14 February, 2012
Continuing the Patrick-Murray Administration’s commitment to increasing government efficiency and accountability, Governor Deval Patrick delivered the keynote address today at a conference on performance management in government hosted by the Edwin J. Collins Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
The conference, “Delivering Results: Implementing Performance Management in Massachusetts,” convened state and local government officials to learn how the Commonwealth is using performance management strategies to make government more efficient and effective for taxpayers.
“Thanks to our Commonwealth’s results-oriented nature, we are leading the nation out of the recession,” said Governor Patrick. “Establishing the Office of Commonwealth Performance, Accountability and Transparency has further allowed us to execute nation-leading strategies for improving performance and transparency. I am proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we need to continue to focus on achieving better outcomes for less. The economy demands it and our citizens deserve it.”
Today’s topics included establishing measureable goals and objectives; how to drive goals and strategies from the top to the bottom, how to measure outcomes against goals; and how to use data in real-time to identify and fix problems to stretch taxpayer dollars. The conference will also focus on linking performance to budget decisions and innovative ways of paying for success, such as social impact finance to give state managers more information about how to implement performance practices in each of their respective program areas.
“The University of Massachusetts Boston takes seriously its commitment to serve as a public resource for the Commonwealth,” said J. Keith Motley, UMass Boston chancellor. “The Collins Center has played an important role in delivering on this commitment, and we look forward to this partnership with the Executive Office for Administration and Finance benefiting taxpayers across the state.”
Earlier today, Governor Patrick signed an Executive Order (EO) establishing an Office of Performance Management within each of the Administration's eight Secretariats. The EO requires each Secretariat publish two-year strategic plans that include goals and measurements to track progress. The Governor’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget proposed, and the legislature supported, the establishment of the Office of Commonwealth, Performance, Accountability and Transparency (CPAT) within the Executive Office for Administration and Finance. The Fiscal Year 2013 Budget recommendation expands the Administration’s efforts on performance management by including funding for CPAT to expand efforts across the Executive branch to help implement today’s EO. In addition, the Administration has established a partnership with the Collins Center for Public Management to support performance management efforts across state government.
“Our new fiscal reality demands that we change the way government does business to stretch taxpayer dollars as far as possible,” said Secretary of Administration and Finance Jay Gonzalez. “Instituting performance management is not a short term fix. It requires a long-term approach to get measurable results to improve the way government serves people. Today’s Executive Order is the next step in making government more efficient and transparent for taxpayers.”
The Patrick-Murray Administration has a track record of using results-based management to help shape public policy and improve constituent services. The MassGOALS (Massachusetts Government Outcomes to Achieve Long-Term Success) initiative was an important tool in aligning operations and resources across state government in Governor Patrick’s first term. As part of the MassGOALS effort and to comply with legislative mandates, Secretariats, such as the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and Massachusetts Department of Transportation developed their own strategic plans and performance management frameworks.
Participants in the conference will include Senate President Therese Murray, State Auditor Suzanne Bump and Shelley Metzenbaum, associate director for performance and personnel management at the Office of Management and Budget.
To view the Executive Order, please visit: http://www.mass.gov/governor/legislationeexecorder/executiveorder/execut...
