What is the statewide reporting process?

The new processes below for developing, reporting, and reviewing statewide performance measures are intended to be collaborative between those directly serving Washingtonians and those using the data for statewide decision-making. Performance measures fail when they are developed by leadership far away from the work and imposed from the top-down. However, they also fail to influence state policy and budgeting when they don’t meet the needs of their intended audience.

Results Washington is committed to partnering with other enterprise-facing (agencies and commissions that rely on or collaborate with other state agencies to meet their mission and vision) agencies to simplify and streamline reporting. To the extent possible, we will avoid duplication of effort and empower agencies to tell the stories of their own data.

Submitting new measures

Agencies in the process of establishing their performance metrics or who are missing measures that meet the specific requirements and criteria outlined in this guide will use this process to develop and submit new measures for their agency.

1. Agencies will develop new measures as needed in accordance with the requirements and criteria in this guidance document. Development of performance measures should involve intentional, internal discussions with affected front-line staff and leadership to help clarify objectives, anticipate data collection and interpretation challenges, and ensure measures are strategically aligned with agency goals. Ongoing meetings to review data with the subject matter experts involved in the work being measured will foster a culture of continuous improvement, inclusion, and accountability.
2. Agencies will submit their draft measures to Results Washington’s Statewide Performance Management team for review. See Appendix 3: Information to Include for New Measures for details on what to include when you submit your new measures.
3. Results Washington will review the agency’s draft measures to ensure all requirements are met. They will engage with state budget and policy staff and other enterprise-facing agencies (our partner agencies) to ensure the proposed set of measures provides actionable information and is helpful for each partner’s work.
4. Results Washington will facilitate discussions between the agency and our enterprise-facing partners if additional information is required or different measures are needed. Our goal is for all parties involved to reach an agreement that balances the need for information with time, resource, and data availability constraints for reporting agencies.
5. Results Washington will approve the agency’s proposed set of measures.
6. Agencies will create and submit the new measures within the Results Through Performance Management (RPM) system. Agencies will be responsible for updating data for their measures within RPM based on the measures’ reporting frequency and time period.

Updating existing measures

Agencies who currently have established performance metrics or whose current measures do not meet the specific requirements and criteria outlined in this guide will use this process to develop and submit updated measures for their agency.

1. Agencies will review their existing measures within RPM to ensure their measures meet the requirements and criteria in this guidance document.
2. Agencies will submit their proposed measure updates to Results Washington’s Statewide Performance Management team for review.
3. Results Washington will review the agency’s measure updates to ensure all requirements are met and engage our partner agencies as necessary to review and approve the updates.
4. Results Washington will facilitate discussions between the agency and our enterprise-facing partners if additional information is required or different measures are needed.
5. Results Washington will approve the agency’s proposed measure changes.
6. Agencies will update and submit their measure updates within the RPM system. Agencies will continue to be responsible for updating data for their measures within RPM based on the measures’ reporting frequency and time period.

Reviewing Measures

Agencies with established performance measures in RPM will follow this process to review their measures on an annual basis.

Once performance measures are developed and implemented by agencies within the RPM system:

1. Results Washington will review agencies’ measures annually in alignment with the budget cycle. We will ensure measures are current, have data submitted by identified frequencies and time periods, and are in alignment with agencies’ budget activities. However, we understand that there is often time after a time period ends that data is not yet available to submit, so we will focus on measures that have not been reported on at all or have missing data well passed the end of a time period.
2. Results Washington will contact agencies if measure updates are required.
3. Agencies will update their measures within RPM with the appropriate information and data.

Proposed measure changes

During the annual review, agencies can submit proposed measure changes if necessary. Changes can include updates to measures to add additional parameters or remove measures that are no longer relevant. While changes to measures may be proposed by agencies at any time, agencies may choose to propose changes during the review process as a result of new legislation and/or strategic priorities. Results Washington will coordinate with partner agencies to review and approve the proposed changes or facilitate conversations to reach an agreement. Once approved, agencies will update their measures within the RPM system.