Data-Driven Performance Management

As governments work to evaluate and strengthen service provision for people in their communities, one of the most important tools they can leverage is data. Looking at the right data in real time can help governments assess if their services are working and identify potential changes that may be needed to improve results. By testing and monitoring the impact of these changes on target outcomes, agencies can improve operations and service delivery over time. 

The GPL’s data-driven performance management tools aim to help governments improve how they work with providers to deliver critical social services and manage internal operations. Importantly, data-driven performance management is not just an approach to collecting and analyzing data. By reviewing priority performance metrics with key stakeholders at a high frequency, governments and their partners can use insights from data to collaboratively improve target outcomes over time. 

Three core components make up this iterative process, shown in the graphic below. They are:

  1. Data: Identifying key data to understand performance.  

  2. Insight: Uncovering what is and is not working. 

  3. Action: Taking action and making changes to improve outcomes.

DDPM Graphic

Read more about how to implement data-driven performance management in this blog post: Five Elements to Include in Every Performance Dashboard.

“By regularly looking at the data - at what we see, what we don't see - and together coming up with a plan of action, we've seen a huge difference in improvement over time.”

- Octavia Shaw, Program Manager, Families First DC

Project Highlights

The GPL applies and adapts the principles of data-driven performance management across all of its policy areas – including children and families, criminal justice, housing and homelessness, and procurement systems – to support state and local governments in developing more effective and efficient public management systems.

Harris County, Texas: Building a responsive pretrial supervision system 

The caseload at the Harris County Pretrial Services agency — where staff were responsible for monitoring individual compliance release conditions — grew by more than 7x from 2017 to 2020. With support from the GPL, judges began receiving real-time data on condition compliance rates for individuals on their docket (e.g., related to randomized drug testing, curfews, etc.). This equipped them to make regular adjustments to reduce condition intensity and frequency, increasing operational capacity for pretrial staff and reducing the burden on defendants awaiting trial.

Result: The agency successfully adjusted supervision conditions for more than 2,200 clients with no changes in individual compliance or rearrest rates. 

Chicago, Illinois: Addressing racial disparities in emergency rental assistance applications during COVID-19 

At the beginning of COVID-19, Chicago's Department of Family and Supportive Services (DFSS) sought to significantly expand the reach of its Rental Assistance Program to priority populations for whom the pandemic had disproportionately affected health and economic outcomes, including Latinx applicants. However, data analysis revealed that Latinx applicants were substantially underrepresented in the program, which was designed to connect residents to urgently needed resources. With support from the GPL, DFSS worked to engage trusted messengers from the community and make the online application more accessible and user-friendly for Latinx applicants.  

Result: By the end of the second rental assistance application period, DFSS saw a 26% increase in the share of Latinx applications submitted from priority communities.