NLC Releases Performance Management: A Guide for City Leaders

New report studies performance management programs in 10 U.S. cities and delivers actionable strategies on how to launch programs that will improve the performance and efficiency of city services.

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National League of Cities

Nov 22, 2014, 06:04 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Cities across the country are looking to make more informed service delivery and budget decisions. Performance management ― the process of consistently reviewing performance data to inform decision-making ― is emerging as a key strategy, and today, during the annual Congress of Cities conference, NLC released Performance Management: A Guide for City Leaders.

"Performance management is about finding best practices that will prepare cities for the future of service delivery," says Clarence Anthony, CEO and Executive Director of NLC. "We aim to empower more city leaders to launch performance management programs in their own cities."

NLC studied existing performance management systems in 10 U.S. cities to provide insights on how cities launched their programs. It discusses office structures, staff skills and ways to cultivate buy-in across city departments. It also explores the basic mechanics of performance management: data collection, analysis and informed decision-making on the management and funding of city service delivery.

The cities included in the report are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Kansas City (Missouri), Las Vegas, Los Angeles, St. Paul, and Washington, D.C. Funding from The Pew Charitable Trusts supported the research and development of this guide.

Importantly, the report spotlights the critical role of city leadership in the success and sustainability of performance management.

"We found that performance management has been adapted to the unique culture and resources of each city, but that there are common elements of all systems that other cities can learn from," said Christiana McFarland, NLC Research Director and report co-author.

The National League of Cities (NLC) is dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.

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SOURCE National League of Cities