The December 2015 issue of the magazine goes special, with in-depth coverage of one subject: performance management.

ICMA has been a true proponent of performance management for some 80 years, as Bob O’Neill and Gerald Young write in their articles. They, as well as all the authors who contributed to this PM, show why “performance management is sound management” and worth the organizational investment.

David Ammons agrees and writes that “some local government managers will decide that performance improvement is one of their top two or three priorities and will make the commitment of time and energy required by a serious organizationwide performance initiative.” He also points out that program managers are key parts of a performance management system.

Brent Stockwell and David Swindell make the case for comparative performance management and collaborating with other organizations. Their article on the Valley Benchmark Cities—a consortium of 11 local governments in the Phoenix, Arizona, area—describes the vision and the effort of this group’s comparative work.

Ed Fraser and Octavio Chavez write about performance measurement systems in Australia and Mexico. Fraser, who has worked in Australia for 25 years, opens his article by suggesting that local government performance and productivity worldwide could be improved by more than $10 billion by establishing a Global Local Government Standards and Performance Council. Chavez recognizes that performance measurement still has a long way to go in Mexico but that ICMA continues to encourage the measure-and-management culture.

Four ICMA members who contributed to the issue by answering the On Point question "How Do You Assess How Well Your Local Government Is Delivering Public Services?" are Laura Gill, William Johnson III, Jeffrey Moon, and Stephen Parry.

Barbara Moore’s Management Minute article takes a closer look at Clayton, Missouri, a community that has received ICMA’s Certificate of Excellence in Performance Management each year since 2011. A “scorecard” graphic from its FY2016 budget document shows how goals and actual service results lined up for 2014.

These departments add character to this one-theme issue—Commentary by Jennifer Robinson; Council Relations by Mike Conduff; Innovation Edge by Toni Shope and Karen Thoreson; and By the Numbers (on service areas that are tracked), along with a list of the communities named 2015 Leaders in Performance Management—and help show how “performance management is sound management.”

One thing appears certain, evidence-based management will continue to drive good decision making.