Boston About Results

Boston About Results (BAR) tracks, analyzes, and evaluates City performance on multiple levels, using data as varied as crime rates and percentages of operational parking meters.

BAR 3.0

Earlier this year the City launched a new enterprise-wide performance management application which includes a public online platform for evaluating performance measures. Using the online tools the public can explore the strategic goals of each of the City’s largest departments and drill down into specific performance measures. Ultimately, this allows citizens to identify the results they receiving in return for the tax dollars they invest in our City.

BAR Homepage

 Card

Sample Department Scorecard - Public Works

Public Works Scorecard

BAR 2.0

The new home for Boston About Results (BAR) - www.cityofboston.gov/bar - is an interactive web-based platform for evaluating municipal services.  The Boston About Results (BAR) scorecard sets a new national standard for how cities share performance information by empowering Bostonians to explore in rich detail exactly how well their City government is delivering for them.

View the new BAR Home


BAR scorecard

Scorecard

The interactive BAR scorecards also allow users to:

  • View the mission statements of each department or program
  • Graph the historical trend in on any key performance measure
  • Compare up-to-date results against the strategic goal of each measure
  • Track administrative measures of government efficiency
  • Chart the budget for each department

The new interactive scorecards are part of the BAR program’s overall performance strategy which seeks to answer three core questions:

  1. What is city government doing?
  2. How well is are we doing it?
  3. How can it do it better?

View the BAR Performance Strategy

City Benefits

Since 2010, BAR data has been used to support regular Performance Reviews with major city departments. The BAR date provided to the City both encourages and aids departments in improving their service.

BAR public works


For example, the public works scorecard shows that the percentage of streetlight outage complaints resolved in 10 days or less has shot up from 44% in early 2010 to 84% today. By relentlessly tracking streetlight performance data, the department was able to identify better ways of routing streetlight repair crews and has also prioritized the installation of LED streetlights to reduce outages and save costs.

View the Public Works Scorecard

The streetlight division’s commitment to timeliness of service mirrors the citywide effort to focus on those results most important to the people of Boston.

Public Benefits

For citizens, the BAR scorecard helps to complete the cycle of service. A citizen can now log a complaint with the City through applications such as Citizens Connect, and then turn to the BAR scorecard to see just how well the City responds to complaints of this type.

Learn more about Citizens Connect