Beyond the basics: Miami-Dade County's results-oriented government framework.[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]Delivering services that meet and exceed the expectations of residents is an immense undertaking for any government, no matter the size. The planning, deployment, and cultural transformation required to establish a performance-focused government are complex and demanding. To meet this challenge, Miami-Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County (formerly known as Dade County and many times referred to as simply Miami or Dade) is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. , has developed a results-oriented government framework that encompasses a series of practices and initiatives aimed at improving service quality. Many local governments have developed strategic plans, and many use some form of performance measurement. Miami-Dade County's process, however, goes beyond these initial steps, establishing a multifaceted mul·ti·fac·et·ed adj. Having many facets or aspects. See Synonyms at versatile. Adj. 1. multifaceted - having many aspects; "a many-sided subject"; "a multifaceted undertaking"; "multifarious interests"; "the multifarious commitment to an organizational culture  This article or section is written like an .Please help [ rewrite this article] from a neutral point of view. Mark blatant advertising for , using . that is focused on results. This comprehensive approach has become the government's standard way of doing business. The county's strategic framework provides the structure: plan, measure, and monitor (see Exhibit 1). STEP 1: PLAN The final components of the county's first-ever strategic plan were adopted by a resolution in June June: see month. 2003. These elements are organized in six comprehensive service areas and one internal support area: economic development, health and human services Noun 1. Health and Human Services - the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with health and welfare; created in 1979 Department of Health and Human Services, HHS , neighborhood and unincorporated area In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality. To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, i.e., a city or town with its own government. services, public safety, recreation and culture, and transportation, along with enabling strategies. The county also developed mission statements, goals, strategies, and preliminary performance measures for each of its seven strategic areas. The Miami-Dade County Strategic Plan is the cornerstone cornerstone Ceremonial building block, dated or otherwise inscribed, usually placed in an outer wall of a building to commemorate its dedication. Often the stone is hollowed out to contain newspapers, photographs, or other documents reflecting current customs, with a view to of the county's results-oriented government framework and its organizational culture. (Exhibit 2 provides an overview of the strategic planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. process.) The vision, mission, and guiding principle statements provide focus for the county's overall activities, and components at each level are aligned with them. Specific goals, priority outcomes, and key performance objectives provide more detailed performance targets (see Exhibit 3 for an overview). The goal of this framework is to have the entire organization working toward the same results, and knowing what it takes to achieve them. Business plans. Departmental business plans were redesigned to ensure that financial resources, policy, department operations, and county staff are aligned to achieve the goals and outcomes laid out in the 2003 Strategic Plan. Departments re-evaluate and update their business plans annually to reflect the County Strategic Plan and the final budget adopted for the year. In addition, departmental business plans address enhancements underway in the current fiscal year and identify programs and initiatives for the coming fiscal year. Departmental business plans then provide input for development of recommended budget priorities and serve as a communications tool for department staff and county policymakers. The business planning process is reviewed and revised as necessary to strengthen the alignment Alignment is the adjustment of an object in relation with other objects, or a static orientation of some object or set of objects in relation to others.
Publicly accessible computer network connecting many smaller networks from around the world. It grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the , along with corresponding quarterly reports. Because the departmental quarterly reports are generated from the same automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. performance management system as the business plans, their formats are consistent, giving residents and employees simplified access to stated goals and actual performance. Resource allocation resource allocation Managed care The constellation of activities and decisions which form the basis for prioritizing health care needs . Before the results-oriented government framework was implemented, the budget process had determined the county priorities, rather than priorities determining the allocation of resources allocation of resources Apportionment of productive assets among different uses. The issue of resource allocation arises as societies seek to balance limited resources (capital, labour, land) against the various and often unlimited wants of their members. . Historically, departments had been given a target budget early in the budget process. Although each department was to emphasize priority areas in the balancing exercise, as a practical matter, the budget preparation was incremental Additional or increased growth, bulk, quantity, number, or value; enlarged. Incremental cost is additional or increased cost of an item or service apart from its actual cost. in nature, concentrating on increasing or maintaining specific line-item allocations and service levels, regardless of available resources. Beginning in 2003, Miami-Dade County dramatically changed its budgeting process so that priorities identified early in the process guided the allocation The apportionment or designation of an item for a specific purpose or to a particular place. In the law of trusts, the allocation of cash dividends earned by a stock that makes up the principal of a trust for a beneficiary usually means that the dividends will be treated as of resources--a practice called "Resourcing for Results." Instead of holding departmental budget hearings addressing line items, departments now hold resource allocation meetings that focus on programs, priorities, goals, and performance measures consistent with the priorities listed in the strategic plan, departmental business plans, and direction from elected officials. The Resourcing for Results process is transparent, and decisions are easier for residents to comprehend. Requests for service improvements are directly linked to their effects on performance indicators, and each department is required to evaluate its budget submission in light of how well it aligns with the county's strategic plan. The overall proposed budget is then reviewed to match priorities and service levels with available resources. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The resource allocation process is constantly evaluated and revised to refine and strengthen the alignment of desired outcomes and performance. All department directors conduct resource allocation meetings with the director and budget analysts from the Office of Strategic Business Management. These meetings are structured to emphasize performance, results from past enhancements, and expected results from requested enhancements. STEP 2: MEASURE Miami-Dade County has been collecting and analyzing performance measures through a quarterly reporting system for eight years, with the process evolving to more tightly align align (  līn),v to move the teeth into their proper positions to conform to the line of occlusion. the measures in the departmental business plans with the overall strategic plan. To track performance data, key measures are loaded into a Web-based software database that displays the measures and data, and maps them to the county's strategic management framework. The software helps keep the county's managers focused on results and its operations aligned with the strategic goals and performance objectives. The software, which also allows managers to drill down from higher-level performance measures to more detailed measures, is a key instrument in helping achieve the cultural change required for tracking, managing, and using performance data to improve results. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This automated system has significantly improved performance data collection, management, and communication because individual departments now input data in a systematic, standardized standardized pertaining to data that have been submitted to standardization procedures. standardized morbidity rate see morbidity rate. standardized mortality rate see mortality rate. fashion. The data are then available for executive staff to query at various levels of detail within specific strategic areas or by individual departments. The county also implemented an "Initiative" process for addressing underperforming measures. When comprehensive analysis of the data collected by strategic areas and individual county departments shows a performance gap, the software can be used to create an initiative, or project linked to the issue, which highlights the problem and shows system users that it is being addressed. Future improvements to the system will result in improved data verification and reporting mechanisms, as the software interfaces with other data warehouses to allow for automated data population and real-time 1. real-time - Describes an application which requires a program to respond to stimuli within some small upper limit of response time (typically milli- or microseconds). Process control at a chemical plant is the classic example. information. More than 1,300 Miami-Dade County employees use the software. The county, which exceeded its initial goal of having 500 users trained within the first year of deployment, is constantly improving its conceptual and technical training on how to use this application. There is also an online resources page available through a help link within the application or through the county's Web portal See portal. . STEP 3: MONITOR Soon after the county's intense initial performance management training efforts in 2005, officials began to realize that a strategy was needed to institutionalize in·sti·tu·tion·a·lize v. To place a person in the care of an institution, especially one providing care for the disabled or mentally ill. in the new system. The challenge was making sure that rather than just using the system to load performance data, departments were also engaged in meaningful performance discussions and using this information to improve operations. As a result, the county mandated that each department conduct regular business review meetings--ongoing formal performance discussions, complete with a projector so scorecards and performance measures could be reviewed and discussed productively by a group. The county devised a two-tier system The two-tier system, in the context of labor relations, is a type of contract employed by companies to scale back negotiated wages and benefits. When a two-tier system is in place in a new contract, workers hired before ratification of that contract have a wage progression for the meetings, one set of monthly reviews at the department level by the department director, and a second set of quarterly business reviews conducted by the County Manager's Office, which generally focuses on a single strategic area (e.g., public safety, recreation and culture, transportation, etc.). To overcome traditional obstacles in scheduling the reviews--such as not having enough time or conflicts in scheduling--the county manager created "Strategic Management Meeting Day," generally the third Friday Friday: see Sabbath; week. Friday young Indian rescued by Crusoe and kept as servant and companion. [Br. Lit.: Robinson Crusoe] See : Servant of each month. Designating a specific day for these reviews not only emphasizes their importance but also places them on the calendars of county executives as regular and recurring re·cur intr.v. re·curred, re·cur·ring, re·curs 1. To happen, come up, or show up again or repeatedly. 2. To return to one's attention or memory. 3. To return in thought or discourse. meetings. COMMUNICATING RESULTS Each year, Miami-Dade County publishes its Progress Report to the Community, an easy-to-read report compiled from performance data including key measures from departmental scorecards, resident satisfaction survey results, and other departmental sources. The report, which is organized by the seven strategic areas comprising the strategic plan, focuses on the measures that matter most to taxpayers. To increase residents' access to the report, it is distributed at all Miami-Dade County Library branches, County Commissioners district offices, and the Government Center, and it is also mailed to residents who request it using the county's 311 Answer Center. There is also an online version that allows anyone to drill down in key areas to view more detailed information than what is available in the printed report. At the beginning of the 2006 fiscal year, each department's business plan was posted on the Miami-Dade County Web site, enhancing the communication of performance to residents and departments. The progress report displays highlighted performance measures and the current data in a graphic form, along with the measure and objective titles. Data collection and analysis of measures has improved due to the enhanced level of visibility and the necessity for timely data entry. The current quarterly report started out as a manually compiled document that required many staff hours to deliver. Information had to be collected from various sources, followed by multiple layers of review in each dept, after which the central office would compile To translate a program written in a high-level programming language into machine language. See compiler. everything into a countywide coun·ty·wide adv. & adj. Throughout a whole county: found at locations countywide; a countywide search. Adj. 1. report, which would also be reviewed. The quarterly report is now an automated document generated from each department's balanced scorecard Balanced Scorecard A performance metric used in strategic management to identify and improve various internal functions and their resulting external outcomes. The balanced scorecard attempts to measure and provide feedback to organizations in order to assist in implementing in the automated performance management system. The county, in a coordinated effort with its software vendor, developed a Business Plan Report that produces a real-time snapshot (1) A saved copy of memory including the contents of all memory bytes, hardware registers and status indicators. It is periodically taken in order to restore the system in the event of failure. (2) A saved copy of a file before it is updated. of a department's performance for any given period. These documents are then linked with the department's current business plan, allowing users to evaluate the performance of strategic objectives and outcomes. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Staff must use the automated software system to create the report, which helps integrate performance management methodologies into the fabric of county government. Two other important initiatives have assisted the county in moving to a performance-driven culture. One is the 311 Answer Center, which was officially launched in September September: see month. 2005. The center, created to improve residents' access to county services, also feeds information to the performance management system, allowing staff to pinpoint service deficiencies and make performance improvements. The other initiative is the senior management appraisal process, which ties organizational performance Organizational performance comprises the actual output or results of an organization as measured against its intended outputs (or goals and objectives). Specialists in many fields are concerned with organizational performance including strategic planners, operations, directly to individuals and thus develops accountability The senior management appraisal process was instituted in 2004. Individual performance objectives are based on the department performance objectives but are typically more specific or tactical in nature. Before they're they're Contraction of they are. they're be included in the management performance appraisal Performance appraisal, also known as employee appraisal, is a method by which the performance of an employee is evaluated (generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost and time). form, the individual objectives are negotiated and agreed to by employees and their supervisors. Agreeing to the objectives at the outset of the evaluation period Evaluation period The time interval over which funds assess a money manager's performance. and allowing for unforeseen circumstances CIRCUMSTANCES, evidence. The particulars which accompany a fact. 2. The facts proved are either possible or impossible, ordinary and probable, or extraordinary and improbable, recent or ancient; they may have happened near us, or afar off; they are public or that could prevent goals from being achieved helps diminish any perception that performance measures are being used punitively pu·ni·tive adj. Inflicting or aiming to inflict punishment; punishing. [Medieval Latin p  n Objectives are also weighted based on priority; generally,
individual objectives that are directly linked to high-priority
departmental objectives will be more heavily weighted in the management
appraisal than other objectives. Individual performance
objectives--which are linked to the related departmental business plan
objectives--account for 50 percent of executives' performance
ratings See benchmark. , which form the basis for increases to merit pay Noun 1. merit pay - extra pay awarded to an employee on the basis of merit (especially to school teachers)pay, remuneration, salary, wage, earnings - something that remunerates; "wages were paid by check"; "he wasted his pay on drink"; "they saved a quarter of all , CONCLUSION In establishing a results-oriented government framework, the county must continue to ensure that its residents, employees, and stakeholders Stakeholders All parties that have an interest, financial or otherwise, in a firm-stockholders, creditors, bondholders, employees, customers, management, the community, and the government. see actual service improvements. Although Miami-Dade County has seen clear improvements in many areas, including resident satisfaction, other significant improvements in quality of services, such as on-time performance of public transit, will take time. And those improvements are possible through the county's sustained efforts and commitment to planning, measuring, and monitoring. Links to Miami-Dade County's Strategic Management Activities Strategic Planning details are available at http://www.miamidade.gov/stratplan/home.asp. An actual department business plan and quarterly performance report are available at http://www.miamidade.gov/mppa/businessplans_main.asp. Current and past budgets are available at http://www.miamidade.gov/budget/. The "Progress Report to the Community" popular report is available at www.miamidade.gov/results. The Business Plan Reports are available at http://www.miamidade.gov/mppa/businessplans_main.asp. More information on the county's performance measures and management are available at http://www.miamidade.gov/mppa/measuring.asp. More information on the county's performance monitoring and reporting are available at http://www.miamidade.gov/mppa/monitoring.asp. RAY A. SCHER SCHER Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (European Commission) is assistant director, Miami-Dade County Office of Strategic Business Management.
Exhibit 3: Outlining the County's Comprehensive Service Areas
For each service area, county officials chose corresponding goals,
desired outcomes, strategies for achieving those outcomes, and
preliminary performance objectives or key performance indicators.
Information for one of those service areas--public safety--is
presented below. Details for all the service areas are available at
http://www.miamidade.gov/stratplan/home.asp.
Public Safety
Goals
Effectively provide the necessary and appropriate technology,
buildings, equipment, and people for delivery of quality
services, now and in the future.
* Provide comprehensive and humane programs for crime prevention,
treatment, and rehabilitation
* Improve the quality of service delivery through commitment to
ongoing employee training.
* Strengthen the bond between the public safety departments and
the community.
* Improve public safety through the use of community planning and
the enforcement of quality-of-life issues.
Priority Key Outcome How We Plan to Measure Our
Performance
* Facilities and resources built * Average fire rescue response
and maintained to meet needs time from time dispatch receives
* Reduced response time (including life-threatening call from 911
agricultural areas) and/or percentage of total fire
* Reduction in property loss and calls with a response time of
destruction less than eight minutes from
call entry to arrival and/or
EMS-ALS average response time
from Public Safety
* Answering point to arrival
* Police emergency average
response time (minutes)
* Percentage of survey respondents
who rate crime in their
neighborhood as a minor or
major problem
* Improved homeland security * Development and implementation
preparedness of a comprehensive plan for
homeland security
* Number of first responders
trained and equipped for an
emergency event
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