INTRODUCTION
In municipal governance, it is important for local officials to not only implement new initiatives but also to assess their success and impact on the residential and business communities. Effective measurement provides valuable insights, allowing municipalities to refine strategies, allocate resources efficiently and demonstrate accountability.
Here’s how municipalities can measure the success of their initiatives.
SET YOUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Before the initiatives are executed, you need to develop key performance indicators (KPIs) during the planning process. These metrics help gauge progress toward predefined goals. For example, if you were expecting a two-fold increase in some activity after six months but only saw 10% growth after three months, you know you will need to make some adjustments.
Make sure your KPIs are meaningful and measurable. You should seek input and ultimately buy-in from your stakeholders in developing the KPIs. Here are some examples:
- 100 new business permits or licenses issued by the end of the year
- 10% increase in business permit or license requests over the previous year
- 75% of residents have positive feelings toward municipal services
- 75% of residents rate municipal services as “good” or “excellent” on a five-point scale
TRACK YOUR PROGRESS
You will be measuring the effect of your initiatives on a regular schedule (e.g., quarterly) in several ways. Some ideas:
- Engage community members through surveys, town hall meetings and social media to gather their experiences and feelings related to the initiative.
- Work with local businesses, the chamber of commerce and other economic development groups to gather data related to job creation, money raised, expansion plans, etc.
- Measure changes in environmental indicators, such as reduced carbon emissions or increased use of parks, to assess improvements in community well-being and quality of life.
Use project management software or a spreadsheet to track your progress. Each row of KPIs should have an owner, methodology for measurement, data at each milestone and notes. This living report or dashboard should be publicly available (e.g., shared, non-editable online document) so that it gives internal and external audiences a chance to see your progress.
If your municipality doesn’t have the budget for specialty software–expect about $800-$1,200+ per month on SaaS solutions–then a simple Excel file shared through OneDrive can meet your needs. You will have the ability to allow only certain people on your team to edit the file while others get read-only access.
ADJUST YOUR INITIATIVES AS NEEDED
Positive feedback can affirm success; however, continuous evaluation is essential to ensure that initiatives remain effective amid evolving community needs and external factors.
Meanwhile, negative feedback indicates the likely need for adjustments to the plan. See if you can identify trends or root causes. For example:
- Are residents having a difficult time adapting to the initiative?
- Was the initiative not helpful or relevant to them, hence the reason for them to ignore it?
- Was awareness of your initiative lower than what was expected?
- Was your timeline not realistic?
Once you determine the cause(s), you may need to adjust your tactics for outreach, education and/or reinforcement.