As government professionals dedicated to improving government performance - a description that surely fits Government Finance Officers Association members reading this article - we seek out and adopt the latest methods and approaches to set goals and objectives, develop plans, and then monitor, in one way or another, how well our governmental units and their personnel are doing. Typically, we do these important tasks in consultation with upper management, colleagues, our staff, and sometimes with elected officials and a legislative body. Unlike many private sector organizations, though, we do not regularly and systematically listen to the people who are the direct recipients of our services: the public.

The purpose of this article is to convey to readers the importance of listening to and understanding how the public judges governmental performance so that you can develop, review, produce, and report performance measures. Failing to involve the public in performance measurement and reporting can lead to dissonance between the government and its constituents, and result in misalignment of government programs. We will describe how the "listening" was done, first in New York City, then subsequently in cities, counties, special purpose entities, and in states across the country. The valuable and surprising insights gained from this initiative are included, along with tips to keep in mind as you try it yourself.1