In need of a library of local government key performance indicators (KPIs)?
A government key performance indicator (KPI) is a type of measure. For example, if one of your community’s goals is to become the most business-friendly city in the state, two key performance indicators could be the commercial tax base revenue and net number of new jobs created. Assuming you undertake some initiatives to improve these numbers, tracking them will reveal how close your efforts have brought you to actually achieving the objective.
Government KPIs provide a tangible way for the public sector to report on performance and hold different departments accountable for their actions. However, while they are a necessity for responsible governing, it isn’t always easy to choose the right ones.
That’s where we come in. In this article, we offer some guidance around selecting and tracking KPIs. And to provide some inspiration when it comes time to choose, we also provide more than 140 government KPI examples, broken up into 14 categories. Feel free to start at the beginning, or dive into a specific category using the links below.
KPIs only work as intended if, a) they track measures that actually reflect performance; b) they are structured effectively; and c) you review and report on them consistently. Let’s take a closer look at how to succeed in each of these areas.
These days, you can measure just about anything—and you probably do track a number of data points that help you understand how your government is run. KPIs, however, are different in that they refer to only those measures that relate to achieving your goals. A KPI might be made up of a number of other metrics; for instance, your response time to citizen questions or concerns might be one of several metrics that determines citizen satisfaction.
Think about which activities will help you reach your specific goals.
It’s beneficial to have a mix of leading and lagging indicators. Note that it may take some experimentation to find the right KPIs. If you’re not seeing any value from the ones you’ve chosen, it may be because they aren’t relevant to business performance, or they aren’t clearly linked to your strategy.
How many key performance indicators should you choose? Public sector organizations should ideally have one or two measures for every objective. Some governments use several high-level KPIs at the organizational level, and additional ones for each of their departments. Keep in mind that your measures may change periodically to ensure that you meet your objectives.
Identifying the activities that have an impact on your objectives gets you closer to determining your KPIs, but an effective KPI should also be SMART:
Creating qualitative KPIs is possible, but not advisable because this structure can lead to confusion and subjective interpretations of data.
It’s crucial to continuously gather data around your KPIs and report these findings to all relevant parties. These activities will keep you on track and increase the likelihood that you’ll reach your organization’s objectives. Because KPIs give you a look at how your government is performing, KPI reports can also provide valuable insights that will help you make better decisions.
We admit we’re a little biased, but we recommend using a software reporting tool to simplify KPI tracking and reporting. Making use of customizable dashboards is a great (and simple) way to report to different audiences. You can make one dashboard for departments working on KPIs, and another that gives a high-level overview to senior leaders. ClearPoint produces a single, clean, and cohesive monthly KPI report that saves time for everyone. It also gives all government employees—and even your citizens—an easy way to see the progress you’re making.
Here’s an example of what a KPI report looks like in ClearPoint:
Many governments also create a public-facing dashboard that pulls strategic information directly from ClearPoint, like the one below. Citizens can click into each priority to get details and data on different measures.
For many municipalities, there are thousands of possible measures to, well, measure. Below are some of the most common performance measures categorized according to the key performance areas of local governments.
How One Community’s Commitment To KPI Tracking Pays DividendsIn January 2015, leaders of Germantown, TN began work on a strategic plan called “Germantown 2030” that would guide the growth and development of the community for the next 15 years. The plan outlines eight key performance areas, each of which has one to five KPIs:
Using ClearPoint, the community diligently tracks its KPIs and shares its progress via a public-facing dashboard. Everyone—government workers and citizens alike—has the ability to see the community’s current performance, and department heads also have a clear way to know how to best use their resources going forward.
Status icons in ClearPoint give a quick indication of performance; any KPI can be examined in greater detail simply by clicking on it.
Germantown’s culture of careful measurement and analysis has paid off. The community now operates more efficiently and cost effectively, and the increased transparency has underscored leaders’ dedication to improvement, boosting public trust. In fact, the results of their strategy efforts have been so positive that Germantown won a 2019 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award from the U.S. Department of Commerce!
Tricia manages our implementation and onboarding team to ensure the success of ClearPoint customers.