About

Established in 1995, the North Carolina Benchmarking Project allows municipalities to compare their service and performance trends with other participating units. Benchmarking 2.0, launched in 2022, streamlines data collection and offers opportunities for robust analysis, peer conversations, and best-practice development.

Current Partners

Apex, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Concord, Goldsboro, Greensboro, Hickory, Raleigh, Wilson, Winston-Salem

Services

Asphalt Maintenance and Repair, Building Inspection, Central Human Resources, Core Parks and Recreation, Emergency Communications, Fire Service, Fleet Maintenance, Police Service, Solid Waste Management, Wastewater Service, Water Service

What’s New?

Data Collection

Each year, partnering municipalities send us performance data for the respective services through the Benchmarking 2.0 Data Collection Tool. Each service for each municipality and year requires its own submission. The School of Government receives all data by October.

The Dashboard

Performance Strategy Sessions

In November, the School brings service department officials from all participating municipalities together (one service at a time) to discuss data trends, strategies, challenges, and best practices. Each half-day session is limited to a single service. In these sessions, we analyze the data, identify and address current challenges, and share best practices and innovations. These sessions help participating departments to:

• Develop solutions and best practices for dealing with wicked problems
• Improve performance through the evidence-informed decision making
• Celebrate and communicate success to stakeholders
• Gain a better understanding of their own organizational performance
• Engage in peer-to-peer learning and networking

Benchmarking 2.0 Reports

In February-March of 2023, the School of Government will publish reports, case studies, and blogs based on the discussion during the performance strategy sessions. These publications will include data analyses, internal and external challenges to organizational performance, and best practices and innovations adopted by service departments to mitigate those challenges.

The Benchmarking 2.0 Team