Measuring performance in government is inherently difficult but inescapably necessary. Williamsburg started its performance measurement journey in earnest in 1994. The initial attempt focused on gathering and reporting workload indicators, monthly and annually; but with little analysis applied to the data. City staff struggled with how to interpret and use the data collected in operational and management decisions.

As a small city with correspondently limited staff and resources, the City of Williamsburg’s performance management journey has, despite these challenges, come to a place of real traction.

Williamsburg is linking multiple, meaningful measures both to strategic, community-wide goals of city government, and to operational objectives of everyday city services. From the overall quality of life in Williamsburg, to the curbside recycling set out rate. From Top to Bottom.

The task requires routinely collecting hundreds of numerical measures, then accessing the databases where they reside, and reporting and using the results in multiple formats: strategic plans, budgets, operational reports, and “live” dashboards. It requires new software to reach into existing databases – financial, work order, departmental statistics, etc., and graphically displaying data for specific purposes. It requires getting useful efficiency and effectiveness measures into the right hands at the right time – all to improve performance.