ICMA has officially recognized 48 local governments for their leadership in continuous improvement and community engagement through performance management initiatives. Each year the ICMA Center for Performance Analytics awards certificates to recognize performance management programs, encourage comparative analysis, and reward transparency.

“These cities and counties demonstrate the value of performance management,” said Randall Reid, Director of the Center. “Each of them has made a commitment to collect and analyze data, report it transparently, and use it to make continuous improvements in internal processes and delivery of public services.”

The recipients are listed on the ICMA website and will be officially recognized at ICMA’s 101st Annual Conference in Seattle/King County, Washington, September 27-30, and in the December 2015 issue of PM magazine.

Certificates are based on established criteria and are awarded at three levels—Achievement, Distinction, and Excellence (the highest level):

• Recipients at all levels collect and verify data to ensure reliability, train staff in performance measurement, and report data to the public through budgets, newsletters, and/or information provided to elected officials.
• Certificates of Distinction are awarded to those who also use performance data in strategic planning and operational decision-making and share their knowledge with other local governments through presentations, site visits, and other networking activities.
• Certificates of Excellence go to those who, in addition, track and report key outcomes, survey residents and local government employees, incorporate data into performance dashboards or other visual communications, and foster the development of a performance culture throughout their organizations.     

Applicants for the certificates submit data reports, planning documents, training manuals, and other supporting materials and make them available for ICMA to share with others. Examples from current and past recipients appear on the website; here are some from 2015:

• Peoria, Arizona, formats its performance report to link council goals, expected outcomes, performance measures, trend data, and targets.
• San Antonio, Texas, provides a service-specific mission statement, shows how that links with overall city goals, and lists the measures that are used to assess its success.
• The Bettendorf, Iowa, data report graphs comparisons to peer agencies on key indicators, using the ICMA Insights™ software.
• San Francisco, California, provides staff with a detailed orientation to the performance management system, definitions of different types of performance measures, and guidance on developing sound indicators.
• Tamarac, Florida, publishes a color-coded dashboard to show at a glance how performance compares with established targets.

Criteria for the 2016 certificates will be announced in November 2015. Any local government may apply, whether or not it uses the ICMA Insights™ comparative performance analytics platform. For further information, contactperformanceanalytics@icma.org.

This post originally appeared on ICMA's Center for Performance Analytics blog by Kira Hasbargen. Learn more here.