HomeMy WebLinkAboutPB Indicator memo 7-16-2019
TO: BOZEMAN PLANNING BOARD
FROM: CHRIS SAUNDERS, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT MANAGER
JON HENDERSON, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC SERVICES
TOM ROGERS, SENIOR PLANNER
RE: COMMUNITY PLAN UPDATE – INDICATORS (METRICS)
DATE: JULY 16, 2019
Based on direction of the Board from the June 3 and 18, and July 2, 2019 meetings staff has
revised the indicators and metrics document to reflect Planning Board action to create
version 10, attached. The board concluded their discussion after completing review of
Theme F. Please continue starting at Theme G.
Staff hopes the development of indicators (metrics) can be completed at this meeting. This
is a provisional completion, the document remains in development until the City
Commission finalizes its review. Elements of the growth policy can be revised during that
process. We are at a point where a working set needs to be finished so LoganSimpson can
integrate them into the overall plan.
There are 36 metrics identified in the draft included with this memo. About 20 of those are
draws of standard data from outside sources like the Census or a restatement of other
work like the water consumption data that the City tracks. This leaves 16 new work items
for development. The viability of the recommended metrics will ultimately depend on the
capacity to maintain the data. Planning and Strategic Services staff will continue to evaluate
the work needed for the metrics.
Goals C.1 and E.1 have duplicate metrics and E.1 has quite a few. We have been targeting
two metrics per goal. Please consider whether E.1 metrics can be consolidated. Please
review and double-check the metrics. It is acknowledged that these selected metrics are
tools for analyzing trends. There are no targets yet specified for these metrics. The
identification of the targets will occur after the Commission adopts the plan so that final
metrics and policy have been established.
IF POSSIBLE, please include language in the cover memo describing our desire to “double-
check” all metrics before moving on. There are a total of 41 indicators listed in the
document, requiring significant effort over time. Specifically, I would suggest that we
confirm/limit metrics related to C.1, D.3, and E.1.
The memo prepared for the June 3rd and 18th meeting remains relevant and provide
direction for the Board’s effort. The memo is included below.
June 3, 2019 memo to Planning Board
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Staff has revised the original proposed indicators (or metric) and integrated them with the
goals and objectives as discussed at the May 21, 2019 Planning Board meeting. Each metric
is located under a goal that reasonably relates to the desired outcome. Not all indicators fall
neatly under a goal or objective. Not all goals have a directly relevant measure(s). Perhaps
most importantly, not all goals and objectives should be quantitatively measured.
Memo outline:
1. Direction and questions for the Board
2. Indicator background and selection criteria
3. Policy and relationship to goals
4. Implementation
5. Document and Administrative Edits
Direction and questions for the Board
Board tasks:
Verify draft metrics against each goal, ask questions, and suggest improvements.
Identify missing indicators and propose ideas for consideration.
Choose a maximum of two indicators per goal (exceptions will be allowed).
We are asking the Board to refine and prioritize these indicators. Tracking and managing a
vast array of data may not improve the outcome of the plan. Carefully crafted and selected
indicators under each theme are suggested. However, no one metric will capture the intent
of the Community Plan. Citizens experience the community in qualitative ways, therefore
considering only quantitative measures will not fully reflect plan outcomes. Additional
qualitative measures may be needed in addition to any quantitative measures employed.
With respect to those goals that do not have indicators associated with them, if the Board
believes one of these goals must be measured staff respectfully request the Board further
refine and define the goal and identify possible data sets or metric to measure the desired
outcome.
Indicators background and selection criteria
Strategic Services invested considerable time and effort to evaluate and refine the draft
indicators presented to the Board for consideration.
The criteria of evaluation employed to identify and select an indicator was evaluated for its
availability, accuracy, relevance, repeatability, durability of data (reasonable surety that the
data will be available in the foreseeable future), and effort to gather on a timely basis. Data
may become obsolete over time and need to be replaced, adjusted or eliminated.
It is important to understand how a data set is created to ensure the tool is relevant to our
purposes. For data that is less commonly understood staff reviewed the sources and
methods to better understand how the data is created. This process either eliminated a
potential source or solidified its validity and is included in the indicators presented to you
for your consideration. While effort was made to understand the scope of work involved to
collect and maintain each metric, some indicators will require further investigation.
There is significant value in identifying data that is currently being utilized by the City to
measure other initiatives to improve validity and leverage existing efforts. The Bozeman
Strategic Plan list seven vision statements. Vision seven is “High Performance
Organization.” Subsection 7.4, performance metrics, is to utilize key performance and cost
measures to monitor, track and improve the planning and delivery of City programs and
services, and promote greater accountability, effectiveness and efficiency. Learn from those
outside city government and measure specific tasks for performance.
a) Develop Data Analysis Tools - Develop more sophisticated analytical tools to
access, monitor, measure, and analyze data to inform decision making.
b) Set Performance Measures - Set performance measures that align with the
Strategic Plan.
c) Analyze and Collect Data from Performance Measures - Analyze and collect data
from performance measures to ensure implementation of the Strategic Plan, and
redesign measures as needed.
d) Strategic Municipal Service Delivery Expectations - Strategically manage
community and employee expectations about the City’s capacity to deliver services.
Discussion of metrics for the Community Plan will be considered in context with this larger
initiative. The Strategic Services Department is leading implementation of Strategic Plan
7.4. Some items may address both the Community Plan and another area of municipal
operations. In such cases, the performance metric will be crafted to address both issues.
Effective indicators are:
Relevant to the Plan’s vision and goals to track meaningful desired outcomes;
Clear and understandable and do not rely on overly complex definitions or
calculations;
Defensible and grounded in quality data that can be regularly reported and can be
consistently and accurately tracked over time with a reasonable amount of effort;
Useful in making decisions that affect the community, reflecting topics the
community directly or indirectly addresses through local plans, policies or
implementation programs;
Interdisciplinary in that the same indicator can be used in conjunction with other
City (and outside entity) plans and programs;
Comparable to other regional, municipal, state or national benchmarks
Supported by the community, staff and elected officials
A performance measurement system that requires excessive effort to implement will not
continue over time as other priorities push it aside. In order to support long term success
in implementation, Staff suggests that not more than two metrics be chosen for each goal in
the Community Plan.
Policy and relationship to goals
The indicators are comingled below each set of objectives to capture the intent of the goal
and not necessarily to an individual objective.
As a policy document the community has the ability to determine the meaning of the goal.
The individual objectives are a temporal representation of its meaning and give some
direction in how accomplishment of the goal can move forward. The objectives are not an
exhaustive list of all possible implementation tools or efforts. The desire is to measure
progress of the plan (or the City) overall.
Five goals do not have specific indicators associated with them. This is a result of three
reasons:
1) Some goals are aspirational in nature for which a qualitative measure may not be possible
or appropriate.
2) No agreeable or commonly accepted definition of the goal and, therefore, there is
difficulty in measuring an outcome without a numerical definition.
3) Data needed to accurately measure progress does not exist or would be prohibitively
difficult to incorporate.
Implementation
Identifying proper metrics and determining the current status is step one. Once a baseline
is determined then we need to define what the target might be.
Developing common interpretation of the meaning of the goal and objective will be
necessary. For example, Theme B. Goal 1. Commercial accessibility measure. How do we
quantify ½ mile? By length of a physical sidewalk connection to the destination or as the
crow flies? Additionally, are we measuring the time is takes to travel this distance?
Establishing these thresholds along with targets for each metric will occur once the
overall plan is adopted.
Data must be tested and systemized for timeliness and consistency. In addition, as the City
evolves its systems, developing capacity to manage, gather, organize, and present results
may be necessary.
Document and Administrative Edits
Suggested changes to the Goals & Objectives V6 shown as strikeout and underline in the
May 21, 2019 packet are hereby accepted in the June 4, 2019 V7 version. One exception, the
phrase under Theme E, Goal 2, Objective “c” which stated “City to incorporate (adopt?)
specific design guidance for multi-modal (check wording with Shawn K)” has been deleted.
All additions and subtractions based on the May 21 meeting are highlighted with strikeout
and underline.
Attachments:
Integrated Goals & Objectives with supporting Indicators V10