From Oregon to South Australiaand what we’ve learned along the way

Presentation to theAustralian Bureau of Statistics

Tuesday 5 September 2006

By Tanya SmithExecutive Director, Office of the Executive Committee of Cabinet

Our story begins…Our story begins…

• Oregon 1989, new governor asked business leaders for a plan to turn the economy around.

• Oregon Progress Board created to develop plan and monitor progress.

• Suspended from 1995-97 then reinstated.• Jeff Tryens the Executive Director.• 2000 greater focus on link to budget and on

performance measurement.• Now looking at getting third iteration going.

Progress Board’sProgress Board’s role role

1. Encourage the discussion and understanding … of critical global and national … trends that will affect Oregon in the coming decades;

2. Submit to Oregonians a strategy that describes and explains a vision for Oregon's economic, social and environmental progress for 20 years into the future

3. Submit to the Legislative Assembly… goals for Oregon's progress, including measurable indicators of the achievement of those goals…

4. Assist state agencies and their partners in developing performance measures that provide linkages to the measurable indicators of achievement ….

Brief Brief historyhistory

• Oregon Shines– 1989 focused on economy– 1997 update focused on economy, community and environment– Challenge: to find partners and political support for OSIII

• Oregon Benchmarks– 90 quality of life “vital signs”– Measure progress towards Oregon Shines goals– Awards and interest from every state and around the world– Challenge: improving reporting

• Performance Measurement – Guidelines for agency budget instructions– Mandatory agency trainings– Challenge: to find an institutional home

3 Goals: 7 Benchmark Categories3 Goals: 7 Benchmark Categories

• Quality jobs for all Oregonians– Economy (17)– Education (12)

• Engaged, caring and safe communities– Civic engagement (9)– Social support (22)– Public safety (7)

• Healthy, sustainable surroundings– Community development (7)– Environment (16)

Oregon’s 90 benchmarksOregon’s 90 benchmarksECONOMY: Rural employment, trade, new business, job growth, professional services,

economic diversification, research & development, venture capital, cost of doing business, regulatory burden, income, wages, income disparity, working poor, unemployment, exports, foreign language

EDUCATION: ready to learn, 3rd & 8th grade reading and math, CIM, dropouts, HS and college completion, adult literacy, computer/Internet usage, labor force skills training

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: volunteering, voting, feeling of community, understanding taxes, taxes per income, public management quality, S&P bond rating, arts, libraries

SOCIAL SUPPORT: teen pregnancy, prenatal care, infant mortality, immunizations, HIV, smoking, premature death, perceived health status, child care slots and affordability, teen substance abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, alcohol and drug use while pregnant, poverty, health insurance, homelessness, child support, hunger, seniors living independently, working disabled, disabled living in poverty

PUBLIC SAFETY: overall crime, juvenile arrests, students carrying weapons, adult and juvenile recidivism, emergency preparedness

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: traffic congestion, drinking water, commuting, vehicle miles traveled, road and bridge condition, home ownership, affordable housing

ENVIRONMENT: air quality, CO2 emissions, wetlands gain/loss, stream water quality, in-stream flow rights, agricultural lands, forest lands, timber harvest, municipal waste disposal, hazard substance cleanup, freshwater/marine/terrestrial species health, natural habitat, invasive species, state park acreage

Meanwhile in Meanwhile in South AustraliaSouth Australia……

• Premier Rann inspired by Oregon• Jeff Tryens advises on a plan for SA• Launched March 2004• Executive Committee of Cabinet

(ExComm) established• First public progress report released• Update of Plan underway• Revised version to be released December

Comparisons at-a-glanceComparisons at-a-glance

“Oregon Shines”- Began as an economic

strategic plan- 20 year vision- Wide community input- Statutory in nature- Oversight by an

Independent board - “Benchmarks” to track

progress- Accessible data

“SA Strategic Plan”• Holistic from outset• 10 year timeframe• Strategic? Vision?• Driven by Government• ExComm oversight• Independent Audit

Committee advises• Strong tie-in to

performance• Data less accessible

SA Strategic PlanSA Strategic Plan

• 6 objectives, 84 targets, ±10 years

• Comprehensive, ambitious and grounded in measurable goals

• Aims for deep, enduring change: in how government thinks and operates in government’s engagement with and

responsiveness to community

The The SixSix Objectives Objectives

• Growing Prosperity

• Improving wellbeing

• Attaining Sustainability

• Fostering Creativity

• Building Communities

• Expanding Opportunity

How has it been implementedHow has it been implemented

• Top-down / centre-out:Cabinet committee oversight (ExComm)Linkage to CE performance agreements

• Bottom-up / outside-in:Interest groups and other stakeholdersBoards, peak bodies and advisory councils

• Common denominators:Awareness, alignment and ownership

How the How the Audit CommitteeAudit Committee fits in fits in

• Representatives from five advisory boards

• Operational since August 2004

• Advises ExComm on:– Interpretation, data sources, measures and

baselines– Recorded progress/lack of towards targets

• Commitment to 2-yearly public reports

• First was released 30 June

Progress ‘Progress ‘score card’score card’ report report

• Independent, ‘spin-free’ snapshot • January 2006 cut-off for most data• Literal interpretation of target achievement• No comment on strategies provided• Five categories assigned:

– At or better than target level 19– On track to achieve in time 24– Progress but unlikely to meet 11– Little/no/backwards progress 11– Unclear – data not available/problematic 19

The good news…The good news…

• Strong endorsement of the plan• Impressive performance towards

achieving the targets overall• Good, readable report for the public• Explicit recommendations for updating the

plan• Will help with advisory board and wider

community “buy-in”

Further work required…Further work required…

• Target-specific data issues – the 19 unclear targets

• Cross-government data issues – ad hoc, duplication of effort, confidentiality concerns

• Regional data – a particular concern

• Wording of targets – allows for “technical” successes and failures

The The ‘unclear’‘unclear’ targets targets

• No new data available– Census (e.g. homelessness)– Source has dried up (e.g. Florida)– Problems with definitions (e.g. audiovisual

sector)– Problems with comparators (e.g. cost-

effectiveness of public service)– There’s just no measure yet (e.g. regional

infrastructure)

Cross-governmentCross-government data issues data issues

• Lack of coordination– Duplication of effort (in collection, analysis

and dissemination)– Patchiness of coverage (agency-led surveys)– Uncertain regularity (a lot of “one-offs”)

• Reluctance to share– Who knows who’s doing what?– Who says we can have that?

RegionalRegional data data

• What’s a meaningful region?

• Very limited

• Very dated

• No consensus on defining regions

• Other localised sources are less reliable or not credible

Wording of targetsWording of targets

• Technical wins/losses: “Increase investment in strategic areas of infrastructure…”

• Baffling concepts: “Raise the lowest income of South Australians relative to those of the average South Australian”

• Ambiguous terms: “Reduce the percentage of South Australians who are overweight or obese”

Themes in the updateThemes in the update

• Go for SMART targets - specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound (link to COAG)

• Show interconnections better• Outputs vs. outcomes and idea of grouping • Include ‘milestones’ where the target has a long

timeframe• Disaggregate data – women, Aboriginal, youth• Better represent regions • Some gaps to fill – aged, migrants, community

Implementing the Implementing the updatedupdated Plan Plan

• We, in Government, need to be better at– Strategic planning– Project management (esp. across agency)– Aligning people to the plan – Aligning budgets with the plan– Evaluation– Trusting and collaborating with the community– Data management (collection and use)

Back to the Back to the goodgood news news

• Still the best thing going – model being looked at elsewhere

• Is making a difference

• Community is rallying

• Update process will be thorough, with the right people involved

• Political commitment still evident

• Understanding it’s “horses for courses”

www.saplan.org.au