The Power of Performance Audits (Webinar, Tues. June 17, 1 p.m. Eastern – Free)

Center for Accountability and Performance

This webinar features veteran city, county and state performance auditors who will provide honest insights into their world and address questions such as: • What are the keys to ensuring that a good performance audit has impact? • How are auditors faring at a time when their independence is sometimes challenged? and How can performance auditors most effectively work with agencies? • 

Performance Budgeting – Great Idea. Poorly Understood.
LinkedIn Post by Julie Cooper
“I’m a fan of performance budgeting. It’s a smart concept. A necessary evolution. And yes — in theory, it is sexy. But here’s the reality: most performance budgeting reforms fail not because the idea is bad — but because the understanding of it is.”

Five Ways to Get Government Efficiency

PA Times (op-ed: Andrew Kleine)

“In my 30 years on the front lines of federal and local governments, I was never looking for efficiency alone. My goal was what I call “premium efficiency”: lower cost, better performance and a stronger organization. I found that if you want to achieve premium efficiency, there are five things you need to do: measure it, invest in it, source it, lean into it, share it.”

How Does Performance Information Influence Citizen Satisfaction?

Public Administration (gated article)

This quasi-experimental study in China examines the interactive effects of information disclosure and performance information on citizen satisfaction. The authors argue that information disclosure strengthens the “performance–satisfaction” link by aligning citizens’ satisfaction evaluations more closely with government performance.

Resource of the Week:  Improving Local Government Performance Through Benchmarking

David Ammons, Routledge (316 pgs.)

This new book by an award-winning author (and former CAP Board member!) sets the record straight on benchmarking and its value for performance improvement in local government. Written in an easy-to-read style, this book will provide practical assistance to local government officials and students of public administration who aspire to become practitioners in the future.