[The following article is from the November 1995 edition of _Public_Sector_Quality_Report_, pages 4 and 5.] FIRST WINNERS TWO STATES, TWO CITIES EARN NATIONAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS Arizona's state government, Oregon's Department of Transportation, the city of Worcester, MA, and the Portland, OR, city auditor's office took home the inaugural National Excellence Awards, presented during November's "Managing For Results" conference in Austin, TX. "Managing For Results," sponsored by the University of Texas' Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, is an annual meeting that focuses on performance measurement in government. This year more than 1,100 state and local officials attended. In addition to the award winners, two individuals were named "Trailblazer Award" winners. The two include Harry Hatry, director of the State and Local Government Program at the Urban Institute in Washington, DC, and Jay Fountain, assistant director of research for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, in Norwalk, CT. Following is a brief description of each organization's award-winning performance measurement effort. Both Oregon DOT and the Portland auditor's office have been described in previous issues of PSQR: Arizona Award judges recognized the state for passage and implementation of the Arizona Budget Reform Act of 1993. The legislation, requiring close cooperation between the governor and legislative leaders, requires formal identification of all state programs and compels agencies to develop strategic plans and performance measures to support their budget requests. Accomplishments made since the act's passage include: * Biennial budgeting. With the exception of 20 agencies designated as "major budget units," most state agencies now operate with biennial budgets and appropriations, with each year itemized separately. * Strategic planning and performance measurement. The state has developed a standard planning model--contained in a user-friendly manual titled Managing for Results: Strategic Planning and Performance Measurement Handbook--that all state agencies follow. * Program authorization review. Ten programs chosen from across state government were reviewed during the 1996 legislative session; another 15 have been selected for 1997. These program evaluations--a careful study of each program's mission and results, designed to determine whether a program should be retained, eliminated or modified--will become part of the annual budget process. Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) ODOT earned praise for its Performance Measurement System, which holds agency managers responsible for results, links to statewide goals and a departmental strategic plan, and includes extensive citizen input via customer satisfaction surveys. ODOT's performance measurement efforts, described in the March 1995 PSQR, are aligned with that state's well-known Oregon Benchmarks goals. ODOT managers, through performance plans, must use measures to demonstrate their ability to manage effectively and deliver results. In their annual budget plans, managers also are called upon to show 3 percent to 4 percent productivity improvement, without loss of quality. Over the course of several years, in an attempt to flatten the organization and move decision-making closer to the front-line crews, ODOT's management ranks have been trimmed by 400. During the past decade, one of ODOT's performance measures, Pavement Infrastructure Condition Rating, has improved from 50 percent to 80 percent. Overall customer satisfaction also is running at 80 percent. Worcester. MA Judges chose this city for its 1994 adoption of a Performance-Based Management System (PBMS), which is used to gauge progress toward achieving goals set forth in the city's Strategic Plan 2000. The PBMS is considered very "results driven"--rather than concentrating on inputs (revenues) and outputs (expenditures)--and focused on the quality of service being provided to customers by city departments. The city has identified more than 700 activities that will be measured at the department level in coming years. From those, 96 divisional outcome measures have been selected as the primary administrative focus. Worcester officials intend to use those divisional measures to produce quarterly and annual performance reports in years to come. Portland (OR) City Auditor No stranger to awards, the auditor's office was recognized for what judges called "trailblazing work in the field of performance reporting." The city's annual Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) report was described in the April 1995 PSQR. The SEA is an annual performance report on the city's six largest programs: police, fire, parks & recreation, water, sewer and streets. Major elements of the SEA report include: * Quantitative and qualitative data, including account records, maintenance reports, 911 computer system data, quality tests, customer surveys. * Comparative results, including five-year historical trends and comparisons both within the city (neighborhood-to-neighborhood) and city to city, using six comparable cities from around the United States. * Links to the city's budgeting system, where SEA indicators form the core performance data used in budget requests. * Public reporting to citizens, with SEA distribution to libraries, neighborhood organizations, civic groups and the media. Portland is finding that its SEA report is quoted widely by elected leaders and citizens, and is helping shape city council debate during budget hearings. Perhaps most important, departments are using SEA feedback to make program improvements. CONTACT: Terrell Blodgett, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, Drawer Y, University Station, Austin, TX 78713-7450, (512) 471-4962. [For further information about PSQR or to subscribe, contact: Public Sector Quality Report 17733 Kingsway Path Lakeville, MN 55044-5209 Phone: (612) 898-5058 Fax: (612) 892-7710 e-mail: 74363.3644@compuserve.com]