Benchmarking Best Practices Training

Foundations of Benchmarking

• Historical context
• Benchmarking in the Twenty-First Century
• Summary

Benchmarking and Performance Measures

• Purpose of performance measures
• IPOLO model of performance measures
• Performance measures and government
• Performance measures and management
• Importance of measures, comparisons, and benchmarking
• Selecting measures for benchmarking
• Measurement challenges in the public and nonprofit sectors
• Summary

Preparing for Benchmarking

• Determine readiness for benchmarking
• Select a benchmarking method
• Major benchmarking pitfalls
• Summary

The Traditional Benchmarking Method

• Other views of the benchmarking methods
• Eleven-step traditional benchmarking method
• Examples of traditional benchmarking
• Warnings about traditional benchmarking
• Summary

The Solution-Driven Benchmarking Method

• Snapshot of the solution-driven method
• Steps in the solution-driven method
• Examples of solution-driven benchmarking
• Common sense or methodology?
• Warnings about the solution-driven method?
• Summary

Benchmarking in State and Local Governments

• Historical overview
• Benchmarking and state governments
• Why state and local governments pursue benchmarking
• Who should participate in a benchmarking project?
• Is the public sector better off due to benchmarking?
• Criminal intake in Salt Lake City, Utah: a solution-driven approach in the public sector
• Summary

Benchmarking in Nonprofits

• What is a nonprofit?
• Pressure to benchmark
• Nonprofit leadership and solution-driven benchmarking
• Examples of solution-driven benchmarking in nonprofits
• Nonprofit benchmarks study
• Selecting potential benchmarking partners
• Thinking ahead
• Summary

Benchmarking in the International Community

• General characteristics of international benchmarking
• Examples of international benchmarking
• Lessons learned
• Summary

Benchmarking for Improving Accountability

• What is accountability?
• Increased attention to accountability
• How benchmarking contributes to accountability
• Summary

Benchmarking and Performing an Audit

• Why use benchmarking in audits?
• Basic benchmarking skills for auditors
• Using traditional benchmarking in audits
• Using solution-driven benchmarking in audits
• An example from the DOI
• Warnings about the solution-driven method
• Solution-driven benchmarking and the audit plan
• Summary

Conclusion

• Sustaining the momentum for benchmarking: creating a learning organization
• Conducting needed research
• Next steps