by Gerald Young, senior research associate, ICMA

Last week, I had the pleasure of participating in a free webinar on performance management for the ICMA student chapter at Northern Illinois University. My co-presenter was Tanya Ange, deputy city manager, Boulder, Colorado.

The session explored reasons to engage in performance management, how to get started, and what to do with the data once it’s been collected. Among the key questions discussed were:

• If you’re not measuring, how do you know whether you’re accomplishing your goals?

• Are your metrics yielding actionable data, or are they just the “outputs” that are easy to collect?

• How and when should you report data to the public?

• What do you need to do long-term to maintain a data-driven organization?

You can see a "snapshot" summary here, or you can check out the full webinar recording. If you’re a student, post a reply to let us know what questions you have about performance management. If you’re already working in local government, share your comments with the students about the lessons you’ve learned along the way. Click below to join the conversation.

ICMA student chapters are a great option to get engaged in the profession.

Related Resources 

New Hampshire Students Learn the Ins and Outs of City Management Amid Snowstorm. This 2018 blog post details the first-hand experiences that ICMA New Hampshire student chapter members received on a visit to Concord, New Hampshire.

Indiana University Students Connect Cultural Arts to Town Growth. In a blog post from 2017, one student chapter member reports on what was learned about the arts and economic growth. 

Villanova Student Chapter Helps Foster Civic Engagement in Nearby Borough. In another blog post from 2017, the Villanova student chapter helped put on an event as part of a town's citizens leadership academy.