100+ local governments improving citizen services with cloud-based analytics from ICMA, SAS

New, budget-friendly ICMA Insights™ allows communities to benchmark, analyze, and report performance.

CARY, NC & WASHINGTON, DC, Feb. 4, 2015 / PR Newswire / — Just four months after its launch, more than 100 local governments are already using a new, cloud-based service that combines industry-leading analytics with one of the largest repositories of U.S. local government performance metrics. ICMA Insights™ lets cities, towns, and counties throughout the U.S. compare their performance data to other participating jurisdictions using a core set of clearly defined measures.
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Developed by ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, and analytics provider SAS, ICMA Insights helps local governments synthesize data they collect across the services they provide–such as police, fire, trash collection and building permits–to track performance metrics and improve service delivery. The performance management/analytics solution employs 950 measures across seven categories.

“Our goal is to grow the ICMA Insights database to the point at which participants can match their performance against hundreds of other communities. They can then base evaluations not only on their own historical performance, but also that of a universe of similar communities,” said ICMA Executive Director Bob O’Neill.

ICMA first addressed performance improvement in local government in 1932 and has been advancing the art of performance management ever since.

“Local governments generate mountains of data, but have historically struggled to use it effectively to inform decisions,” said Paula Henderson, Vice President of the SAS State and Local Government Practice. “Today, big data, cloud-based analytics and low-cost computer technology are changing how communities implement performance management systems.”

According to Tony Gardner, Leadership Development Faculty at the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, University of Virginia; and former county manager, Arlington County, Va.: “Comparative performance analytics on the scale of what ICMA envisions would be a major asset—not just to a local government looking to benchmark its performance against a similar community but to the cause of improving service delivery to citizens.”

ICMA Insights service tiers
The five tier levels of service available through the ICMA Insights platform (see image #1, right) are organized around five processes local governments engage in when using data to improve service delivery performance: measurement, comparison, exploration, analysis and transformation. Designed to meet the needs of a variety of community and budget sizes, they range from basic summary statistics and integrated reporting to more advanced customizable graphs, scorecards, dashboards and performance forecasting. Multiple local user licenses, based on population, are also available.

A world–renown platform at a reasonable cost
With ICMA Insights, local governments can now access the same cutting-edge performance management and analytics technology used by Fortune 500 companies–but at a fraction of the cost.

Participant support
ICMA Insights is supported by training, technical assistance, an educational curriculum, a private online network for peer-to-peer discussion and professional development opportunities to help local governments create effective, efficient and data-driven organizations.

Demonstrations available
Online demonstrations of ICMA Insights are available by registering here or visiting icma.org/insightsdemo.

About ICMA
ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government management worldwide. Its mission is to create excellence in local governance by developing and fostering professional management to build sustainable communities that improve people’s lives.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions, SAS helps customers at more than 75,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know®.

SAS® and all other SAS Institute Inc. product or service names are registered trademarks or trademarks of SAS Institute Inc. in the USA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective companies. Copyright © 2015 SAS Institute Inc. All rights reserved.

Contacts:
Kira Hasbargen, Deputy Director, ICMA Center for Performance Analytics
[email protected]; 202-962-3606

Trent Smith, Sr. Gov't & Education Communications Specialist, SAS
[email protected]; 919-531-4726

Helping Communities Continuously Improve

A New Performance Analytics Tool for Local Governments