Proactive Program Planning

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

This innovative program establishes a universally applicable, proactive approach to service provision, driven by customer requirements, sustained by systematic performance improvement, and anchored by data-dependent accountability. Building backwards from customer requirements, we can determine the right mix of programs and services for our population, identify the actions and activities required to achieve the desired outcomes in the most effective and efficient manner, measure performance to know where we are at all times in relation to these outcomes, make course corrections as needed, and build on successes. While the approach is fairly simple to implement, it does require a departure from the paralytic belief that we have to do it this way because we always have. In our own organization, we have dedicated ourselves to reinventing local government, and such limiting statements are forbidden. A series of questions outlined in a swim-lane map, direct the user to analyze and evaluate the current realities of their business, make adjustments, and improve performance. Severe program and personnel cuts during the economic downturn left us with skeleton crews and flat budgets. It was obvious that we would have to change our business model or continue to scale back. We had to find a way to maintain or increase our levels of service, even as customer requirements continued to increase. We found a way, and it worked.