Want a More Effective Local Government? The Secret is Performance Management

January 23, 2018 2:34 PM
by David Gardinier

Who among us has never wished for a more effective system of government? I know for certain that I have (and I can easily think of one or two offending agencies in particular!).

Whether “effective” means greater efficiency, faster response times, or just a little bit friendlier customer service over the phone, it’s safe to say almost all of our government agencies could stand a boost in effectiveness. The City of Santa Monica recognizes this, and is actively taking steps to improve overall performance with the resources we already have.

Enter SaMoStat. Borrowing from already popularized programs in the private sector, SaMoStat is a management tool that uses data to drive performance in government. It seeks to answer the burning questions of: what are we trying to do; how well are we doing it; and how can we do it better?

Under the guidance of the Framework for a Sustainable City of Wellbeing, SaMoStat utilizes data to make sure that our well-meaning efforts are really the best ways to reach the outcomes that we want.

In just under a year, SaMoStat has managed to change the way the City does business in some significant ways. Under the leadership of the new Chief Performance Officer, Tim Dodd, the City was able to develop its new Framework, tying all of the City’s work together into one cohesive structure, and using it to influence budgeting decisions moving forward.

Early adopters of the SaMoStat approach include the Parks and Recreation Division, which set a goal to increase new resident participation by 5% this year.

Attempting to meet this goal pushed the division to utilize the performance management tactic of expanding collaboration to leverage resources. As a result of their efforts, the Aquatics team has already been able to offer an extra 12.5 hours of pool time per week by partnering with Santa Monica College.

Additionally, SaMoStat is being used to find solutions to the City’s most pressing problems, such as homelessness, through monthly citywide HomelessnessStat meetings assessment.

As a result of these meetings, new patrols of police officers and social service providers are being dispatched to areas where data suggests high levels of incidences involving people experiencing homelessness.

These patrols have the advantage of being able to enforce the law while also referring people to services that address the root causes of homelessness. In keeping with the performance management tenet of relentless follow up assessment, we are tracking data on the success of these patrols, and are looking forward to modifying or continuing our approach as that data becomes available.

The City of Santa Monica has heard the call for more effective governance, and has responded by launching the SaMoStat program. We are hopeful that this effort will deliver a faster, friendlier, and more efficient government for many years to come.

Want to learn more about performance management? Visit www.smgov.net/samostat or email us at Samostat@smgov.net.

Authored By

David Gardinier
Assistant Administrative Analyst