure, it is more necessary and urgent to vigorously promote budget performance management and improve the efficiency of fund use. The "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Comprehensively Deepening Reforms and Promoting Chinese-style Modernization" passed by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee comprehensively deploys the improvement of the budget system and calls for strengthening public service performance management and enhancing ex-ante functional assessments. In the process of deepening fiscal and tax system reforms, budget performance management reform is an important key point and breakthrough, requiring intensified efforts to address weaknesses and issues.

Strengthen ex-ante functional assessments. Compared to post-assessment, ex-ante assessments move the assessment process forward, which is more conducive to controlling the allocation of funds at the source, preventing "decision-making on a whim," optimizing fiscal resource allocation, and improving the quality of public services. Therefore, it is necessary to leverage the front-end control role of ex-ante assessments, highlight cost and benefit analysis, and adhere to the principle of "budgeting before planning, decision-making before assessment, and spending before questioning effectiveness." Conduct ex-ante performance assessments for new major policies and projects, focusing on demonstrating the necessity of the project, the economic nature of the investment, and the rationality of performance targets. By strictly controlling the ex-ante assessment process, improve the scientific nature of budget decision-making, and provide more and better public services with less money.

Enhance the use of assessment results. Performance evaluation itself is not the goal; the important role lies in the application of evaluation results, using performance evaluation results as an important basis for improving policies, arranging budgets, and improving management. Strengthen the budget performance responsibility constraints, with relevant personnel being responsible for budget performance, and even implementing a lifetime responsibility pursuit system for performance. Link performance results to budget arrangements and policy adjustments, prioritize policies and projects with good performance, urge improvements for policies and projects with average performance, and resolutely reduce or cancel funds that are inefficient or ineffective. By strengthening the use of assessment results, reflect a clear direction of "rewarding the excellent and penalizing the poor," play an incentive and restraint role, spend precious fiscal funds to achieve the maximum benefit, and enhance the effectiveness of policy implementation.

Promote the disclosure of performance information. The effectiveness of public service expenditure depends on whether the people are satisfied. Performance information should be open and transparent, proactively reported to the same level of people's congress, and made public to the society, consciously accepting the supervision of the people's congress and all sectors of society. In recent years, the content of performance information disclosure has become more detailed, fully disclosing the output and effects of budget funds, honestly showing achievements and shortcomings, and has attracted widespread social attention. Next, it is necessary to disclose the performance information of more projects, and the performance information should be as detailed and easy to understand as possible to facilitate public supervision. In the process of evaluating public service performance, widely and fully listen to public opinions, and organize third-party institutions to independently carry out performance assessments when necessary, objectively and fairly evaluating the economic, efficient, effective, and equitable aspects of projects.

Achieving the optimization of resource allocation efficiency and the maximization of benefits is an inherent requirement for building a high-level socialist market economic system. Through reform measures that focus on results, emphasize cost-effectiveness, and harden responsibility constraints, budget performance management will play an increasingly prominent role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of fiscal resource allocation and use, and enhancing the quality of public service supply.