This fall the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management provided a diverse cohort of state employees with the opportunity to participate in its inaugural Performance Management Academy. Creating a Performance Management Academy for state employees is a fundamental step toward augmenting our state government’s ability to employ strategic and results-oriented decision-making in government. It furthers the goal of cultivating effective public services.
The first Performance Management Academy participants completed the five-part program in November. Graduates gleaned experience with frameworks for finding and assessing existing evidence to help agencies evaluate and improve policies and programs. Several sessions also provided participants with tools and best practices on using strategic planning to meet organizational goals and the needs of citizens.
“We know making decisions about priorities and where we need to allocate resources is never going to be easy in state government. The needs are great and our resources finite,” explained State Budget Director Charlie Perusse. “But integrating quality data and evidence into those decisions can help state agencies make the most of their talent and resources. It can give them a roadmap toward achieving their goals and measurable outcomes to demonstrate progress.”
The Performance Management Academy was a collaborative project, featuring guest speakers from universities, foundations, and state government. It covered both theory and practical applications specific to state government.
"We enjoyed the opportunity to train North Carolina state employees in how they can apply the results from randomized evaluations to their contexts, which we call the Generalizability Framework,” said Toby Chaiken, Senior Policy and Training Manager at J-PAL North America. "North Carolina and OSBM have shown leadership by developing this training for state employees to prioritize data and evidence to yield better results for their constituents."
There were 32 participants who completed the Academy, representing 14 different agencies from across state government.
As one Academy participant explained the benefits, “The Performance Management Academy has been well organized and helpful, especially for someone like myself who is newer to Agency strategic planning.”
Demand for a seat in the class was more than twice its capacity and future opportunities for state employees to participate will be forthcoming. OSBM rose to the challenge of providing training during the pandemic by offering the program entirely online.
The following agencies participated in the inaugural Performance Management Academy: Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Health & Human Services, Department of Information Technology, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Department of Natural & Cultural Resources, Department of Administration, Department of Revenue, Department of Transportation, Department of Public Safety, Fiscal Research Division, Office of Administrative Hearings, Office of State Human Resources, and the Office of Secretary of State.
With the Performance Management Academy, OSBM continues its commitment to supporting state agencies pursuing better outcomes and serving the citizens of North Carolina.
About OSBM
The Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) is committed to serving North Carolinians by providing objective information and analysis to ensure a balanced budget and effective stewardship of public resources.
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