About SEA Reporting – Performance Management

SEA Performance measures can be an important tool for understanding government performance, but without a process for using this information, it is only of limited value. One such process that is receiving increased interest in government, as well as in the not-for-profit and the private sector, is called Performance Management, Managing for Results (MFR), Performance-Based Management, Activity-Based Management, etc.

What is performance management?

The performance management process is a comprehensive approach to aiding public policy and administrative organizations to focus on their missions, goals, and objectives. It establishes the accomplishment of those goals and objectives as the primary endeavor for the organization, and provides a systematic method for carrying out that endeavor. It requires the (1) establishment of performance measures, (2) use, and (3) reporting of those measures; so that management, elected officials and the public can assess the degree of success the organization had in accomplishing its mission, goals, and objectives.

National Performance Management Commission

The National Performance Management Advisory Commission, a collaborative effort of 11 leading public sector management organizations, has released a Performance Management Framework for State and Local Government: From Measurement and Reporting to Management and Improving.

The framework articulates principles and describes practices for use by state, provincial, and local governments.

The commission’s intent is that the framework

• Be flexible and readily adaptable to varying circumstances;
• Identify general approaches, practices, and techniques that are characteristic of successful performance management; and
• Support state, provincial and local governments’ efforts to develop and assess their performance measurement and management systems, for the public’s benefit.

WWW.PMCOMMISSION.ORG