9. Performance Management

The governor established the framework for statewide performance management through the implementation of the Arizona Management System (AMS). At the executive level, the Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) and the Government Transformation Office (GTO) collaborate in overseeing strategic planning, performance data management, and process improvement through structured problem-solving. GTO has a full-time staff of leaders in the development and sustainment of continuous improvement and innovation, emphasizing service excellence and process efficiency. Each cabinet agency has established an Office of Continuous Improvement (OCI) to assist in implementing and sustaining AMS.

Cabinet agency executive leadership teams conduct monthly business reviews, at which they discuss the performance of their scorecard metrics against targets established on their scorecards. Agencies that are more mature in their adoption and deployment of AMS will also include progress on their strategic plan and budget status. As part of AMS, agency staff receive training in problem-solving techniques that they apply to underperforming metrics or initiatives. AMS standard work, tools, and training materials are provided on the Resources page of the Arizona Management System.

In addition, Arizona has established Communities of Practice (COPs) for agency strategic planners and AMS practitioners throughout the state. These COPs enhance communication, accelerate learning, identify best practices, solve common problems, and develop standard work and resources across state agencies.

Multiple California state agencies and departments have their own, independent performance management systems and continuous improvement cycles. Department-level performance management systems include: the Department of Social Services Cal-OAR CalWORKs monitoring system and the Department of Education’s School Dashboard, which documents state and local education performance across a variety of measures. For the Department of Health Care Services, California Board of State and Community Corrections and the Department of Developmental Services program monitoring dashboards and reports serve as a key continuous improvement and transparency tools; many departments implement associated performance and quality incentives. The Department of Aging’s Data Dashboard for Aging, the COVID-19 recovery SMARTER plan, and the statewide Climate Goals and Adaptation Strategy track progress towards key indicators and better targeted efforts, including specific outcome-oriented goals.

Across the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA) entities, multiple workforce data systems exist to inform performance monitoring and reporting with the aim to maximize the number of Californians supported to enter high-quality jobs. For example, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards (DAS) reports key metrics in their Data Dashboards. Based on program performance monitoring data that showed lower program participation by women and multiple reports that childcare, outreach, and community-building were barriers to entry for women in the trades, DAS developed and released the Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeship (ERiCA) Grant Program to provide supportive resources to organizations supporting women, non-binary and underrepresented populations entering the building trades through apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs. In 2023, the ERiCA Grant Program awarded $25M to 19 different organizations which will be implementing these programs through 2025.

To mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace, LWDA and the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) created the California COVID-19 Workplace Outreach Project (CWOP). Given its success reaching vulnerable communities and the continued impacts of COVID-19, additional funding was provided and several rounds of implementation followed and were tracked in Performance Reports such as this one. Based on performance data and feedback from communities, an additional $25 million was directed to continue and expand CWOP in 2023-2024 (line item 7350-101-3078).

A 2013 Colorado law required all state agencies to submit annual performance reports to the Colorado state legislature. Reports must include: (1) performance measures for the major functions of the department; (2) performance goals for at least the subsequent three years; (3) a description of the strategies necessary to achieve those goals; and (4) a summary of the department’s most recent performance evaluation. The Governor’s Director of Operations and Cabinet Affairs oversees the development and execution of statewide performance goals. The Governor’s Office of Operations maintains the statewide performance management system required, by law, to be published on an annual basis. The office provides guidance on developing annual strategic goals and annual performance plans and identifies opportunities for process improvement (CRS 2-7-204). Consistent with this management system, executive branch agencies continue to identify annual Wildly Important Goals (WIGs) that align with their agency’s mission, the statewide strategic goals, working group goals, and the Reimagine State Government Initiative.

To support the Governor’s strategic priorities, the Governor’s Office of Operations maintains working groups (Economic Development, Environment and Renewables, Health, and Education and Workforce) with cabinet members and relevant leadership, including: deputy directors, division directors, and/or key program staff, as needed. Those working groups set annual performance goals aligned to support the Governor’s priorities and progress toward the goals displayed on the Governor’s Dashboard with data updated monthly. The Office of Operations, Office of State Planning and Budgeting, and Policy Office within the Governor’s Office regularly coordinate to provide feedback on performance goals, budget requests, and legislative items, respectively. Additionally, the Governor’s Office will be launching a website where the public can review the spending of ARP SLFRF, and the outputs and outcomes that the state is receiving as a result.

The Connecticut State Department of Education’s Office of Performance is led by a Chief Performance Officer, who is responsible for using data, evaluation, research, and technology to improve student outcomes. The Chief Performance Officer maintains the department’s data collection, assessment, information technology, reporting, research, and accountability activities, including the management of its performance dashboard, EdSight. The office also hosts an annual Performance Matters Forum, which focuses on performance, continuous improvement, research, and evaluation topics.

The Connecticut Department of Children and Families implemented an adaptation of the New York City ChildStat model in 2021 as a performance management process. ChildStat provides a routine synthesis and analysis of data regarding the performance of each Area Office on specific key outcome measures. The model involves three phases:  preparation, a ChildStat meeting, and follow-up. During preparation, quantitative and qualitative practice data is reviewed by local Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) teams and QI staff, and strategies are developed to address areas needing improvement. Local teams meet regularly (at least monthly) to accomplish this work. The data and identified CQI strategies are then presented to the DCF Executive Team at ChildStat meetings held every six months. The data and strategies are discussed through a Racial Justice lens, and strategies either affirmed or amended during the presentation. Frontline Area Office staff that provide direct services present the data/strategies, as well as other divisions and supportive functions (i.e., Systems, HR, Fiscal, Clinical) as needed. This intra-agency collaboration is significant to assist with the implementation of improvement strategies. These changes are then implemented during the follow-up phase using the PDSA model (Plan-Do-Study-Act) to assess and improve efficacy of the intervention. Updates on implemented strategies occur during subsequent ChildStat meetings.

Implement Continuous Quality Improvement through Administrative Case Review – The Department of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families is implementing an administrative case review process to support its continuous quality improvement efforts and data-driven decision-making. The scope of work has included the development of a comprehensive review tool to assess case management practices when children and families are involved with more than one division in its system of care. Use of the newly developed tool is in the pilot stage and results of the pilot review will inform changes to the review process and provide valuable information about strengths, needs, and gaps that will inform system improvement efforts.

Amend the Government Accountability Act – The Government Accountability Act is tied to performance measurement in a way, with agency directors submitting performance measures as a part of the budgeting process. This performance management system is statewide, and must address, among other strategic goals and objectives that are consistent with the mission of each agency, strategies for enhancing productivity, improving efficiency and effectiveness, reducing costs, and eliminating waste in the processes and operations that deliver goods and services to taxpayers, customers and employees of State government.

A 2017 Indiana law created the Indiana Management Performance Hub (MPH) within the state’s Office of Management and Budget, which is overseen by the statewide Chief Data Officer (CDO). The law mandates the CDO to oversee a variety of performance management and continuous improvement activities such as advising each executive state agency to identify and implement continuous process improvement in state government and conducting operational and procedural audits of executive state agencies. As such, the CDO and MPH regularly assist with key performance indicators’ tracking for agencies.

Since 1999, Managing for Results has been the State of Maryland’s strategic planning, performance measurement, and performance informed budgeting program. In 2015, the Governor signed Executive Order that created the Governor’s Office of Performance Improvement. Through this program, all agencies and departments must seek continuous improvement and pursue opportunities for cross-agency collaboration to meet the strategic goals. They are required by a 2021 statute to establish performance metrics and measure achievement towards strategic goals to ensure accountability and transparency. The metrics reported are reviewed by legislative analysts and included in their budget analyses for the General Assembly. The Maryland Department of Budget and Management’s Managing for Results initiative publishes annual performance reports as part of the state’s budget process. These reports track agencies’ key goals, objectives, and performance measures.

Through a 2018 Executive Order, the Maryland Governor established a customer service initiative that provides training to state personnel to improve the culture of performance and service, using survey feedback and operations data to improve service, and transparency with annual customer service reports for the public: FY20data showed that 81% of state residents were pleased with the customer service from their state government. This includes publicly recognizing state personnel with awards for excellence in customer service.

On August 1, 2022, the Maryland Governor announced the release of Maryland’s American Rescue Plan, State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) Annual Performance Report. The press release and report illustrated how the state is using performance management to achieve better outcomes. The Plan includes evidence-based proposals in various sectors related to economic mobility.

In 2023, Governor Walz & Lt. Governor Flanagan released the One Minnesota Plan, which specifies six priority areas for the state. This includes a specific priority area focused on Equity and Inclusion as well as guiding principles which emphasize the inclusion of voices of the most impacted communities. The Results Management team at Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) has worked with the Governor’s Chief of Staff and agency leadership to develop specific actions to achieve these priorities, as well as performance measures to track outcomes. Teams meet on a quarterly basis to review performance and identify opportunities to improve or expand programs and policies going forward. MMB publishes performance data for all state agencies in its biennial budget documents. In addition to being available for use by executive branch officials, these data are available to legislators and their staff as they develop budget and policy recommendations and are required by a 2017 Minnesota law.

Additionally, 2024 – 2025 budgets require the Department of Human Services and Department of Health to work with MMB to establish performance measures and a measurement plan for all new grants allocating more than $750k. Technical support from MMB will include designing performance measures, developing plans for collecting and analyzing data, establishing an approach to conducting measurement (e.g. comparison groups, years, etc.), drafting RFPs to include performance measure-focused language, and supporting in the reporting of performance back to the Legislature.

This work will expand similar requirements included in the Opioid Epidemic Response Services grant, which requires applicants to complete a performance measurement plan which describes the goals, objectives, outcomes, measures, and data collection methods that will be used to determine the efficacy of the program.

The FY23 State of Missouri budget includes new funding to ensure that each executive department has its own full time in-house Operational Excellence (OpEx) leader. Previously, some departments had brought on their own OpEx leaders, but now the State of Missouri is providing funding to ensure that all executive departments have such leaders. These leaders will seek to improve operations generally, but in specific will promote an on-going program cadence where program managers will establish performance measures for their programs, collect data, and then assess and adjust based on that data.

The 2018 Executive Order 43 created the Governor’s Advisory Committee on Performance Management, which advises the Governor on rules and policies related to performance management and strategies for advancing evidence-based policy statewide.

The Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) will be hosting its fourth annual Performance Management Academy training series for state agency staff in 2023. Through the Academy, OSBM fosters performance management “champions” in state agencies and provides resources for practitioners to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of programs. OSBM also coordinates a Performance Management Community of Practice, composed of state agency representatives who meet regularly to share experiences and develop knowledge related to evidence-based policymaking.

The Governor appointed a Director of Strategic Partnerships who leads the North Carolina Office of Strategic Partnerships (OSP), which develops, launches, and enhances partnerships between state government and North Carolina’s research and philanthropic sectors. This includes elevating the state government’s internal capacity to generate and use evidence through efforts such as:

• The Monthly Connect, a series of virtual panel discussions (nearly 40 to date) on cross-sector partnerships, an annual Government Research Partnerships Learning Forum, and creation of two Evidence Advisor positions.
• OSP and the SERVE Center at UNC Greensboro have offered  “Supporting State Agencies with Program Evaluations” workshops. View recordings from May 2022, September 2022, and March 2023. These workshops provide state agency staff and external-to-government researchers the opportunity to discuss potential evaluations for various projects, especially regarding program evaluations and evidence-based decision making. They also include an overview of the purpose and value of considering impact evaluations.

The Department of Information Technology (DIT) is home to a Process Improvement Team which collaborates with state agencies to use evidence in strategic planning processes. DIT provides monthly training resources for state agencies to learn the Lean Six Sigma process improvement methodology and hosts a Process Improvement Community of Practice.

LeanOhio provides leadership to improve performance and outcomes. Since 2011, LeanOhio has conducted more than 400 projects in 45 agencies and has trained an agency-embedded network of 1,000 employees. The LeanOhio Network unites state employees who have attended LeanOhio training. The network includes 70 Black Belts and over 200 Green Belts. As part of their certification requirement, they manage the performance and outcomes of their project. The network includes individuals tapped as agency Lean Liaisons that coordinate Lean efforts and serve as our direct link to the enterprise. Ohio leads the nation with the most in-house Lean expertise.

Office of Budget and Management is infusing results through results-focused dashboards. These dashboards will provide a one-stop resource for key decision-makers and accountability to performance progress.

Ohio has a mix of state and county-administered operating structures; thus, it is important to note that state agencies must utilize different approaches to manage their performance based on their operating model. The Ohio Department of Health operates within a state supervised and county-administered structure and has adopted the Results Based Accountability (RBA) framework to guide its strategic planning and performance management efforts and uses the Clear Impact Scorecard to monitor performance and outcomes.

Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD) is a state-administered agency responsible for Disability Determination (DD) and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) programs. OOD conducts executive performance management reviews of their Management Statistics and Reports.

A 2018 Oregon statute requires agencies to submit key performance measure data to the Legislative Fiscal Office on a regular basis, in addition to sharing reports publicly to indicate Oregon’s progress toward identified measures. Oregon also has a Key Performance Measures system in which agencies report regular progress on identified measures to the legislature and the Governor’s Office. With the development of Oregon’s Racial Justice Council, the state is in the process of establishing a centralized vision for racial justice and equity that includes guidance for agencies on identifying strategic objectives and measures to support racial equity and in evaluating services from a community-focused standpoint, as released as part of Oregon’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan in August 2021. Progress of the vision in terms of budget accomplishment and legislative support are summarized in a Racial Justice Council April 2022 presentation.

Keystone STARS is Pennsylvania’s Quality Rating Improvement System at the Office of Child Development and Early Learning. It aims to improve the quality of early childhood education programs through a performance standards framework leveraged in state contracts to providers. Early learning programs can earn a quality rating score from a STAR 1 to a STAR 4 based on meeting quality standards. Providers who participate have access to customized supports, grants, awards, and other financial assistance, such as increased subsidized child care payments based on quality level. Eligibility criteria for child care providers to participate in other state-funded initiatives hinges on the STAR 3 or 4 designation, as noted in state regulations and program guidance.

During his first two weeks in office, Governor Shapiro signed Executive Order 2023-05 creating the Office of Transformation and Opportunity (OTO) within the Governor’s Office. One of the charges of this office is to design and implement a performance management system that is specifically focused on monitoring metrics that ensure the government is serving as an effective partner to the business community. The office will work in tandem with applicable agencies to develop actionable KPIs and will visualize data with the goal of providing real-time insights into agency performance. These insights will shine a spotlight on operational deficiencies, which can be proactively remedied. OTO has taken a similar approach to permitting reform, spurred by Executive Order 2023-07 to catalog all permits issued across all Commonwealth agencies. The creation of this comprehensive data set will, for the first time, allow data that pertains to the timely issuance of permits to be tracked over time. The initiative also identified staffing and technological resource deficiencies, redundant and cumbersome processes, and opportunities for legislative or regulatory reform.

Since 1997, Rhode Island state law requires agencies to submit performance measure data and targets as part of the annual budget request process. The Performance Management Unit within the Office of Management and Budget collects this performance data and works with agencies to achieve performance goals. Agencies are required to report on program evidence and performance when submitting budget requests, utilizing a tiered evidence scale (proven effective, promising, and theory-based).

Tennessee’s Governmental Accountability Act of 2013 established a statewide performance management system, Transparent Tennessee, managed by the Office of Customer Focused Government (CFG). The Office of Customer Focused Government and the state’s Chief Operating Officer continuously track and monitor performance data and report publicly available operational performance on Transparent Tennessee’s dashboards, which include specific goals, targets, and performance data for each of the state’s strategic priorities. Delving deeper into the performance management tool, citizens can see both Key Operational Goals and Strategic Initiatives for each of the 23 cabinet level departments. CFG provides a structured approach for departments to stretch their Key Operational Goals and Strategic Initiatives in a way that provides targeted improvement to service and program delivery statewide, which ultimately promotes equitable access to high-quality, responsive governance. The site also includes state fiscal data as well as OpenMaps, which showcases key metrics and an interactive budget tool.

The Tennessee Office of Customer Focused Government (CFG), in addition to overseeing the state’s performance management processes, leads innovation statewide. The mission of the office is to “drive innovation and operational efficiency to benefit [residents].” CFG staff consult with agencies to run a variety of projects across the enterprise that foster innovation and continuous improvement, specifically finding opportunities to improve outcomes pertaining to their operations and how they serve their customers.

A 2021 Utah law tasked the executive and legislative branches with jointly overseeing and improving the performance of state agencies. Together, the Results Management team at the  Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (GOPB) and the Performance team at the Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst (LFA) collect performance data as stipulated in appropriations bills and for new funding allocations, in support of annual budget planning.  Data pertaining to these performance measures are published on performance.utah.gov and cobi.utah.gov. A 2023 Utah law further enhanced collaboration between GOPB and LFA by establishing a joint review of line item performance measures annually and further coordinating their work on funding item and performance measure reporting. In support of this work, the joint LFA and GOPB performance team hosted national partners from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL presentation) and The Policy Lab at Brown University (presentation) in an agency training focused on development of high-quality performance measures. Agencies are also guided by a Performance Measurement Playbook that measures outcomes to track returns on investments.

GOPB and LFA also lead an efficiency evaluation process to improve agencies’ operations.  In 2022 and 2023 they completed evaluations of state IT procurement, the Office of the Medical Examiner, and training for Department of Transportation technicians. An Efficiency and Process Improvement Committee (EPIC) advises GOPB on agency performance and efficiency. EPIC is composed of representatives from the Department of Government Operations, representatives from four state agencies, GOPB’s Director of Operational Efficiencies, and a representative from LFA. In 2022, the committee developed a resource repository to centralize efficiency improvement resources to support agencies to improve performance.

In 2014, the Vermont State legislature passed Act 186 to collect information on how well State government is working to achieve desired population-level outcomes for Vermonters in order to determine how to best invest taxpayer dollars. The population-level outcomes (e.g., Vermont has a prosperous economy, Vermonters are healthy, etc.) and indicators (e.g., unemployment rate, percent of adults who smoke cigarettes) in Act 186 were developed using Results-Based accountability (RBA), which uses ends-to-means thinking to improve the quality of life for communities and/or the performance of programs. This was Vermont’s first step towards performance accountability and continuous improvement.

Act 186 also established a Chief Performance Office (CPO) whose mission is to provide information, tools, expertise, and services that strengthen the state’s ability to effectively solve problems, manage operations, and improve results.  The CPO, in collaboration with the Department of Finance and Management, has been tasked with developing an annual Programmatic and Performance Measure Budget (PPMB) Report. This report fulfills the requirements in 32 V.S.A. § 307(c)(2) to report on the programmatic performance measures used to demonstrate the outputs and results of the Governor’s budget

In 2017, Vermont’s Governor launched the Program to Improve Outcomes Together, (PIVOT) in conjunction with the Governor’s Government Modernization and Efficiency team. PIVOT combines Results-Based Accountability and Lean frameworks, among others, into a unified effort to achieve the Governor’s strategic plan and create a modern government that provides efficient and effective services and programs for Vermonters.

A 2013 Washington State Executive Order established Results Washington (Results WA) to strengthen performance management and continuous improvement throughout Washington State government. At that time, the Washington State Governor’s Office issued five overarching goal areas with aligned outcome measures: world-class education; prosperous economy; sustainable energy and clean environment; healthy and safe communities; and effective, efficient, and accountable government. Results WA is responsible for developing a system of work that supports these five goal areas as well as ongoing state initiatives.

Results Washington gathered and published performance management dashboards and goal metrics from across state agencies. We also published These dashboards provide metrics related to the governor’s five goal areas.

Within Results Washington (Results WA), the Governor’s performance audit liaison fosters the process among auditors, executive branch agencies, the Governor’s Office, the Office of Financial Management (OFM), and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). The liaison also serves as a resource for guidance and escalation. Part of the liaison’s role includes working with the audited agencies and OFM or OCIO to provide a joint response to each performance audit. If the auditor finds gaps and makes recommendations, the response includes specific agency actions and due dates that the liaison tracks and publishes on Results Washington’s website through completion. We post agency actions plans on our website.

In 2020, Results WA implemented a new Public Performance Review (PPR) process. The PPR process includes a monthly meeting with the Governor, agency leaders and experts, and community members designed to focus on a cross-agency project tied to the Governor’s five goal areas and to hear from those impacted by the project – those with lived experiences and those who are customers and process partners in the community. In 2022, Results Washington presented seven cross-agency projects to the Governor during the public performance reviews. This year, we have already held seven PPRs and plan for 5 more before the end of 2023.