Performance
Trust in government, and opportunities to rebuild it
Confidence in state and local government may have been waning in recent years, but there are ways communities can help to bolster their resident’s faith in them.
Tips to Ensure Governors Start Off on the Right Foot
A recent report offers new officeholders guidance on how to hit the ground running.
How One State Is Excelling at Process Improvement
Every week Nebraska is contacted by other states to learn how it is saving staff time, streamlining projects and delivering better customer services. Here’s why.
Virtual Meetings Stymie Creative Teamwork
A new study finds that in-person teams generate more ideas than remote teams working on the same problem -- possibly because when people focus on the narrow field of vision of a screen, their thinking becomes narrower as well.
A Quick and Low-Cost Way to Drive Results-Focused Government
COMMENTARY | Creating a “community of practice,” where agency staff interested in evidence, data and innovation gather regularly, can help to build a culture of learning and improvement.
Cutbacks in a Crisis: Seven Ways to Do It Right
COMMENTARY | Strategic cutback management is an approach that can help address the Covid-19 budgetary impact and lay the groundwork for more effective government.
Beyond Buzzwords and Dashboards: Effective Approaches to Performance Management
In a new book, Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene assess the state of efforts to improve state and local government operations.
Caught in the Cycle of ‘Urgent Over Important’? This Leadership Strategy Can Help
COMMENTARY | A data-driven approach to governing, PerformanceStat is an effective way to focus on long-term challenges.
Streamlining Local Health Department Inspections and Permitting
No two agencies are alike, which made designing a software solution for preconfigured forms and procedures difficult in the past.
Investing in Your Employees' Best Ideas
COMMENTARY | "Baltimore put money down on its own creativity and has raked in results. Other cities should make the same bet," writes former Baltimore budget director Andrew Kleine, previewing his new book.
Featured eBooks
With Pay for Performance, Money Is Not the Problem
Performance management practices in business are undergoing a sea change to address essentially the same problems.
9 U.S. Cities Certified for Excellence in Data-Driven Decision-making
This stamp of approval for governance is certainly not a rubber stamp.
Bloomberg’s What Works Cities Program Hits a Big Milestone But Its Work Is Far From Done
Reaching its 100-city goal, the network focused on improving data-driven management practices in mid-size municipalities is continuing to foster “sustainability of practice” in city halls.
Transforming Cities and the Need to Create ‘Greater Capacity for Change’
In a contributed Q&A, Anchorage’s chief innovation officer discusses the What Works Cities program and Code for America with Jennifer Pahlka, CfA’s founder and executive director.
In Government, ‘Failure Is Just an Opportunity to Learn’
Public policy makers in Colorado consider a second round of pathbreaking entrepreneurial-style problem-solving pitches.
State and Local Evidence-Based Data-Driven Policy Movement Plows Forward
Highlights from the Denver kickoff event for Route Fifty’s Roadshow series.
Behavioral Insights: A New Tool for Performance Management
Knowledge of the situational factors that may push people to make adverse choices has helped cities uncover new approaches to tackle longstanding challenges.
Route Fifty’s 1st Roadshow Stop Is in Denver
Join us on April 18, where we’ll explore the DNA of good governance with Colorado Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock.
A Data-Driven Governance Test for Seattle: Transforming Homeless Services
Two years ago, the Emerald City was among the first to be named to the What Works Cities program and chose to focus on human-services contracting reform. What can other cities learn from Seattle’s experience?
What Works Cities Launches New Certification Program for Municipal Data Practices
As the footprint of the WWC network grows, “other cities will want to copy the cities that do well,” according to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
