Ask a Researcher

October 2009

Metro county comparisons: How does your county fare?

Craig Helmstetter, Minnesota Compass

Craig Helmstetter Mary Ajax's guest column on how Community Action Council is using Compass data to improve the city of Burnsville got us thinking about Compass data at a smaller geographic level than for a region as a whole. Craig Helmstetter talks about using data to compare the counties in the Twin Cities region, and how these kinds of data can be used in performance measurement.

About the scorecard:

People often ask us to "rank" or "give scores" to areas of the region. We typically resist the temptation to do so, because such "scorecards" often come from data manipulations and assumptions that make the rankings close to meaningless. Nevertheless, inspired by "dashboards" at a recent Community Indicator Consortium conference, and to stir up some conversation and provide us with some insight, I took the Compass Key Measures and looked at which counties have the best outcomes in relation to the measures.

A few words to the wise:

1. Don't take this too seriously. Many differences between counties may not be statistically significant. Rather than focusing for too long over one county versus another, ponder what the whole profile means. What does it tell us about conditions in our region?

2.Take this seriously. How should we interpret the differences? For example, Ramsey and Hennepin counties might have more homeless persons than other counties in the region, but does that mean that more Ramsey and Hennepin residents are losing their housing? Or, does it mean that Ramsey and Hennepin offer more shelters for homeless people, where they can be counted?

3. Above all, ask: How can knowledge of this "scorecard" inspire action? What can it tell us about what we need to do to improve the quality of life of all people in the region and make our region strong, socially and economically?

= Doing well

Key measure	Anoka	Carver	Dakota	Hennepin	Ramsey	Scott	Washington
Population	326,252	88,459	390,478	1,136,599	499,891	126,642	226,475
Voter turnout
Low birth weight
Early childhood screening
Per capita income
Employment
3rd grade reading
11th grade math
High School graduation
Obesity rate (4 of 7 counties)
Diabetes rate (4 of 7 counties)
Mental health admissions
Cost-burdened households
Homeless Persons
Crime rate
Traffic injuries and deaths
Infrastructure preservation

* This information is consistent with the data available on tccompass.org as of October 9, 2009, and is subject to change as data are updated. Click on the links to see the most recent county-level data for each measure.

You mentioned “performance measurement” - how do they relate to this scorecard?

“Performance measurement” is consistent tracking of the activities and outcomes essential to your larger goals. It’s a movement, largely based in government, to increase accountability and improve results.

Looking at the data overall, there is room for improvement in all of the counties. Some counties will need to work hard to catch up, while others will need to work hard to hold on to their narrow margins over other counties. Hopefully, a little friendly competition toward improving these county level-outcomes can help improve conditions for the region as a whole.

How does performance measurement relate to Compass?

An entire track of the Community Indicators Consortium annual conference was devoted to the relationship between projects like Twin Cities Compass (community indicators projects) and performance measurement efforts. The gist: without community indicators, performance measurement can end up as an exercise in counting widgets; without things like performance measurement, community indicators can end up as an exercise in admiring problems.

What are some examples of performance measurement happening locally?

A number of government entities in the region are using performance measures. Here are some examples:
Hennepin County
Washington County
The City of Minneapolis
The Department of Natural Resources
The Department of Transportation

Other organizations use performance measures too, including:
Mcknight Foundation -- Baseline housing measures
The Department of Health, Ready 4 K, and Wilder Research -- early childhood performance indicators
MN Community Measurement -- Minnesota HealthScores

Craig Helmstetter, consulting scientist at Wilder Research, is the lead researcher on the Twin Cities Compass team. He holds a master's degree in community and regional planning and a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Oregon.