Earlier this month, members of the GovEx team were honored to present during the Northeast Conference on Public Administration (NECoPA) held at Pace University in New York City. GovEx coaches supporting Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative’s Data track—Rachel Bloom, Vidushani Jayalal, and Laurie Moïse Sears—as well as GovEx Chief of Staff Rudy de Leon Dinglas, Ph.D., led three presentations focused on performance management and program evaluation:

• Performance Management Means People Management, Too: This presentation by Laurie Moïse Sears highlighted the importance of psychological safety in the workplace, especially in the context of performance management. As Laurie said, “Looking at data can be daunting…how you approach discussing data is just as important as the work itself.”
• The Fundamental Role of Performance Management Practices in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: “Data management is the backbone of AI in the public sector,” said Rudy de Leon Dinglas. He emphasized the importance of data management for helping AI become a “digital public servant” that can make quick, reliable decisions and help mitigate ethical and governance challenges that arise with AI models.
• Prepare to Perform: Performance Management for Better Resident Outcomes: Christina Connelly, Chief Operating Officer for the City of New Bedford, MA, one of the cities in the Initiative’s Data track, joined the GovEx team to discuss the stages of performance management and New Bedford’s journey. Beginning with a discrete problem to solve—permitting—the city was able to leverage their learning to solve other problems through cross-functional teams. Notably, the culture shift made during this process led to successes in fire prevention, with a 25 percent decline in the number of structural fires.

NECoPA was an excellent opportunity to share the stories of GovEx and our partner cities’ work in performance management. Learn more about our coaching and technical assistance programs here.