Ep. 5, 3.23.26: Build an Operations Performance Management Framework – Free Tool for Cities, K-12 Districts & Community Colleges | The Local Edge Podcast

How to build a fully automated Operations Performance Management Framework for Local Governments, K-12 Districts, and Community Colleges.

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Transcript

Introduction

Hey everyone, welcome back to The Local Edge, the podcast where we cut through the chaos of public sector operations to uncover practical ways for you to reduce costs, improve services, and boost your impact. I'm your host, Mark Grabow with Local Efficiency Solutions, and I've been doing public sector operations efficiency improvement work for over 20 years across both Oregon and Nevada. I've done performance management work for the City of Portland, the City of Gresham, and the City of Eugene — and I've learned quite a bit while both studying this in grad school and doing it for so many years.

Where It Started: Southern Oregon University

I'll share just a little background. I did my first operations performance improvement project back at Southern Oregon University over 20 years ago while I was Disabilities Accommodations Coordinator. We needed to improve services to meet our needs under ADA compliance laws and deliver better services to the student body. So I did an assessment, a cost-benefit analysis, wrote up a proposal on the operational efficiency of our current accommodated testing program. I got approval, did a full revamp. It's still going to this day — really proud of that one.

Since then, I've been doing operations improvement and project management for years. And when you really start learning about performance management at the 20,000-foot altitude level — because you've got to see that high altitude all the way down to the boots on the ground — I'll use all those corporate buzzwords as we go through it.

The Problem: No Ready-to-Use Operational Tools

As you sink your teeth into performance management and learn about its history and why we use it in the public sector, you realize there aren't a lot of really strong operational tools out there. If you've ever done performance management work at the local public sector level — which is who I really specialize my services toward — you know that you have to bootstrap and build your stuff from the ground up every time.

Framework 1: The Logic Model

A lot of this work is informed by the logic model. That's the foundation of OPM — operations performance management. The logic model gets its historical roots back into the 1970s and '80s and came out of the Kellogg Foundation. It's the foundational way you get approval for audits, state audit checks — a lot of grant money and funding is tied to logic models.

The core flow: Inputs (resources — budgets and staff) → Activities (the work you're actually doing) → Outputs (what you produce) → Outcomes (the changes you hope to achieve, like improved efficiency) → Impact (how this benefits the public). These are geared toward public service institutions.

Logic models are excellent for reporting, getting grants, and auditing. I love them — I used one for a city I worked for. But here's the limitation: it's linear. It's great for reporting, but it's not the most tactical tool for day-to-day operations management.

Framework 2: The Performance Management Pyramid

The other framework I've seen used a lot — and that I incorporated into this tool — is the performance management pyramid. At the top: Vision and Mission. Then Goals. Then Strategic Objectives. Then Strategies. And at the base: Key Performance Indicators. That's excellent for top-down alignment, but you still can't use it for day-to-day operations management in the way you need.

My Approach: Combining Both

So I decided to build something that bridges the gap. I essentially combined the logic model and the performance management pyramid — because that's actually how I work when I'm embedded in an organization. I did this when I redesigned the unfunded needs assessment for the City of Eugene while working there as a project manager in the Finance Department. That work was published in their Budget Document for fiscal year 2021 — and I was genuinely tickled when a councilor called it out on the record and said, "This is a really good redesign. I like the color coding you did and I like how you aligned it to our goals."

I take these two frameworks, color-code and hierarchically organize everything, and align it to both council or board goals and the actual departmental goals each department creates. That's how I plug and play them into my framework.

I decided to build this one out robustly — it's 14 tabs. When you get into it, it's a lot, but delete the ones you don't need.

Inside the Tool: 14 Tabs, Three Org Types

I built this for three types of organizations I typically work with:

•       Cities / Local Governments

•       K-12 School Districts

•       Community Colleges

Each org type gets four dedicated tabs — Vision & Goals, Strategies & KPIs, Inputs/Outputs, and a Dashboard — plus a shared Instructions tab and a fully worked Example tab. That's 14 tabs total.

If you're coming from a city, look at the City tabs and delete the College and District tabs. Keep the Example tab, keep the Instructions tab. If you're none of those, pick the closest set and adjust the pre-populated departments column as needed.

Reach out to me if you need help — I'd be happy to assist. I don't charge for that kind of thing. I'm a public servant at heart. I created this company so I can extend my reach and do the work I'm most skilled at — operations, performance management, and efficiency improvement for public sector organizations.

Wrap-Up

Check it out, let me know what you think. Give me a call, send a text, shoot me an email if you have any questions. I'd be happy to answer them.

Until next time — I'm Mark Grabow signing off. Take care.