Fifty-nine local governments earned Certificates in Performance Management from ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, for their leadership in performance management for operational improvement and community engagement. Presented annually, these certificates recognize performance management programs, encourage comparative analysis, and reward transparency.
“Performance management is a bedrock principle of professional local government management,” ICMA Executive Director Marc A. Ott said. “By recognizing these leaders, ICMA hopes to encourage others to make a commitment to collect and analyze data, report it transparently, and use it to continuously engage their communities and improve their organizations.”
Certificates are based on established criteria and are awarded at three levels: Achievement, Distinction, and Excellence:
- Recipients at all levels collect and verify data to ensure reliability, train staff in performance measurement, and report data to the public through budgets, newsletters, and/or information provided to elected officials.
- Certificates of Distinction are awarded to those who also provide comparative and benchmarking information to the public, use performance data in strategic planning and operational decision-making, and share their knowledge with other local governments through presentations, site visits, and other networking activities.
- Certificates of Excellence, the highest level of recognition, go to those who also track and report key outcomes, survey residents and local government employees, incorporate data into performance dashboards or other visual communications, and foster the development of a performance culture throughout their organizations.
Following is a list of the 2017 recipients:
Certificate of Excellence (25)
Alachua County, FL
Albany, OR
Austin, TX
Bellevue, WA
Coral Springs, FL
Durham, NC
Fairfax County, VA
Fayetteville, NC
Fort Collins, CO
Fort Lauderdale, FL
Gilbert, AZ
Kansas City, MO
Montgomery County, MD
New Orleans, LA
Oklahoma City, OK
Olathe, KS
Peoria, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
Poudre Fire Authority, CO
San Antonio, TX
San Francisco, CA
Scottsdale, AZ
Tacoma, WA
Tamarac, FL
Woodbury, MA
Certificate of Distinction (15)
Bayside, WI
Bettendorf, IA
Bernalillo County, NM
Clayton, MO
Dallas, TX
Edmonton, AB
Mecklenburg County, NC
Mesa, AZ
Miami-Dade County, FL
Palm Coast, FL
Rock Hill, SC
San José, CA
Suwanee, GA
Wichita, KS
Williamsburg, VA
Certificate of Achievement (19)
Algonquin, IL
Batavia, NY
Bloomington, IL
Clackamas County, OR
Deland, FL
Elk Grove, CA
Grafton, WI
Greenville, NC
Greer, SC
Hillsborough, NC
Loudoun County, VA
Maui County, HI
North Hempstead, NY
Purcellville, VA
Raleigh, NC
River Forest, IL
San Diego, CA
Sheboygan, WI
Southlake, TX
Examples of programs and presentations that exemplify the certificate criteria appear on the Certificate Program page on the ICMA website. Here is a sampling from 2017:
- Bellevue, Washington, uses a strategic planning cause-and-effect map to illustrate the factors that affect the goal of “Economic Growth & Competitiveness,” i.e., economic development, infrastructure development, community development, and workforce development.
- Austin, Texas, uses a formal process to assess performance measures in terms of how the raw data is obtained, how performance is communicated, and what limitations or difficulties may affect the use of data in management and decision-making.
- Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, reports progress on the city’s 10-year strategic goals for urban attractiveness, transportation, livability, environmental and financial sustainability, and economic diversification.
- Coral Springs, Florida, gathers feedback from local business owners and senior managers in a survey designed to identify ways to improve the quality of city services.
ICMA will officially recognize recipients at its 103rd Annual Conference in San Antonio/Bexar County, Texas, October 22-25, 2017, and in the October 2017 issue of PM (Public Management) magazine.
Criteria for the 2018 certificates will be announced in November 2017. Any local government may apply. For further information, contact gyoung@icma.org.
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About ICMA
ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government management worldwide through leadership, management, innovation, and ethics. ICMA is second only to the federal government in the collection, analysis, and dissemination of data and information focused on issues related to local government management. The organization provides resources, support, and results-oriented assistance to more than 11,000 city, town, and county member experts and other individuals and organizations throughout the world.
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