DB.

So this week we're going to talk a little bit about performance management and how we can measure and create greater accountability to the citizens that we work for. And just providing some sense of accomplishment of what are, instead of looking at outputs, what are we thinking about as far as outcomes? What do we hope to accomplish? And as we do this, we can reach a goal, but we can also create greater transparency at what we're trying to do. And so the problem though, is this is a great way to think about how we manage our resources and time, all we want to accomplish. But just finding ways to link performance outcomes with measures is incredibly difficult. So if we worked in the proverbial widget factory, it's fine, right? We can figure out, oh, if we create so many widgets within a certain timeframe, then we've reached the certain goal, right? But what we do in the public sector is not widgets, right? We provide services and those services can range from the mundane. Again, trash collection, water, sewer, to the things that are incredibly important as far as life-saving. So we can think about things like homeless shelters and we can think how local governments have to deal, states and local governments deal with natural disaster. So how do we actually tried to measure the human factor of what we do in the public sector. The idea that we can try to think about this a lot in the budget process. Like how do we take dollars and put human value to those dollars? And this is, the budget is not a technical document, really is about values. And so finding means of linking those two together become incredibly important. And so it can be difficult. People can disagree about how we're going to find a way to measure those goals. And how do we measure output in this kind of an environment? And what do we hope to be our outcomes of this, this performance that we're trying to do. So again, a lot of times we'll see this more at the budget level. But again, it provides this sense that we're measuring what we're doing in a way that's more quantifiable. And again, it's difficult. We made the things we do take time, right? They take a lot of time and resources. And so ultimately though, this helps in the decision-making process of what we're going to accomplish. Because we can pride some kind of sense of outcome. What do, what do we want to be the end result of this whole thing? And so finding means to measure this. And again, sometimes we can't get all the data that we need to be able to measure it. Because what we do takes time and finding specific measurements can be difficult. So for example, if we want to start an education program for early childhood education, what are some of the measurements we would have to use and would read something we would want to measure across till that child finishes pre-K all the way through 12th grade. That could take a long time, and that creates a long-term investment in whatever we're trying to link together. So linking these performance outcomes to measurements becomes incredibly difficult. And so I think one of the other things we have to think about is how we measure what we're doing and leading across the levels is this idea of evaluating what we're doing in the policy process. So once we've had this sense of an outcome, what we're going to measure. We have to think a little bit too about what are the, what are we doing as far as policy implementation, evaluating those programs as we're implementing them. To be able to pry this kind of continual basis of evaluating and finding new ways to do things better and are we actually accomplishing what we should be doing? So it kind of creates a sense of continuous evaluation process and that can be difficult and time-consuming. But it's incredibly important for achieving the goals that we want to achieve. And we can stop midstream if we need to within that kind of policy cycle, if we haven't reached those particular goals. So on a personal level, I remember in 11th grade deciding that I wanted to work in the public sector. I thought next to being a pastor or a pastor's wife, this is probably the most, the most godly way that I could serve. We serve and the common good. And so I think as a vacation, working in the public sector is a high calling. Again, I think second only courses is biased. Second only to being in the ministry, but it's a vacation that requires us to take care of the homeless, take care of the widows, take care of children. And so, knowing the best way to think about what we're trying to accomplish our outcomes can help us to really value what we're doing and how important vocation is. Godless.A