The International City/County Management Association (ICMA) recently awarded a 2021 Certification of Excellence in Performance Management to the city of Sugar Land.
As part of ICMA’s efforts to advance the practice of professional local government management, ICMA awards certificates each year to recognize programs that instill a culture of performance management, pursue comparative analysis and data-informed decision-making, and promote transparency. The certificates of excellence recognize cities across the country that have achieved the highest level of performance in data collection and verification, training and support, public reporting, accountability and process improvement, networking and leadership.
Sugar Land was among 31 high performing government agencies that set the standard for transparency, innovation and accountability. Others selected for the prestigious national award included Fort Collins, Colo., Coral Springs, Fla., Scottsdale, Ariz., Austin, Texas, and more.
“This year, despite the ongoing impacts of a global pandemic and the immense progress on dashboard reporting, benchmarking, networking and strategic planning initiatives, the city was able to obtain our goal of excellency in performance management,” said Chief Innovation Officer Reena Varghese. “This is a testament to our committed efforts to incorporate performance management and data into our public reporting, training and planning.”
The following programs contributing to Sugar Land’s certificate of excellence:
- The city’s I.D.E.A. Academy Training Program stands for innovation driven by employee action because employees are experts in their day-to-day process. Participants learn to map processes, identify gaps and development improvement opportunities.
- The Sweet Ideas Program supports ideas proposed by city employees that have the potential to improve services and functions of government. This program allows city employees to identify a new challenge for an existing problem found in processes serving residents and opportunities to improve the internal workplace culture. City employees then work collaboratively to find meaningful solutions to these challenges.
- Sugar Land’s Goal Measures Dashboard is a data-rich online portal that enhances accountability and transparency by providing a wealth of information on programs and services. Learn more at www.sugarlandtx.gov/GoalMeasures.
- A focus on customer experience surveying allows Sugar Land to better evaluate city programs, activities and services. Once example is Sugar Land’s Citizen Satisfaction Survey that measures and assesses the delivery of major city services and helps set community priorities for improved services and long-range planning. The survey is conducted to ensure City services meet citizen expectations, and the results help identify resources necessary to address community concerns. Read more at www.sugarlandtx.gov/css.
The International City/County Management Association is the leading organization of local government professionals dedicated to creating and sustaining thriving communities throughout the world. Learn more about the award at https://icma.org/certificates-in-performance-management.