CPM builds on work begun in 1994 by the Comparative Performance Measurement Consortium, an initial group of 44 cities and counties whose managers identified a need for accurate, fair, and comparable data about the quality and efficiency of service delivery to their residents. Consortium members asked ICMA to coordinate their work and then undertook the challenges of narrowing the choices of services to be measured, identifying desired outcomes of service delivery, defining indicators, and collecting data.

The benefits of CPM participation include opportunities to:

• Investigate and apply practices found to contribute to high performance in CPM communities
• Gather annually at the ICMA Conference to share effective practice information
• Have data mined by CPM staff in an effort to find high performers and interview them on the strategies they used to achieve exceptional results.  Findings are then published in CPM's monthly newsletters and the book, What Works.
• Identify the agencies that are the "best in the business" for a specific component of a particular service area
• Access a list of our participants' names and contact information so that you may contact key staff in particular service areas and learn from each other
• Receive training on data collection and performance management through individualized introductory training and a series of web workshops 

With the unique ability to compare to more than 150 peer governments in North America, CPM represents an excellent opportunity for local governments interested in embarking on performance measurement or refining or rejuvenating an existing program.