Economic and Systems Analysis
The Economics and Systems Analysis (ESA) Project provides the tools, information, and analysis to support both the Office of Technology Deployment and the Office of Business Administration in identifying, selecting, and validating the portfolio of activities that will most effectively achieve programmatic goals. In particular, ESA Project staff has expertise in the buildings marketplace and as such are able to provided targeted analysis for the Building Technologies, Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs. The Project's overall objective is to provide timely and accurate information, research, and analyses needed to support programmatic strategic planning process, resource allocation, and performance measurement.
The ESA project is comprised of thee major elements (Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation) and one supporting function, Data and Tool Development. Project staff assist in the EERE Multiyear Planning (MYP) process development at the EERE level as well as providing background analysis for MYP development for BT and WIP. Planning helps EERE to develop organizational goals and the overarching strategies to reach those goals. The ESA project supports organizational development, strategic planning, and technology road mapping activities in EERE. The primary analytical function is the analysis of the potential impact of buildings-related efforts in EERE. Central to this analysis function is the assessment of programs in support of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). EERE designs programs with accompanying resources based on supporting analysis to gauge the potential for impacting the goals.
With regard to evaluation, ESA staff collect, analyze, and evaluate the impact of past BT and WIP activities and attempt to quantify those impacts in terms of both energy and cost savings. Programs are evaluated as to the progress in reaching milestones, but more importantly, actual progress to reaching organizational goals. These evaluations also underpin reporting requirements for GPRA.
Finally, ESA staff develop tools and data sources which can be used to support planning, analysis, and evaluation. Data and Tool Development increases the effectiveness of the Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation functions by providing tool suites and enhanced access to data. These tools and data are made available to the entire buildings analyst community through the Core Databook and the Energy Data Web Site.