Public-Facing Monthly Management Reports and Data Dashboards

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2023

In 2014, Mecklenburg County began requiring departments to prepare monthly update reports for the Board of County Commissioners (“Board”). The purpose of these reports was to provide the Board and the public with strategic and operational updates from each department. These reports were manually created in standalone Word documents, eventually converted to PDF documents, and were attached to the Board agenda. As the program evolved, the County determined that while the Board was receiving the reports, the standalone Word/PDF versions were not easily accessible or understood by the public. By leveraging its existing Performance Management (PM) System, the County was able to transition from manually created reports to reports automatically generated via data entry. Utilizing the PM System as a data and information repository also allowed the County to leverage existing technology licenses (Microsoft PowerBI and ArcGIS Hub) to automatically import the data into PowerBI dashboards that were then published to the Board and marketed to the public. This change enhanced monthly reporting to the Board and increased the transparency of reporting to the public, while also generating visualizations that made trends in performance data easier to identify and understand. The final dashboards were launched publicly on October 3, 2022 and the “Monthly Management Reports and Data Dashboards” website has received over 9,500 visits to date. The County played a critical role in implementing the program and providing the necessary resources and support to make it a success. The County also played a key role in promoting the program to the public through various communication channels, including social media, press releases and Board meetings. Overall, the program represents a significant step forward in promoting transparency and accountability in the County's operations and is a testament to the County's commitment to serving the public.