ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Using Data to Improve Program Delivery: A Case Study

U.S. Department of Commerce

Improving program data practices is one of many aims of the Commerce Data Governance Board (CDGB). To support bureaus in their evidence-building practices, the CDGB chartered the Metrics Working Group in August 2022.The Metrics Working Group was specifically set up to uncover obstacles and explore pathways for improving the use of data for program design, delivery, and evaluation.

Opportunities for Improving Management when Budgeting

IBM Center for The Business of Government

In this report, author Steve Redburn outlines a series of challenges and opportunities for using the federal government’s budget processes to improve results in numerous management areas, including technology, analytics, and shared services. It includes specific, practical recommendations for action.

Local Benchmarking Without Finger Pointing

Barrett & Greene

North Carolina’s long-standing benchmarking efforts have been built on the idea of constructive comparison. For many years, the UNC School of Government benchmarking initiative, which has been a model for others since its inception in 1995, was led by well-known authority in the field, David Ammons. New director, Obed Pasha, took over about a year and a half ago. This article and webinar update efforts to date.

16 Habits of Highly Effective Governments

IBM Center for The Business of Government

This two-part summary of insights from Drs. Praja Trivedi and Marc Holzer distill their decades of scholarship and practice on improving government performance in the U.S. and internationally. It is the basis for their proposed “Government Performance Management System” and the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Generally Accepted Performance Principles.

Part 1: Habits #1-#4

Part 2: Habits #5-#16

What Do We Mean by “Evidence?”

Results for America

Results for America is sharing new definitions of “evidence-based” and “evidence-building” that it believes will help pay the way for governments to more clearly and effectively shift dollars to what works and deliver better results for all. It includes both definitions and examples. 

Maryland State Plan 2024

LinkedIn Blog Post

Twelve months into his administration, Maryland Governor Wes Moore rolls out a State Plan via a townhall videocast to an audience of more than five thousand state employees that details the plan’s ten priorities. It is the state’s first statewide plan in a decade.

Resource of the Week:  UNC Benchmarking Dashboard

Established in 1995, the North Carolina Benchmarking Project allows municipalities to compare their service and performance trends with other participating units. The Benchmarking 2.0 dashboard, launched in 2022, streamlines data collection and analysis and expands opportunities for robust peer-to-peer conversations and best-practice development.

The Power of Evidence to Drive America’s Progress

Results for America

Over the past 10 years, the federal evidence-based policy ecosystem has expanded exponentially. This expansion has primarily focused on developing capacity within federal agencies and increasing federally supported evidence production. This report documents the progress.

Too Much Data, Too Little Time

Barrett & Greene Report

Regardless of the validity of a cause, aren’t there instances in which gathering mountains of data is potentially counter-productive?

Focus on a Growth Culture, Not Performance Culture

Harvard Business Review

Many C-Suite leaders are focused on how to build higher performance cultures. The irony, we’ve found, is that building a culture focused on performance may not be the best, healthiest, or most sustainable way to fuel results.

Resource of the Week: Equity Indicators Project

CUNY Institute for State & Local Governance

Equity Indicators is a comprehensive tool developed by the CUNY Institute for State and Local Governance (ISLG) that helps cities understand and measure equality or equity in their city. There are currently six Indicator cities participating in this initiative.

It’s a Wrap: End-of-Cycle Performance Status

U.S. Office of Management and Budget

The performance.gov website has posted a wrap up of the progress made by agencies toward their FY2022-23 Agency Priority Goals. A blog post highlights some accomplishments and provides links to details to progress on all 85 APGs.

Recognized for Excellence in Using Data to Improve

City of Alexandria, VA

Bloomberg Philanthropy’s What Works Cities initiative recognized Alexandria as one of the 12 new cities to receive recognition for using data to inform decisions. Alexandria’s Silver Certification highlights examples such as eviction prevention, using trained teams to divert 911 calls from resulting in legal action, and creating an equity index map.

Resource of the Week:  Visualization 101: Choosing the Best Type

Towards Data Science

Here’s a nifty guide for different visualization use cases (hint: context is the starting point).

When It Comes to Data, Context Is King

Barrett & Greene

Simply showing information one or two years back can have the perverse effect of misleading people when the most recent historical data was misleading.

Webinar: Finding Data to Drive Improved Performance (Jan 24, 8 a.m. Eastern)

Association of Government Accountants      

While awash in data, clear insights helping government and those it funds improve performance and efficiency are hard to come by. That’s why investment in data infrastructure at every level – federal, state, and local – benefits everyone up and down the federal financial assistance funding chain. 

Progress and Promise: Evidence Act and Chief Data Officers

Ted Kaouk, LinkedIn

Last week, I closed out my term as Chair of the [federal Chief Data Officers] council and wanted to take this opportunity to share a review of the progress we’ve made.

 State and Local Learning Agenda: Blueprint for Strategies to Reduce Poverty

J-PAL North America

Drawing on conversations with 20 state and local governments and 25 J-PAL affiliated researchers as well as 137 research proposals submitted over the past five years, this report lays out key areas where new or additional research is best positioned to address barriers to mobility from poverty.

Resource of the Week:  Harnessing the Power of Data Sharing Agreements

Open Data Policy Lab

Data collaborations can be critical in harnessing the kinds of data needed to develop insights that can inform impactful decisions. Here are three documents that seek to help data stewards in the public and private sector address common barriers to forming a data sharing agreement.

Webinar: Examining the Impact & Path Forward for the Evidence Act (Wed., Jan. 17, 1 p.m. Eastern)

Data Foundation and others

This special virtual event will preview a forthcoming white paper from the Data Foundation examining the Evidence Act’s tangible impact in the United States on policymaking, evidence-building capacity, data infrastructure, privacy protections, and more.

Vermont Releases Accountability & Performance Report

Barrett & Greene

The state has released its report and recommendations on accountability and performance. Attention to performance management is not new in Vermont. In 2014, the legislature passed Act 186, known as the “Outcomes Bill”, which resulted in an annual report of outcomes for Vermont residents, tied to population-level information.

Federal Agencies Release Refreshed Priority Performance Goals

IBM Center for The Business of Government

So far, 74 agency priority goals have been posted on performance.gov. Of these, some agencies have noted that the wording of their specific goals are still forthcoming. There were 85 agency priority goals in the previous two-year cycle.

Making Measurement Meaningful

Stacey Barr’s Blog

Here’s a link to a white paper: “We can build a meaningful measurement approach through stages. Each stage takes on a common struggle and replaces its root cause with measurement practices that work.”

Impact of Evidence Act: 5 Years of Progress

Data Foundation

Signed into law by a Republican President, passed through a Democratic Senate, championed by a Republican House Speaker, and based on bipartisan commission recommendations, the Evidence Act is quietly revolutionizing how the U.S. government operates.  In just five years, we are seeing major, positive shifts.

Resource of the Week:  Intro to Measurement and Indicators

J-PAL North America

The goal of measurement is to get reliable data with which to answer research questions and assess theories of change. Inaccurate measurement can lead to unreliable data, from which it is difficult to draw valid conclusions. This resource covers key measurement concepts, means of data collection, from whom data should be collected, and common sources of measurement error.