A variety of departments have expressed interest in starting a Stat program. To help you get started, we created the Stat Starter Kit. This project was led by the City Performance Unit of the Controller’s Office in collaboration with DataSF.

What is a Stat program?##

Stat programs are processes that help you continuously improve services in your department. Stat programs help you to:

  • Identify (and develop if needed) key performance metrics
  • Establish data feeds and dashboards to monitor those metrics
  • Create management and meeting processes to review the data and identify necessary changes
  • Iterate metrics and performance targets as needed to adjust to changing needs (or implement new data collection processes)

If you’re interested in starting a Stat program, follow the steps below.

Step 1. Learn more about other Stat programs in the City##

A couple of departments already have Stat programs in place. We’ve put together a couple case studies for you to learn from their experiences:

We also recommend that you attend a DPWStat session. Please contact DPWStat team lead Alexandra Bidot to arrange a viewing.

Step 2. Assess your readiness##

Before you start developing a Stat program, you should first assess your department’s readiness. We put together a Stat Readiness Assessment questionnaire to helps you assess the following areas:

  • Executive Champion
  • Resources
  • Organizational Culture

Once you have completed this assessment, please send it to Sherman Luk. He and other staff from the City Performance Unit of the Controller’s Office will evaluate your results and consult with you on next steps.

We are happy to help you:

  1. Complete and interpret this assessment and
  2. Develop strategies to enhance your department’s readiness.

Also, if you find that your department is not yet ready, consider working with individual programs or the program you directly manage or oversee.

Step 3. Find a starting point and create a work plan##

Now you’re ready to start planning to launch a pilot Stat program. To help you get started, we’ve put together a how to guide, Establishing and Maintaining a Stat Program, that covers the major phases of creating an effective Stat program:

  • Getting it started
  • Keeping it going

Upon evaluating your Readiness Assessment results, staff from the City Performance Unit will be in touch to orient you to which areas of the How To Guide you will find most useful and relevant. Remember - don’t get stuck. We are here to help!