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Center Engaged in Multiple Projects Helping to Evaluate or Launch CitiStat Programs
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Three Cities Have Now Retained the Center for This Work
Use of CitiStat programs around Massachusetts and New England is growing quickly. CitiStat is the commonly used term given to one performance management approach where municipal leaders use frequent, regularly-scheduled, data-driven meetings to focus department managers on improving performance for key indicators.
Already, the cities of Amesbury, Hartford (CT), Lowell, Newton, Providence (RI), and Somerville have standing CitiStat programs - called AmesStat, HartStat, LowellStat, NewStat, ProvStat, and SomerStat, respectively. Now a wave of additional municipalities is planning to start or considering starting programs.
To meet the needs of both those cities with existing programs and those attempting to start new ones, the Center has developed two categories of assistance that it is available to provide:
CitiStat Diagnostic and Tune-Up Program: For those municipalities with existing CitiStat programs that want to examine how they are functioning, identify areas for improvement, and provide additional training to staff, the Center has developed a Diagnostic and Tune-Up Program to respond to those needs. Several cities that have been leaders in guiding the StatNet program and in implementing data-driven decision-making are now seeking to extend the impact of their initiatives. Hartford, one of the few municipalities nationwide to have a long-standing CitiStat program, and Amesbury, the winner of the Massachusetts Municipal Association's innovation award for its program, have retained the Center for this work.
CitiStat Incubator Program: For those municipalities looking to start a CitiStat, the Center has developed an Incubator Program that provides guidance on the planning phase, assistance in developing the necessary materials, training on the steps needed, and help working through issues commonly encountered in the early stages of a program. The City of Woburn, which has also been an active member of StatNet, has retained the Center for this work, and two more cities have recently requested similar proposals from the Center.
In addition to these projects, the Center coordinates StatNet, a network of municipal officials using CitiStat or other data-driven performance management approaches. (See accompanying article in this edition of The Collins Center Report for more information on the upcoming StatNet Conference.)
For further information on either the CitiStat Diagnostic and Tune-Up Program or CitiStat Incubator Program, please contact Michael Ward, Director of Municipal Services, at Michael.Ward@umb.edu or 617.287.4876. For further information on StatNet, please contact Amy Dain, the Center's StatNet Coordinator, at Amy.Dain@umb.edu or at 617.240.2238.
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Center Names Michael Ward Director of Municipal Services
|  Michael Ward, a Senior Associate with the Center, has been named to the new position of Director of Municipal Services. Ward, who has worked with the Center in several key capacities since its creation, will coordinate and manage the Center's municipal projects, reporting to Deputy Director Stephen McGoldrick and Executive Director David Sparks.
Ward has been project manager on numerous municipal engagements for the Center in communities ranging from small, rural towns such as Ashby, Massachusetts to the major New England city of Hartford, Connecticut. Among other Center engagements, Ward helped establish the Collins Center as N.E. StatNet coordinator, assisted the Hubbardston Charter Committee draft a new charter for the Town, the first such revision in 244 years, and conducted an assessment of the school nursing program in Chelsea. He is the primary author of the Center's soon-to-be-published Charter Commission/Government Study Committee Handbook and has also directed several of the Center's research projects, including those covering the competitiveness of municipal elections and the creation of a Massachusetts municipal charter database.
Ward helps manage the Center's Graduate Research Assistantship program, and points proudly to the fact that three former RAs are now municipal officials.
Center Director David Sparks said, "Mike Ward exemplifies the Collins mission: a passionate commitment to serving the public good coupled with a dedication to data-driven management. Mike is terrific at dealing with today's municipal challenges in terms of where our communities will be in ten years."
Full Article>>>
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Center Announces Performance Management Fellowship Program
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 As part of its work with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to design and implement a statewide performance management system, the Center, with the guidance of Sandra Blanchette, has initiated a Collins Center Performance Management Fellowship Program. The program, which began in January and will run through the spring semester, attracted applicants from several graduate schools in Boston.
The first cohort of fellows include: Andrew Bunyard, UMass Boston, Kathryn Gabriele, Suffolk University; Andrew Russell, UMass Boston; William Lottero, UMass Boston; Sean O'Brien, Suffolk University; Giancarlo Salazar-Caicedo, UMass Boston; Anna Freedman, Suffolk University; Nick Petschek, Tufts University; and Jenny Joseph-Hayle, Suffolk University. The fellows are working with Center staff to advance the Performance Management project across all state agencies. Fellows participated in an intensive two-day training session to learn the performance management program and also attended the Performance Management Conference sponsored by the Collins Center in February.
The Center anticipates sponsoring cohorts of performance management fellows three times a year: spring semester, summer and fall semester.
For more information on the fellowship program, please contact KR. Kaffenberger at Kr.Kaffenberger@umb.edu or at 617.287.7302.
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Second StatNet Conference to Be Held May 24, 2012
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 New England StatNet (StatNet), a network of municipal officials using CitiStat or other data-drive performance management approaches, has announced its second annual training day for municipal officials to be held at UMass Boston on May 24, 2012. StatNet is coordinated by the Collins Center, with support from the Rappaport Institute at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and the Pioneer Institute for Public Policy Research.
The first such training day, held in May, 2011 was a resounding success. It was presented to a standing-room-only crowd of New England municipal, state and non-profit representatives. Detailed information on the day's programming can be found here.
For further information on N.E. StatNet, please contact Amy Dain, the Center's StatNet Coordinator, at amy.dain@umb.edu.
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Center Completes Review of Brookline's Planning and Community Development Department
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 At the request of Mel Kleckner, the Brookline Town Administrator, the Center recently completed an organizational analysis of the Town's Planning and Community Development Department. Center staff reviewed records, interviewed more than 35 Town staffers and stakeholders and compared the operations and structure of the Department to those of similar departments in Cambridge, Newton and Somerville. The Center issued a report to the Town with seven major findings and ten recommendations for change. The report was completed in February and used by the town administrator to shape his recommendations for the Department's FY2013 operating budget.
The immediate impetus for commissioning the study was concern about the appropriate role for the Town in supporting the local business and community, in particular, whether the role performed by the now-vacant position of Commercial Areas Coordinator should continue. In addition, the Town sought strategic advice about how to maintain planning and development services as well as staffing in light of the long-term and significant decline in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding from the Federal Government.
The Center's recommendations included modifying the department's organizational structure and job classifications; increasing the town's capacity to grow its revenue base by maintaining staffing in economic development (with changes to duties and reporting relationships); and pursuing commercial growth and permit fees that could help offset future reductions in CDBG funding.
The Center has conducted organizational reviews of a myriad of municipal departments in a number of Massachusetts cities and towns. Similar to the work done in Brookline, the Center also conducted, earlier this year, a review of the efficiency and effectiveness of the town of Hanson's planning and zoning operations, among other departments.
For further information on the Center's municipal organizational reviews, please contact Deputy Director Stephen McGoldrick at stephen.mcgoldrick@umb.edu or 617.287.4824.
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The Edward J. Collins, Jr. Center for Public Management
100 Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
Phone: 617. 287.4824
FAX: 617.287.5566
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Volume 4 Issue 3
April 2012
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Collins Center in the News
Casey Running to Finish Business in Ashby
Sentinel and Enterprise, April 20, 2012
Town Administrator Candidates Down to 10 Belmont Patch, April 4, 2012
Ashland Town Manager John Petrin Chosen as Burlington Town Administrator
Burlington Patch, April 4, 2012
Clock ticking on Bridgewater Hiring Interim Town Manager Wicked Local Bridgewater, March 30, 2012
Three Finalists Announced For Burlington Town Administrator
Burlington Patch, March 28, 2012
Town manager search begins in Longmeadow
Masslive.com, March 21, 2012
South Hadley Seeks to Change Some Elective Positions to Appointive
Masslive.com, March 17, 2012
Town Administrator Search Committee to Interview Seven Candidates
Burlington Patch, March 15, 2012 |
 | Former McCormack School Dean
Steve Crosby
on the Collins Center |
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About Ed Collins
Throughout his outstanding public career, Edward J. Collins, Jr. epitomized the spirit and goals of the Center that now bears his name. We at the Collins Center are proud to continue the work of Ed's life - helping governments work effectively and productively for the benefit of their citizens.
More about Ed
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| Collins Center Trivia
Match the current Massachusetts municipality with its former name:
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Current municipalities: 1. Chester
2. Douglas
3. Sharon
4. Weymouth
5. Windsor
Former names:
a) Stoughtonham
b) New Sherburn
c) Murrayfield
d) Gageborough
e) Wessaguscus
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