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The Model in ActionThese mini-case studies illustrate how the advanced governance practices of the Effective Community Governance Model play out in real communities and organizations, including applicable community improvement themes such as roles citizens play and how results measurement is used. Cases drawn from chapters of Results That Matter are covered in much greater depth in the book, with more details about how citizens and organizations make these practices work, including observations by elected officials, public and nonprofit managers, and citizens who have been directly involved.
Advanced Practice 1: Community Problem SolvingPublic Policy Shaped by Jacksonville CitizensFrom Chapter 2 of Results That MatterCitizens drive the Jacksonville Community Council Inc.'s policy studies and advocacy efforts and are engaged in many roles throughout the process. The JCCI citizen committees have a 30-year record of impressive accomplishments, from new and improved local services to new state laws, earning this nonprofit civic organization great respect and influence in the northeast Florida region. Advanced Practice 2: Organizations Managing For ResultsManaging for Results, Not Just Outputs, in the Sewers of San JoseFrom Chapter 3 of Results That MatterSan Jose’s Department of Streets and Traffic reshaped its sewer cleaning program to manage for results. By changing their focus from increasing miles cleaned to reducing the number of backed-up, clogged sewers, San Jose sewer cleaning crews achieved solid results for the community. Citizen Schools: Managing for Results by DesignFrom Chapter 3 of Results That MatterCitizen Schools recruits all kinds of professionals from the community to work with young adolescent "apprentices" after school, based on a program designed around assumptions about how children learn and retain knowledge as they get older. By assessing student skills, parent satisfaction, and volunteer "citizen teacher" performance using a double loop organization learning cycle, Citizen Schools continually improves both its day-to-day program delivery and its program design. Advanced Practice 3: Citizens Reaching For ResultsDigital Neighborhood Surveys: Handheld Technology Empowers CitizensFrom Chapter 4 of Results That MatterCitizens use handheld computers to digitally capture and report visible problems they observe in their neighborhoods and parks in communities across the U.S. Citizens drive the process: they decide what problems to look for and collect the data themselves. When they later resurvey their communities, they hold public officials accountable for results. Denver Community Learning Network: Using Data to Advocate for ChangeFrom Chapter 4 of Results That MatterLow-income inner-city residents have learned to gather and analyze data, manage budgets, evaluate grant proposals from community organizations, organize their neighborhoods, and use data to advocate for change. CLN residents have become assets in improving their own neighborhoods. Jacksonville Citizens Define and Measure the Community’s Quality of LifeFrom Chapter 5 of Results That MatterSince 1985, the Jacksonville Community Council Inc (JCCI) has been reporting on community well being in Northeast Florida using citizen-driven quality of life indicators. Citizens have been engaged from the initial development of indicators that define the quality of life, to deciding the emphasis of each year’s reports, which keeps their priority quality of life issues at the top of the public agenda. Improving Quality of Life from the Bottom Up in the Truckee Meadows RegionFrom Chapter 5 of Results That MatterTruckee Meadows Tomorrow's Quality of Life Indicators were not initially used as intended to drive regional planning policies in northwest Nevada. But TMT has persisted in engaging citizens and organizations in improving the quality of life from the bottom up. TMT builds awareness of quality of life issues, encourages people to "adopt an indicator," and collaborates with organizations to sign "compacts" to take measurable actions that can make a difference in the quality of life of the region. Advanced Practice 4: Communities Governing For ResultsResults Oriented Government System Gains Trust and Improves ResultsFrom Chapter 7 of Results That MatterPrince William County, Virginia, engages citizens in many roles throughout a systemic, disciplined results-based governance process. The county strategic plan, developed and updated with extensive citizen engagement, drives the system. A performance budget tied to the plan as well as many strategic collaborations keep resources focused on citizens' desired results, and performance reporting holds county departments and service contractors accountable for achieving results. Washington, D.C., Uses Large-scale Citizen Summits and Citizen Neighborhood Planning to Drive Results-based Community GovernanceFrom Chapter 7 of Results That MatterThe District of Columbia government engages thousands of DC residents for a Citizen Summit every two years to set strategic goals that have influenced multi-million dollar shifts in the city budget to match citizen priorities. Between summits, residents are engaged in drafting neighborhood improvement plans and can track plan implementation. Results-driven Governance of Nonprofit Community Development Engages Citizens and Gets the Results that Matter to the CommunityFrom Chapter 8 of Results That MatterThe Kansas City Community Development Initiative's largest program, CD2000, provides an excellent example of a self-reinforcing performance cycle that promotes both citizen engagement and better results. A large-scale collaboration of local organizations has leveraged financial assets to make performance-based investments in strengthening community development corporations (CDCs). CD2000 also uses neighborhood-level engagement, collaboration, and performance management to leverage resident ideas and efforts with CDC capabilities to develop and continually improve low-income neighborhoods in the bistate Kansas City metropolitan region. |
