Highlights
Alfred P. Sloan Grant Funding Has Ended
AGA would like to take this opportunity to thank the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation for their financial support. Funding of the Certificate of Achievement in Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting began in January 2003 and continued through December 2009. Without their monetary support, well-timed encouragement and useful recommendations to improve the program, the Certificate program could not and would not have maintained its direction. And a very special thank you goes to Ted Greenwood, Ph.D., program director at Sloan, who always had the time for a phone call. Thank you Ted!
AGA, Accenture Join Forces to Continue SEA Program
AGA
and Accenture have launched a partnership involving the Certificate of Achievement in Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Report Review program. Accenture is supporting the objectives of the SEA Program by assuming the role of technical consultant for the awards program and assist AGA in developing a strategy to jointly recruit and encourage additional participants into the program. The partnership began Jan. 1, 2010. We are excited about this collaborative effort and look forward to building our program with our partner.
The Third Annual Public Performance Measurement and Reporting Confernece is set for March 18–19 at the Chattanooga Convention Center in Chattanooga, TN. For more information contact Michele Collins. Read more about the conference.
Did You Attend the Performance Management Conference?
If you attended the Performance Management Conference in Seattle on Nov. 5-6, 2009 and have not completed the conference evaluation, we truly want your comments and recommendations. Contact Evie Barry for instructions to access the survey. And if you identify yourself in question No. 30, your name will be added to a drawing for a free registration to next year’s event!
Government Performance in the News
Accountability Comes to Human Services —Jonathan Walters, Governing.
Transparency Breeds Self-Correcting Behavior —Russ Linden, Governing.
January 2010 • Volume 4, Issue 1
AGA’s Technical Consultant Hopeful More Governments Will Embrace Performance Reporting in Tough Economic Times
As AGA’s Certificate of Achievement in Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Report Review program undergoes changes, technical consultant Cynthia B. Green, Ph.D., shared her thoughts on the program and the state of performance reporting as governments face severe budget restraints.
Green, a former member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and a government performance expert who has served as technical consultant for the last year and a half, said she is most proud of the development and implementation of the new awards structure, which captures and more aptly recognizes the hard work and useful reports that many governments produce. Now AGA is recognizing what she calls governments’ “winning beginning” at developing useful SEA Reports, also called performance reports. Rather than formally rewarding only those governments that have met the ‘gold standard’ in performance reporting, AGA now offers bronze and silver awards too. “Many, many governments produced reports that made you say, ‘Wow, that was a very good report, I leaned a lot about the government’s goals and objectives and its successes and failures, but it didn’t win an award,’ ” she said. “It was most frustrating.”
She noted that it’s very difficult for governments to put together an optimal report the first time out, considering that SEA reporting as a discipline is in its infancy. It’s an iterative process that takes years to refine. AGA also offers a “Circle of Excellence” award to governments that have been recognized with the gold award for five years or more. Read more.
Congratulations to Gold Award Recipient, King County, WA
King County, WA, recently submitted both their 2007 and 2008 Service Efforts and Accomplishments Report to AGA’s Certificate of Achievement in SEA Reporting program. Each report received the GOLD Certificate of Achievement, but what was unusual about these reports is that they were paperless. The review team was given several links to review and though the review process was not as convenient as with a paper copy, the team was able to complete the task with little confusion. Thanks to King County for leading the charge in paperless reports.
AGA Research Study Shows State and Local Governments' Use of Performance Measures Improves Service Delivery
AGA has released a new research report titled, "State and Local Governments' Use of Performance Measures to Improve Service Delivery." This project was intended to determine how performance measures are used by governments to improve service delivery and also to describe their efforts in such a way that other governments can adopt similar practices.
We hope the report will encourage governments at all levels to use this management technique to make better use of their limited resources and better serve their constituents.
This study, sponsored by AGA's Professional Corporate Partner, Crowe Horwath, had three parts: identification of the elements of performance management used to improve service delivery; development of case studies describing five governments' successful use of performance measures to improve service delivery; and execution of an online survey to determine the extent to which the performance management elements are used.
One key success factor was the use of consistent measures from period to period to sustain attention on the measures, at the same time recognizing that measures can and should be modified when necessary to reflect changing requirements or expectations of stakeholders. Questions? Contact Anna Miller at 800.AGA.7211, ext. 313.
Performance Issues Focus of March Audio Conference
Don't miss AGA's audio conference on March 24—Suggested Guidelines for Voluntary Reporting: Sharing the Government's Story Using Non-Financial Resources. This cost-effective educational tool is only $249 per phone line and attendance is unlimited. Envision a 100-minute radio talk show that provides 2 continuing professional education (CPE) hours to the listeners. The last 20 minutes of the program is devoted to call-in questions, providing interaction between the listeners and speakers. See the full schedule.
Wanted: Citizen-Centric Report (CCR) Reviewers
AGA offers a Certificate of Excellence in Citizen-Centric Reporting for entities that prepare and distribute high-quality Citizen-Centric Reports. To be eligible for the certificate, governments must incorporate into their report the program’s high standards of content, visual appeal, readability, distribution and timeliness in reporting.
The number of reports that we are receiving is steadily increasing and therefore we are looking for additional members to serve as volunteer reviewers of Citizen-Centric Reports that are submitted for the Certificate of Excellence in Citizen-Centric Reporting.
What Do Reviewers Do?
Volunteer reviewers read four-page Citizen-Centric Reports, evaluate them using AGA's Judging Guidelines, and respond with recommendations for report improvements. Each report gets reviewed by three volunteer reviewers. Reviewers decide whether the report they have judged merits the Certificate of Excellence.
What is the Time Commitment?
On average, reviewing/judging a report takes one or two hours and it is all done electronically. More than likely, each reviewer will review one report a month.
Your help is needed! Please volunteer today by contacting Susan Fritzlen.
Other AGA links
Bring New AGA-Sponsored Training Courses to Your Organization
Register for AGA's Eighth Annual National Leadership Conference, Feb. 18–19, 2010, Washington, D.C.
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© 2010 Association of Government Accountants