ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance

Beware: The Statistics from Nowhere

The Atlantic

Unfortunately, the very pervasiveness of meaningless numbers undercuts the credibility of statistics more generally, even when the numbers never make it into anyone’s financial calculations. . . . Audiences should be skeptical of numbers that get thrown around without sufficient explanation of their provenance. 

Are We There Yet? Evolution of the U.S. Federal Performance Management Framework: 1993-2022

International Journal of Public Administration (un-gated article)

The adoption and use of organizational performance management techniques has evolved in the US federal government over the past three decades. Recent movements to develop more sustainable uses of data and evidence may hold lessons for the future of the federal performance movement.

The 4 Stages of Data-Informed Local Government

What Works Cities

 What Works Cities equips and empowers city leaders to develop a data culture that delivers for residents. But what does the undertaking actually look like?

Buffalo’s Open Data Help Prevent Lead Poisoning

What Works Cities

During the last five years, Buffalo has successfully relaunched efforts to remediate toxic lead water pipes in no small part due to its strong commitment to data-driven decision making, open data, and stakeholder outreach.

Baltimore’s Use of Data to Support Neighborhood Reinvestment

What Works Cities

To address pressing housing challenges, the City of Baltimore is designing interventions customized to neighborhoods’ specific needs. Decisions about how to make these targeted investments are supported by a strong foundation of open data and stakeholder engagement.

Principles and Practices of Performance Budgeting

National Center for Public Performance

This YouTube recording of a recent webinar features Prof. Elaine Yi Lu  (City University of New York) and Prof. Katherine Willoughby (University of Georgia) who discuss their award-winning book “Public Performance Budgeting: Principles and Practice.” Their presentations are moderated by Mr. Greg Useem, Chief Performance Officer for the City of Alexandria, Va.

Resource of the Week:  Mapping Civic Measurement

Institute for Citizens & Scholars

Mapping Civic Measurement is a comprehensive civic measurement landscape review and a first-of-its-kind framework for mapping civic readiness and opportunities. This report features a collection of measurement tools, rubrics, and more than 200 resources in use by practitioners across education, business, philanthropy, community institutions, media, government, and civil society. 

When Data-Based Decision-Making Is Flawed

RouteFifty

There may even be an inverse correlation between increased use of data and the likelihood that it is accurate, timely and useful. . . . “The more you rely on data, the more incentive there is for people to be careless with it, because they’re in a hurry,” says Mark Funkhouser, the former mayor of Kansas City.”

Getting Legislatures Interested in the Future

International Political Science Review

Gradually, countries throughout the world have established state-level foresight mechanisms. Most operate under the executive branch, but increasingly such institutions have started to emerge also in legislatures, expanding anticipatory governance towards democratic publics. This article sums up a global survey on progress.

Upcoming: 2023 Marc Holzer Public Performance Symposium

ASPA/National Center for Public Performance

Day-long web-based symposium on the use of data for government performance. It brings together researchers and professionals to discuss key issues and trends. The symposium features a keynote lecture and three panels with 24 experts in the field. March 24, 2023, 8:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

N. Carolina: A Commitment to Impact

Pew Charitable Trusts, Results First (Video – 5:07 min.)

This video provides a snapshot of the partnership between Results First and North Carolina. In it, North Carolina leaders talk about their initial experiences with the project. It concludes with North Carolina leaders’ thoughts on the future of evidence-based policymaking in their state.

Resource of the Week:  The Elements of a Randomized Evaluation

J-PAL North America

This resource provides a high-level overview of the steps of a randomized evaluation. The reader will find written resources, video lectures, and case studies about different aspects of a randomized evaluation, derived from J-PAL’s professional education programs.

A Tribute to Harry Hatry

Barrett & Greene

Harry Hatry, 92, a pioneer of great renown in the field of performance management died on February 20th from complications resulting from pneumonia. His career spanned over 60 years, during which time he worked with a wide range of local state and federal agencies – internationally and nationally – to help provide them with the capacity to measure the success and failure of their efforts.

More Federal Agencies Defining Their Risk Appetite, Integrating into Decision Making

Federal News Network

Agencies are managing their enterprise risks to drive decision making in a much more integrated and strategic way. That’s one of the most significant trends in the 8th annual federal enterprise risk management survey.

How to Engage Managers to Measure Performance

Stacey Barr’s Blog

Here are three tips to strike up a chat that might just plant the seeds for your managers to see measurement as a fertile idea.

UK’s Performance Tracker: Spring 2023 Update

Institute for Government

Performance Tracker reviews the state of nine UK public services – general practice, hospitals, adult social care, children’s social care, neighbourhood services, schools, police, criminal courts and prisons. 

Enhancing State & Local Use of Data Analytics

State Tech Magazine

In a survey by MeriTalk, state and local IT leaders see data analytics as an integral part of modern digital government, they say they are facing many hurdles to maximizing their use of analytics tools.

Resource of the Week:  Community Indicators Project Development Guide

Chantal Stevens, et al (2019)

The Community Indicators Project Development Guide sets out to provide a comprehensive resource, based on literature search, interviews, and personal experience, on how to start, implement, and sustain a community indicators project that will help create those favorable conditions for a community, and its families and children, to thrive. 

Measurement Tools Help Cities

Public Administration Today

On November 30, 2022, the National League of Cities and the International WELL Building Institute co-hosted a webinar on “Tools to Measure Health & Well-being for Infrastructure Development,” as part of their ongoing partnership to help city leaders improve the health and wellbeing of their communities. This article summarizes the event.

Measures Should Focus Measures on What Matters

Public Administration Today

Governments need quantitative metrics to gain a sense of how things are going. This makes government performance measurement an essential part of city leadership. But prioritizing the wrong metrics can lead decision-makers astray and cause people to lose sight of their goals.

CDOs Seen as “Game Changer” for Equity and Customer Experience

Federal News Network

The Biden administration is calling on the expertise of more than 90 chief data officers across the federal government to accelerate progress on two of its top management priorities.

Quasi-Experimental Evidence of the Effects of Performance Feedback

Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (paywalled)

This article examines how the use of an “honor list” and “shame roll” as a means of performance feedback can influence governments’ future performance improvement, focusing on a prominent performance management reform implemented in Chinese local governments.

Does Ranking Stimulate Government Performance?

Social Indicators Research (paywalled)

With the air quality ranking of China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment as a case, this paper examines whether the public ranking could stimulate the ranked cities to improve performance. The results show that the horizontal ranking, i.e., the relative position among the cities, significantly stimulates the cities to improve air quality.

New Leader for Federal Workforce and Agency Performance Issues

Government Executive

Loren DeJonge Schulman this week began her tenure as associate director for performance and personnel management within the Office of Management and Budget. She joined the White House after spending nearly three years at the Partnership for Public Service as the vice president for research, evaluation and modernizing government.

Futures Planning: 8 Ways to Enhance Strategic Planning

Forbes

Researchers developed a model to measure the future preparedness of firms in 2008. They then followed up to see if a company’s corporate foresight had a positive impact on performance in 2015. . . . Their findings revealed a strong correlation with performance and long-term thinking, showing that organizations that recognize the future might change the very foundation of their businesses are 33% more profitable and achieve a 200% higher growth rate than the average company that does not.

CEOs Ditch Decades of Forecasting Habits

Financial Times

Instead of setting out specific goals for the year, Ikea has a set of “scenarios” to give the business wiggle room as the outlook changes. It means acknowledging that widely different outcomes are possible. It teaches agility in how the company operates.

Webinars This Week:

Setting Up and Evaluating Programs with an Eye on Equity

Center for Accountability & Performance (Tuesday, Feb 21^st @ 1:00 p.m. Eastern)

The drive toward creating diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) in the public sector is a significant issue for many governments — as well as the people they serve. But how can they establish an environment that fosters these goals and then be held accountable for their success or failure — and how can they achieve better measurement toward improved outcomes? Panelists from GAO, San Diego, Oakland, CA, and Berkeley.

“Let’s Talk Performance” 

National Center for Public Performance (Webinar: Wednesday, February 22^nd @ 11:00 EST)

Prof. Elaine Yi Lu  (City University of New York) and Prof. Katherine Willoughby (University of Georgia) will discuss their award-winning book “Public Performance Budgeting: Principles and Practice” moderated by Greg Useem, Chief Performance Officer for the City of Alexandria, Va.

New OMB Performance Leader

Federal News Network

Loren DeJonge Schulman is starting as the new associate director for performance and personnel management today. She replaces Pam Coleman, who left in August after 20 months in that role.She joins OMB from the Partnership for Public Service where she was vice president of research, evaluation and modernizing government for the last two-plus years.

IG Finds Issues with GSA’s Performance-Based Contracts

FCW

The General Services Administration is failing to properly manage performance-based service contracts while struggling to resolve longstanding contract administration challenges, according to an inspector general’s audit published Thursday.  The report claims GSA contracting personnel are not adequately fulfilling performance-based contract oversight, which could result in underperforming contractors and wasted government funds. 

The End Is Near for Outdated Government Financial Reporting

RouteFifty

By way of a few paragraphs inserted into the recently enacted 4,000-page 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, Congress mandated that state and local governments prepare their annual financial statements in a standardized format that is electronically searchable. The provision effectively drags state and local governments kicking and screaming into the 20th century, if not the 21st.

How Results-Driven Contracting Improved Outcomes in Chicago

GovInnovator (Andy Feldman; podcast: 11:48)

In an interview with Lisa Morrison Butler, former commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Family and Support Services, she describes a five-step organizational transformation of the department’s approach to contracting with non-profits and other contractors.

Data for Equity

Centre for Public Impact

Data for Equity is a collaborative network of city governments working together to close wealth and opportunity gaps. Cities include: Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Dayton, Louisville, Salt Lake City and St. Louis.

Follow the Evidence

The Hill

Nine new governors are taking office. These first few weeks mark a critical window of opportunity to set their policy agenda for the next four years. Regardless of political leaning, new governors have a sure-fire way to strengthen the states they will soon lead: invest in evidence-based policymaking.  

Overseeing Money That’s Hard to Track

Government Executive (Podcast 22:39)

The Project on Government Oversight recently posted a report outlining 13 issues that policymakers can tackle to increase efficacy and oversight in government. Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette is a Government Affairs Manager at the Project on Government Oversight and one of the authors of the report. He joined the podcast to discuss government oversight.

Understanding Brokers, Intermediaries, and Boundary Spanners

Evidence & Policy Journal

Jennifer Neal, et al, characterize the strategies, skills, and outcomes of Brokers, Intermediaries, and Boundary Spanners across the literature in education, environmental, health and other relevant sectors. They identify five key strategies used by these actors, including use of evidence.

Resource of the Week:  A Re-Designed Website

Baltimore Mayor’s’s Office of Performance & Innovation

The new web page brings together the city’s CitiStat, InnovationTeam, and Data Fellows’ initiatives on one page. And it will soon be adding info on its Performance Management team!