Gov. Gregoire emphasizes Washington�s performance in managing public resources

For Immediate Release: May 28, 2008

Gov. Gregoire emphasizes Washington�s performance in managing public resources

SEATTLE � At an afternoon speech to the Governing Management Technology Conference, Gov. Chris Gregoire today underscored Washington�s innovative use of information to ensure state government is efficient and accountable to Washington citizens.

�Unlike a business, our results aren�t about making widgets for profit. That�s a nice, easy road map. But for us, the map is more complex,� Gregoire said during her keynote address at the Seattle conference. �For those of us in state government, it�s all about finding the right information and using it to make the lives of our citizens better.�

Gregoire pointed to Washington�s Government Management Accountability and Performance program as one way she is making sure that state government delivers results to its citizens.

The Pew Center on the States and Governing Magazine recently ranked Washington among the top states for government performance. The publication�s 2008 �Grading the States� 50-state report card singled out Washington as �a consistent leader in results-based governance. It was ahead of nearly all other states in controlling spending by keeping track of where investments were and were not paying off.�

The GMAP process sets meaningful goals for state agencies and measures their progress toward achieving them. It includes public forums during which state agencies review data, make course corrections and report results to Gregoire and members of her senior staff.

�We expect � indeed demand � good, transparent information from our agencies, and to their credit, we get it,� Gregoire said. �And it�s the kind information that really matters to citizens.�

That information is used to help make government run better, Gregoire said, from reducing the incidence of repeat child abuse statewide by 30 percent to eliminating the waiting list for people trying to access services to get back to work through the Department of Social and Health Services� Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

�We�re trying to protect kids from child abuse, rehabilitate felons, keep our highways safe and make sure our drinking water is clean and pure,� Gregoire said. �Strong families and healthy kids: That�s our bottom line.�

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