Program/activity-based management at the Regional Municipality of Peel: an organization in transition.

Transition to a program- and activity-based management system involves Peel's management and staff in much debate on issues of cost allocation, technology, and the corporate culture.

The Regional Municipality of Peel is a growing municipality located on the west side of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is home to 834,000 of the GTA's 4.7 million residents. The Peel economy is prosperous and diverse, with a strong base in automotive, pharmaceutical, and telecommunications industries. Peel is also home to the Lester B. Pearson International Airport - Canada's largest airport. Standard & Poor's, Moody's, and the Canadian Bond Rating Services (CBRS) all assign Peel's credit worthiness their highest rating.

The Regional Municipality of Peel delivers and/or finances the following "portfolio" of major municipal programs: regional planning, sanitary sewer, water supply, solid waste management, arterial roads, policing, 911 emergency telephone, heritage, public health, home care, homes for aged, child care, disabled transit, and welfare services.

When asked to describe his impressions of Toronto, Peter Ustinov once remarked that the city reminded him of "Manhattan... run by the Swiss." Ustinov's now infamous remark underscored both the cosmopolitan character of greater Toronto and the efficiency of its administration. Pioneering innovative management techniques is part and parcel of the municipal governance tradition in the Greater Toronto Area. The Regional Municipality of Peel's corporate performance measurement (CPM) initiative is one of the latest examples of this tradition of management innovation.

At the core of Peel's Corporate Performance Measurement initiative is a commitment to a program- and activity-based management philosophy - a philosophy that currently is being implemented through activity-based program planning, budgeting, costing, and evaluation. Peel's management philosophy requires that three basic questions about every program be answered:

* What is the cost per unit of service for each Peel program - Is it efficient?

* Is each Peel program delivering high quality service from the customer's perspective - Is it effective in meeting stated program objectives?

* Is the amount of program being provided (i.e. service levels) consistent with the measured need in the community - What is the community impact of the program?