Process Improvement- The PDSA Model

Many efficiencies can be found in the everyday processes of government services. Once process improvement method that has been very successful for local governments is the PDSA (Plan Do Study Act).

 One County Department of Human Services reduced a three month backlog of TANF applications and avoided potential sanctions from the Federal government by using this simple process. With just a few changes to their process they were able to reduce the time it takes to process an application from over 60 days, to same day turn around.

In another example, the PDSA process helped one County Department of Motor Vehicle to decrease the time to process registrations for new cars from an average of seven weeks, to four days, and saved nearly $100,000  a year in overtime.

Budgeting for Outcomes
Truly transforming government requires a transformation of the budgeting process. For far too many years, government considered last year's spending to be the base for the next year spending, and only focused on the two or three percent proposed increase. Rarely was any thought given to whether the amount of last years budget was still needed. Departments purchase new software, guaranteed to decrease the number of staff to manage a program, yet we rarely review the program the following year to see if staff were indeed cut.

Budgeting for Outcomes is a way to bring accountability and transparency to your budget. It allows you to measure the outcomes of what your county does, empowers your staff to find creative and innovative ways to do business, and welcomes your citizens into the process.

Online vs. In Line
If your focus is on transparency and quality customer service you've come to the right place. There are a number ways to serve citizens that don’t require them to wait in line to handle their business. Through Local Government™ Solutions you'll hear from elected officials and other government leaders that have transformed their operations, allowing citizens to access their services online instead of in line.