SR 03-01-2016 4A
City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: March 1, 2016
Agenda Item: 4.A
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Cole, City Manager, City Manager's Office, Administration
Subject: Santa Monica Use of Open Data and Performance Management Practices
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council conduct a study session exploring a citywide
approach to more consistently use data to manage performance, and direct staff to
proceed with implementation of a data and performance management program.
Executive Summary
As cities grow more sophisticated in their access to technology and data, they are using
that data to improve decision-making, measure effectiveness and drive improved
M
focuses on achieving specific targeted results within a specific time period. Measuring
performance is critical to this strategy, using SMART metrics that is performance
targets that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-focused and Timely.
This shift is not easy for public agencies even though it is widespread in the private
sector and increasingly common among non-profit agencies. Metrics are often divided
into three types of measures: inputs, outputs and outcomes. Public policies have most
often been measured by inputs and outputs. Instead of defining and measuring
successful outcomes, elected officials and managers have measured how much money
or staff are devoted to a particular problem or service (inputs) or the tasks accomplished
such as number of arrests made, lane miles of road paved or books checked out of the
library (outputs.) In the public sector, it is often challenging to identify clearly desired
outcomes. In Santa Monica, for example, while the City Council identified five top
priority Strategic Goals, it will be challenging to pinpoint specific measures of success
for creating a new model of mobility, preserving affordability and inclusion in the Santa
Monica community, achieving local control of Santa Monica Airport, asserting regional
Santa Monica has been a pioneer in establishing and tracking measures of
sustainability and building a Wellbeing Index as an innovative national model. By
-driven culture of
manage performance. Open data and openly reported performance metrics also help
promote community engagement and accountability.
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Background
Santa Monica has been at the forefront of using data to help measure the impact of its
efforts on the community for over 20 years. In 1994, it adopted the Sustainable City
Plan along with key performance indicators and goals to foster a sustainable community
in Santa Monica. These goals have evolved and expanded over the years, but the Plan
provides a framework by which each metric established a baseline of performance and
target goals for the community to reach. Every other year, the Office of Sustainability
work needs to be done.
This work laid the foundation for Wellbeing Index Website Detail
Santa Monica to become a leader in
using data and metrics in the public
sector. Big Blue Bus, Police and the
Fire Departments are among the
departments using various metrics to
track their performance. Big Blue Bus
looks at on-time stop performance
larly analyze
crime patterns to deploy resources and fine-tune operational tactics. Fire looks at
response times and call types to analyze new deployment approaches such as the
augmentation of staffing through Rescue Ambulances. This culture of data is what
Wellbeing Index one of five model projects funded nationwide. The Wellbeing Index
sentiment in various areas as well as looking at the data metrics the City captures in its
systems.
Santa Monica has the opportunity to capitalize on these initiatives to build a
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comprehensive approach to identifying desired outcomes, selecting appropriate SMART
metrics to measure progress toward achieving those outcomes and actively tracking
and managing performance of city programs and services. Implicit in this commitment
is developing an organizational culture and capacity to ensure this approach is not a
but rather a long-term citywide commitment to
focus on achieving meaningful measurable results.
Discussion
Cities and Data
Like Santa Monica, other cities around the nation and the world are embracing data
metrics and performance management to address real-life operational and community
issues. In the face of a growing fiscal mismatch between revenues and costs of
traditional local public services, pressure has mounted for cities to embrace innovation
to reduce costs and/or improve efficiency and effectiveness. Leading cities are
increasingly measuring success by the impact on desired outcomes rather than inputs
or outputs of work. Academics, public policy experts and the media are paying
increasing attention to the challenge of identifying meaningful metrics and best practices
for improving public sector performance. Louisville, Boston, Kansas City, New York and
Los Angeles are among the leaders among larger municipalities, and cities large and
small are moving toward a more rigorous and data-driven evaluation of the way
localities have long delivered services.
Technology has enabled collection of more and more data -- and cities have become
more sophisticated in aggregating and reporting that data in real time. The proliferation
-savvy
data.seattle.org. These
cities have instituted a culture of data, typically with a Chief Data Officer leading broad-
based organizational training of staff and the broader community to understand, analyze
and act on the expanding sources of data available to them.
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Mayor and other executives the ability to spot trends that need additional investigation,
and measure the impact of changes to process and policy. Using a batting average
score, those indicators exceeding a 1 are doing well, those below a 1 need some
attention. Elected officials and City staff see the same score card, as does the public.
City staff and managers are trained on how to use the data and trends to change
operational practices in efforts to respond to issues quickly and effectively.
Santa Monica and Data
Like other cities, Santa Monica is leveraging the sophisticated technology environment
in which we work to make more of data and metrics. Santa Monica is officially ranked
among the top ten cities in the nation (by the U.S. Census Bureau) for access to data
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Staff also partnered with the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce to laun
together
to build partnerships within Silicon Beach. These emerging relationships help staff see
how data and metrics are useful outside of City Hall. Likewise, the City turned inward in
its pursuit of data and hosted a Data Hack with over 20 staff representing nearly every
department. These staff collaboratively identified ways the City could use data to help
drive decisions and how to create a culture of data within City Hall.
Instilling a Culture of Data
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Significant changes in policing have foreshadowed both the potential and perils of
shifting toward a culture that uses data to drive performance.
Twenty-five years ago, the dominant culture in law enforcement was that the goal of
police departments was to respond to crime, to solve crimes and to gather evidence to
assist in the prosecution of the accused. The prevention of crime was seen by most
police professionals as an ancillary supplement to real police work. The incidence of
crime was seen as a result of factors largely beyond the control of police professionals
such as social mores, economic cycles, demographic factors, rates of poverty, family
dynamics and the larger framework of the criminal justice system.
In a series of high-profile leadership roles, Bill Bratton brashly challenged the dominant
mindset of police chiefs. He ultimately vowed to achieve major reductions in crime by
e called
the purposes of this study session, CompStat is directly relevant to the challenge of
eductions in
potential of the CompStat system to track and improve performance.
CompStat has become a widespread law enforcement tool. In Los Angeles, precinct
capta
trends in their territory. Sophisticated crime analysts display detailed maps that
highlight geographic and chronological patterns of reported crimes. Precinct captains
are aske
atmosphere that fosters clear thinking, honest interchange and creative problem-
solving. That constructive tone only changes when precinct leaders fail to be on top of
crime spikes; or fail to forthrightly respond to questions or concerns.
Precisely because CompStat has been widely embraced as a successful performance
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management system, it has also revealed a potential dark side that provides cautionary
notes to take into account. Where CompStat has been summarily imposed on
traditional organizational structures and pursued with a punitive approach, performance
numbers. An over-
the CompStat model underscor
and cutting corners.
A data--
-
and see whether the numbers are going in the
right
anecdote or long-standing practices to guide actions, it is possible to continuously fine-
tune our efforts to achieve the desired results.
Building on successful models of using metrics to drive performance both those
pioneered in Santa Monica and forged by other cities our city could create a
comprehensive data-driven culture of performance. There are a number of key
elements needed to foster that climate:
Train Staff. While many staff are increasingly tech savvy, maximizing the
potential of using data requires widespread tech and data literacy to help staff
apply these analytical and data skills to performance management here within
the City.
Normalize vocabulary and standards. Currently, each department and program
may use different terms for similar things and collect similar data in incompatible
ways that make cross-referencing data sets cumbersome or impractical. It is
important to breakdown these siloes and develop citywide standards for terms
with commonly understood definitions and practices.
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Set measurable goals. Like the Sustainable City Plan and Wellbeing Index, the
City will establish goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-
focused, and Timely. These targets will provide a common guide across
departments on what outcomes are most desirable during the next fiscal year.
Identify high value data sets. Building on the work of the Sustainable City Plan
and Wellbeing Index, the City will work to develop accurate and timely data sets
by which to measure the goals set for the upcoming year.
Implement standard, easy to use tools. The City has a successful Open Data
portal. To make even better use of this portal, the City must invest in tools and
training to help connect various systems so they can feed needed data to the
portal consistently and accurately.
Consistently manage performance. Using tested models for collaborative
performance management, staff will regularly monitor the effectiveness of our
programs and actions to drive desired outcomes. Based on updated data, the
staff will fine tune its strategies throughout the year to reach their targets.
As noted earlier in this report, the key to successfully implementing a performance
management system is developing the organizational culture and capacity to ensure
that it is . Providing training, support, and
specific and achievable milestones will facilitate the shift to performance management.
Next Steps
The City is already taking steps to leverage data. These include:
Strategic Goal Teams. Council identified five Strategic Goals last year. Staff
have formed teams to address each one of the goals areas and will work to
identify goals and supporting data to measure progress in each goal area.
Chief Data Officer. As part of the FY 2016/17 budget, staff will request the
addition of a Chief Data Officer. This position will coordinate the use of data
within the City, including supporting efforts to standardize on terms and
definitions, set baselines for measurement, train staff, set goals, and measure
progress.
Performance Management Unit:
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staff will engage performance management experts who will partner with key
department staff in developing a plan to establish oversight of citywide
..
Investment in Staff development.
internal staff development program, and national and local efforts, the City will
encourage staff to learn more on how the City can leverage data in new and
innovative ways.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
There is no immediate financial impact or budget action necessary as a result of the
recommended action. Funding for any new staff, training or technology enhancements
will be brought forward as appropriate, including during the regular budget cycle.
Prepared By:
Christopher Smith, Principal Administrative Analyst
Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. Powerpoint
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Open Data &
Performance
Management
Check details of event and speech title,
insert image at left
City Council Study Session
March 1, 2016
Focusing on results
City of Santa Monica has been a leader in
•
Open Data & Performance Management:
Departmental metrics
–
Pioneering Sustainability Report Card
–
Wellbeing Index
–
Open Data Portal ranked #10 nationwide
–
Council Strategic Goals
–
One city, one system
Start with Strategic
•
Goals
Build a citywide data-
•
driven culture of
performance
Definable
–
Repeatable
–
Sustainable
–
Targeting Performance
Performance
•
management is a
leadership strategy
for solving problems
and improving
performance
Crucial to emphasize
•
both accountability
and empowerment
Creating a scoreboard
Transparency
•
Clarity
•
Accountability
•
Alignment
•
Managing Performance
CompStat/Performance Stat models rely
•
on timely data and are collaborative tools
to make data-driven decisions
Defining success
SMART metrics
•
Specific
–
Measurable
–
Achievable
–
Results-focused
–
Timely
–
Measuring Success
Inputs
•
Outputs
•
Outcomes
•
Comprehensive Approach
Public Dashboard/Open Data
•
Integration of Wellbeing Outcomes with
•
city performance outcomes/outputs
Departmental metrics (performance
•
metrics & project milestones)
Performance-based Budgeting
•
Data-driven culture of performance
•
Anticipated Next Steps
Establishing metrics
•
for Council’s Strategic
Goals
Building Performance
•
Management capacity
Staff development
•
Performance
•
budgeting in FY 17-18
Council Consideration
What are the strengths
•
we should build on?
What are the
challenges ahead?
How do we measure
•
progress on our
Strategic Goals?
What is the Council
•
leadership role in
shaping organizational
culture?