ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Pennsylvania’s Dark Board

Governing

A Pennsylvania state board created by law in 2017 to review billions of dollars in tax credits and government spending quietly stopped meeting three years ago and board members won’t say why.

The HoCo Dash Board

Howard County, MD

Data-informed. People-driven. Howard County is committed to building trust through transparency and accountability by empowering residents to stay informed and engaged. Explore its seven “Impact Pillars” focused on quality of life in the county, and key performance indicators.

Looking Beyond the Dashboard

Medium (Christine Lauca)

Dashboard indicators don’t answer the question of what is needed to make a difference. They point to where attention is needed. Understanding why performance is changing, and what, if anything, should be done about it, requires a central capability that continuously scans for emerging delivery issues, works with service providers to understand what the indicators reveal, where capacity constraints are limiting progress, and where intervention is needed before problems become crises.

Resource of the Week:  Do What Works: Smarter Government, Better Results

Results for America (Michele Jolin and David Medina, eds.)

A new book written by governors, mayors, legislators, and other leaders of both parties who are testing bold solutions and using data to improve results, these inspiring essays offer a blueprint for how governments everywhere can solve urgent challenges and rebuild public trust.

The Path to a Results-Forward Budget

Barrett & Greene (blog by Laura Larsen)

For decades, budget season has followed a familiar script: departments submit requests based on what they received last year, finance and budget teams look for places to trim, and elected officials debate the margins. It’s a process built for stability, not for adapting to fast-moving community needs. The good news is that a different approach is possible.

Better Metrics, Smaller Experiments

Harvard Kennedy School/Data-Smart City Solutions (podcast, 23 min)

This is an interview with Jessica MacLeod, on her new role as chief of strategy and performance for the city of San Francisco. “It’s all about helping our city get really concrete about what the top priorities are, how we define what success looks like and how we create an evidence-based plan to achieve it in creative new ways.” It is also about building a culture and operating norm to get teams to collaborate on solving problems. 

Evaluation Competencies in an Age of Collapse

American Evaluation Association (Scott Chaplowe)

Evaluation was built for stable systems, and we no longer have those. Evaluation cannot afford a double life of living as though nothing has changed while knowing everything has, which means our competencies have to change.

The 15 States Using Data and Evidence to Deliver Results

Results for America/The Department of What Works

The growing number of states recognized in Results for America’s “Invest in What Works State Standard of Excellence” show momentum for a get-things-done approach to governing.

Sunnyvale’s Performance Measurement System, After 40 years

Public Administration Review

This study provides the first longitudinal, cross-programmatic assessment of a performance measurement system, introducing a digital archival approach to analyze 40 years of municipal budget documents from Sunnyvale, California: the prototype for the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993.

Creating an Evidence Research Agenda

Nature

The authors outline a research agenda to advance understanding of why there is a persistent production/adoption gap and knowledge of what works, and what can be done to increase adoption of evidence that improves societal outcomes.

A KPI Needs Four Distinct Owners

PuMP Academy

Like a puppy or kitten, if no one takes personal ownership of a performance measure, it will die a slow death. Conversely, if the puppy or kitten has too many owners, everyone might assume someone else will take care of it. And it will die a slow death.

Resource of the Week:  Tier Board and Rounding Guidebook

LinkedIn (Michael Jacobson)

Rounding, the term and concept, was borrowed from the medical field when doctors go on “rounds” to check in on patients. In the performance management space, King County, WA, used it as a way for senior leaders to check in on departments and their operational and strategic performance. . . . This link includes the enterprise guidebook covering the core performance management principles, visual management guidance, and leadership behavior elements.

From Data to Decisions

Substack (Manish Srivastava)

An essay on why the next generation of digital government needs an architecture for evidence, reasoning and accountability. The author discusses a fundamental question: What digital architecture do governments need to move from data to decisions in a way that is trustworthy, explainable and accountable?

Job Announcement: Performance Manager

State of Maryland

The Performance Manager is responsible for advancing the work of the Governor’s Office of Performance Improvement by working closely with the team and with key points of contacts within agencies to advance the priorities of the Moore-Miller Administration. Deadline for submission: September 9, 2026.

WEBINAR: Collaborative Performance Management (Tues., Sept. 8, 1 p.m. Eastern)

Center for Accountability & Performance

This webinar will explore how public managers can make performance management work in collaborative settings. Based on cases from the United States, Jamaica, and the Netherlands, it will showcase how collaborations use performance measures and information to manage and improve their work. Panelists are from each of the three countries.