Three recipients of Certificates of Excellence in Performance Management from ICMA were highlighted in recent profiles focusing on the importance of data in tracking and managing local government performance and in informing the public about progress toward achieving community objectives.

Montgomery County, Maryland, and Fairfax County, Virginia, were highlighted in an article in Route Fifty, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the subject of a May 26 blog post in Governing.

Better Performance Reporting

The Path to Better Performance Reporting in the Route Fifty online publication focused on performance and evidence-based management in government. The author, Shelley H. Metzenbaum, visited websites of several members of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and interviewed chief administrators. She identified the Montgomery County and Fairfax County sites as examples that made it easy for residents to learn “what their government was trying to accomplish, why, how, and how well.”

The Montgomery County CountyStat, for example, was singled out for its presentation of eight countywide priority objectives. Users can drill down to find out what indicators are tracked, the current status of progress toward each objective, the factors that affect performance, the role of each department in working toward the objectives, and other information.

Fairfax County reports on nine initiatives (found at the bottom of this page). The site provides relevant documents and updates on each one. The county also tracks and reports on 400 lines of business related to public service delivery and internal functions.

Shifting to a Data-Driven Culture

For a May 26 blog post in Governing, Infusing Government with a Data-Driven Culture, Stephen Goldsmith interviewed former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. When he took office in 2008, said Nutter, he noted that the city collected a lot of data but was not taking full advantage of it.

He cited the creation of a data unit with a chief data officer as a starting point for shifting the organizational culture, driving home the importance of measurement and departmental responsibility for results: “We needed to convince employees this is not just our latest greatest idea but that this stuff actually works and we're quite serious about it. . . . We started talking about results and who was responsible for them, and really recognizing departments in a very public way. It takes time.”

The next shift, about midway in Nutter’s eight years in office, was open data. With the chief data officer, Philadelphia began releasing data to the public. “I think the public was surprised, the press was surprised, our own employees were surprised,” he said. Among the positive outcomes Nutter cited was a better relationship with citizens.

In short, “You . . . need to report out to the public on a regular basis with honest assessments of success and efforts that may have fallen short or not worked. Having and maintaining integrity and credibility in this process is critical to the success of the open data movement.”

ICMA Certificates in Performance Management

ICMA awards Certificates in Performance Management each year to recognize local government performance management programs, encourage comparative analysis, and reward transparency. The recipients of the 2016 certificates will be announced in July.