National Reconnaissance Office (USA)
Industry: Public Administration
Inducted: 2001
Regions: americas
Country: United States of America
Announcement Excerpt:

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) designs, builds, and operates the nation's reconnaissance satellites. NRO products -- provided to an expanding list of customers including the Central Intelligence Agency and Department of Defense -- warn of potential trouble spots around the world, help plan military operations, and monitor the environment. Once a top-secret spy organization, the NRO sparked unusual attention in 1996 when for the first time its budget, processes, and activities were put under public scrutiny. Guided by its vision of being Freedom's Sentinel in Space, the NRO turned to the Balanced Scorecard to develop strategic plans and performance measures, and meet the challenge of merging three previously isolated divisions. Tuning the scorecard model to its public sector context, the NRO began learning from its performance data, gained a better understanding of its customers, and recognized the importance of employee satisfaction. The result was strategic alignment across diverse organizational units and customer focus in a highly technical, engineering-based organization.