Executive Branch Self Assessment
RESULTS ACCOUNTABILITY MONITORING
Self Assessment Questions for the Executive Branch
1. Have the policy offices and state agencies adopted a common language using the tool for choosing a common language or some other method? Does this common language allow you to clearly distinguish population and performance accountability?
2. Have the policy offices and state agencies identified one or more population level results or conditions of well-being stated in plain language to which your policies contribute?
a. Have you identified the three to five most important indicators for each of these results?
b. Have you created a baseline with history and a forecast for each of these measures?
c. Have you analyzed the story and causes behind these baselines?
d. Do you have a written analysis of what it would take to turn these conditions around at the national, state, county, city or community level?
e. Have you articulated the role your policies play in such a strategy?
3. Have the policy offices and state agencies established the three to five most important performance measures for what you do, using the performance accountability categories How much did we do? How well did we do it? Is anyone better off?
a. Have you created a baseline with history and a forecast for each of these measures?
b. Do you track these measures on a daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis?
c. Do you periodically review how you are doing on these measures and develop action plans to do better using the performance accountability seven questions?
d. Have the policy offices and state agencies adapted management, budget, strategic planning, grant application and progress-reporting forms and formats to reflect systematic thinking about their contribution to population conditions and their performance?
4. Are the population and performance baseline curves you are trying to turn displayed prominently as one or more charts on the wall?
5. Have you identified an in-house expert to train and coach the staff of the policy offices and state agencies in this work?
6. Have you turned any curves?