News Flash

?DURHAM, N.C. — For the third time, the City of Durham has received international recognition for its performance management focus.

The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) has recognized the City for its performance management success with a Certificate of Excellence, which is the highest level awarded from the ICMA Center for Performance Analytics™. Durham is among 33 jurisdictions receiving the Certificate of Excellence, and this is the third consecutive year that the City has won in this category.

“The certificate program recognizes the principles of performance management,” said ICMA Director of Performance Initiatives Randall H. Reid. “Jurisdictions meeting the qualifications have demonstrated leadership in continuous improvement and community engagement, and they serve as examples for other governments to follow.”

ICMA assesses a local government’s performance management program and encourages analysis of results by comparing to peers and gauging performance over time. Performance management aids in cost reduction, program prioritization, and quality improvement. It also encourages accountability and transparency. Certificates are awarded at the levels of Achievement, Distinction, and Excellence.

According to Budget and Management Services Department Director Bertha Johnson, winning this award again clearly demonstrates the City’s strong commitment to being an innovative and high-performing organization. “We make every effort to develop meaningful performance measures tied to our programs and services and to use that data to make operational decisions, allocate resources, and hold employees accountable,” Johnson said. “I’m proud that our organization won this recognition, and I hope our residents are pleased that their local government has been recognized for our sound leadership, for our demonstrated commitment to being transparent with them, and for being excellent stewards of their tax dollars.”

Criteria for the Certificate of Excellence include: reporting of performance data to the public through budgets, newsletters, and/or information provided to elected officials; data verification efforts to ensure data reliability; staff training; use of performance data in strategic planning and operational decision-making; sharing of performance measurement knowledge with other local governments through presentations, site visits, and other networking; commitment to tracking and reporting to the public key outcomes; surveying of the both residents and local government employees; and effective and timely reporting.

About the Budget & Management Services Department
The Budget and Management Services Department is responsible for the development and oversight of the City’s annual budget and Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The department is also responsible for organizational development, performance management, strategic planning as well as the coordination of cross-organization training and leadership development. Guided by the City’s Strategic Plan, which the department established and maintains, the department helps to ensure that the City of Durham is an innovative and high-performing organization by working with City departments to build and implement performance measurement monitoring and evaluation.

About ICMA and the Center for Performance Analytics
ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government worldwide. The organization’s mission is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional management to build better communities. ICMA identifies leading practices to address the needs of local governments and professionals serving communities globally – providing services, research, publications, data and information, peer and results-oriented assistance, and training and professional development to thousands of city, town, and county leaders and other individuals and organizations throughout the world. The management decisions made by ICMA's members affect millions of people living in thousands of communities, ranging in size from small towns to large metropolitan areas. ICMA’s Center for Performance Analytics is dedicated to helping local governments use performance information to better the lives of the people they serve. The center encourages the use and public reporting of performance information in a positive, continuous-learning environment in order to foster organizational cultures that deliver results that matter.