This document outlines current trends in performance management policies and practices on the state and local levels. In addition, this document describes how Governors and other state and local government leaders have acted as catalysts in advancing results-based performance management initiatives in their respective states and local communities.

Overall Current Trends in State Performance Management Policies and Practices:

There are two current overall trends in state performance management policies and practices by Governors and other innovative political leaders. One is a shift away from focusing on error rate reduction and program regulation and to cross-agency accountability for the results and outcomes achieved by all state programs and services.

The second overall trend is the transfer by Governors and other innovative state and local political leaders of significant responsibility for identifying indicators of community and family well-being away from the state bureaucracy and to local communities and stakeholders.

These two overarching trends in state performance management policies and practices are helping to drive and secure popular support for the results-based efforts by Governors and other political leaders to improve state and local government performance across all government agencies.

Results-based Efforts by Governors to Improve State and Local Government Performance:

The overall government performance efforts by Governors and other innovative leaders have focused on improving the performance of government agencies at all levels. In addition, the leaders have made significant efforts to ensure the delivery of high quality, cost-efficient programs and services, regardless of whether the entity delivering the program and services is a local public institution (e.g. a public school), a non-profit community-based organization, or a for-profit organization. In attempting to drive their recently reengineered performance management policies throughout state and local government, Governors have:

• Designed and implemented performance-based budgeting systems.

• Initiated performance-based contracting under workforce, welfare, environment, and health care programs.

• Utilized performance-based management strategies to promote greater coordination of efforts among state and local agencies

• Mobilized broad-based partnerships among diverse state and local government representatives and community stakeholders to establish broad indicators of family, child, and community well-being and to keep track of changes in social conditions affecting these families and communities.

• Implemented education standards, school-based accountability systems, and performance report cards in the K-12 system.

• Established performance-based environmental regulatory systems and begun prioritizing their state's programs based on annual reports of environmental conditions.

Governors' Efforts at Promoting Shared Accountability for Achieving Results that Matter for Children, Families, and Communities

Improving results such as the quality of life in underserved local communities and upgrading the social and economic conditions of children and families is one broad policy area of concern for the nation's Governors and for other state and local political leaders. This broad policy goal involves more than the efforts of one government agency and is facilitated by a results-oriented management approach that includes, at least, several of the following elements:

• Construction of partnerships, involving contributions of financial resources, technical expertise, and political buy-in, of stakeholders inside and outside of government.

• Development of trust, shared vision, and common goals among state and local government entities, customers, and other stakeholders in the community.

• Developing a consensus concerning the respective and joint responsibilities among all stakeholders involved in producing favorable program outcomes.

• Alignment of resources around common goals and objectives.

• Continuity of strong political and bureaucratic leadership.

While not all of the above elements need to be present for a results-oriented management approach to be effective, the development of a critical mass of these above elements is instrumental to ensuring the success of an outcomes-oriented approach.