External performance reporting, Oregon style.([PM.sup.2] Connections: PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT & MANAGEMENT)

In 2006 and 2007, the Progress Board hosted panel discussions with experts in the economy, education, social services, public safes and the built and natural environments. (8) We know from these conversations that Oregon is no exception. Systemic, institutional fragmentation puts a brake on Oregon's benchmark progress. We must reverse this tendency and foster a new way of thinking together across systems and structures. Showing how multiple state agencies with diverse missions link their organizational performance measures to shared, societal-level benchmarks is an important first step. Benchmarks.oregon.gov helps us take that step.

The Oregon Progress Board runs on a biennial operating budget of about $500,000. Creating benchmarks.Oregon.gov cost less than $40,000.

Notes

(1.) British Columbia Progress Board, "Tracking changes in the economic performance and social well-being of British Columbia," http://www.bcprogressboard.com/.

(2.) Tasmania Together 20/20, "About Tasmania Together," http://www.tasmaniatogether.tas.gov.au/about_tasmania_together, Tasmania Together Progress Board.

(3.) Cabinet Office, Department of Premier and Cabinet, "South Australia Strategic Plan," http://www.stateplan.sa.gov.au/.

(4.) Oregon Progress Board, "Oregon Shines, Oregon's Strategic Plan," http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/OPB/os.shtml.

(5.) Oregon Progress Board.

(6.) International Institute for Sustainable Development, "Compendium: A global directory to indicator initiatives," http://www.iisd.org/measure/compendium/ Displaylnitiative.aspx?id=1706; International Sustainability Indicators Network, "Communities Working on Sustainability Indicators," http://www.sustainabilityindicators.org/resources/WhoWorkingOnlndicators. html; National Leadership Summits for a Sustainable America, "Indicators--Work at the state level on indicators," http://summits.ncat.org/indicators.php; Adam Zimmerman, "Developing a Set of Sustainability Indices for the State of Oregon" (thesis summary), http://wwvcoregon.gov/DAS/OPB/docs/links/AZthesis.pdf; and Jeff Tryens and Bob Silverman, "The Oregon Benchmarks as a Measurement System for Sustainability," http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/OPB/docs/Sustain/silverman.pdf, Oregon Progress Board, September 2000.

(7.) Government Finance Officers Association, "Performance Management: Using Performance Measurement for Decision Making," http://www.gfoa.org/downloads/budgetperfmanagement.pdf; Service Efforts and Accomplishments Project, "Performance Reporting for Government," http://www.seagov.org/aboutpmg/,Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

(8.) Oregon Progress Board, "Oregon Shines, Oregon's Strategic Plan--Oregon Shines III Partner Panels," http://www.oregon.gov/DAS/OPB/os.shtmt#Oregon_Shines_IlI.

RITA CONRAD is executive director of the Oregon Progress Board. She thanks Oregon's State Controller John Radford and Willamette University Professor Ken Smith for helping her understand the perspectives of public sector finance officers; Laura Rose Misaras for her genius in creating benchmarks.oregon.gov; and Jay Grussing for keeping benchmark data and reports relevant, current, and publicly accessible.

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