From local municipalities to Federal agencies, governments of every size struggle with a range of challenges as they provide needed services to their constituents. With shrinking revenue and growing demand, the need for improved performance, accountability, and transparency may be greater than ever.

As the authors said in their iconic book Reinventing Government (David Osborne and Ted Gaebler), “When institutions are funded according to inputs, they have little reason to strive for better performance. But when they are funded according to outcomes, they become obsessive about performance. Because they don’t measure results, bureaucratic governments rarely achieve them.”

There is no question in the value of identifying key performance indicators (KPI), utilizing metrics, setting targets, and tracking results; the question is how to do it so that the data is used to drive results (and isn’t merely gathered as a paperwork exercise).

When an organization outgrows the usefulness of standard spreadsheets, it is time to look at software designed for performance management, and more specifically, for performance management software specifically designed for the unique needs of government.

John Mercer, Director for Government Performance at Knovos, is an internationally recognized expert in government strategic planning, performance budgeting, and performance management. He knows what it takes for government programs to get measurable results.

Canada’s prestigious Municipal World magazine asked John to contribute an educational article that would be helpful to local government. In the article, John describes the use and benefits of 25 key features of an effective performance software solution for government. John broke the features into four categories:

  • Performance Planning
  • Performance Reporting & Analysis
  • Performance Budgeting
  • and Additional Performance Management Features

The article appeared in the magazine’s August 2020 issue. To read the article, click here.

After working in government at both the local and Federal levels, and consulting with governments around the world, John became the lead design architect of Cascade Performance Manager by Knovos, a software solution that contains all 25 features described in the article.

If you would like to see the power of Cascade, and how it can help your organization use data to improve results, it would be our pleasure to give you a tour.

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