Performance management resource pack

This page provides quick links to the key performance management, measurement and information (PMMI) tools, case studies, documents and guidance on performance management (PM).

To discuss ongoing developments in improvement and performance management, join us at the IDeA sponsored Communities of Practice Policy and Performance (improvement policy) and Performance Management (for more detailed technical discussions), registration is required for both communities.  You may also find the PMMI discussion forum useful to discuss queries with colleagues.

The PMMI councillors' and managers' guides to performance management
These guides provide a concise overview of the key issues in performance management.  The councillors' version was written by a councillor for councillors and the managers' version covers our findings in a more detailed, but practical, version.

The Performance management improvement journey resource outlines a comprehensive change management approach to performance management, with new tools and workshops and links to other tools and guidance.

The PMMI library
Find the key documents on performance management on topics from culture change to measurement and target setting in the PMMI performance management publications resource.

PMMI case studies
The PMMI team worked with a number of local authorities to develop a comprehensive set of case studies, including case studies developed through PMMI research, case studies developed by local authorities in your own stories and from the PMMI action research. Many of these are captured in the PMMI interim findings report.

The PMMI online conference reports
These reports cover the proceedings of three online conferences held in 2005: one on councillors' roles in performance management; the second on embedding performance management frameworks and developing a PM culture; and a third on partnership governance and performance management. They contain examples from local authorities and links to further guidance and information on each topic.

PMMI guidance

The PMMI team has developed guidance in important areas of performance management. This includes:

• Performance management: a cultural revolution – a briefing and toolkit on how to assess and change the performance culture in your organisation
• A review of performance improvement models and  tools where you can see an overview of key, popular PM models and widely used improvement tools
• Beyond consultation: public involvement in performance management, which describes ways that to incorporate the views of users and citizens in your performance management arrangements, and involve users and citizens themselves; it contains links to other useful resources, tips, tools and examples
• Priorities and prioritisation: deciding where to focus attention and resources is one of the most difficult aspects of performance management this briefing covers how you can do it in an effective, evidence-based way and includes an online, interactive tool to help you prioritise
• guidance on service planning developed by the PMMI team and a local authority officer
• guidance on target setting, including a presentation with workshops and a useful checklist
•  PMMI guidance on PM IT systems can help you decide whether performance monitoring IT systems are right for your authority and how you can best go about specifying the right product

Key checklists

In addition to using the performance management sections of the IDeA's Local Government Improvement Programme benchmark of the 'ideal' local authority and the Audit Commission's corporate assessment key lines of enquiry, the following checklists can help you assess your performance management to accelerate improvement:

• a manager's checklist for improving performance management (PDF, 4 pages, 74 KB)
• a checklist for digging deeper into performance reports  
• the performance culture checklist (PDF, 3 pages, 42 KB)
• use the target-setting checklist (PDF, 6 pages,125 KB) when setting or reviewing targets
• the checklist for challenging service improvement reviews (PDF, 2 pages, 50 KB) developed from the 'best value' review checklist in the Audit Commission's Changing gear: best value statement 2001
• the making performance management work performance management checklist (PDF, 6 pages, 37 KB)

Other resources

Also, visit the Improvement Network, a website focused on improvement developed by the IDeA, the Audit Commission, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and the Employers' Organisation. In addition, the Library of local performance indicators has a range of off-the-shelf indicators to use in your authority.

Join the Policy and Performance Community of Practice to discuss a wide range of performance and improvement issues with colleagues across the country and around the world or the Performance Management Community of Practice to discuss the more technical aspects of performance management. (Free registration required)