Analysis: StateStat Measures Much, But Delivers Less Than Promised

StateStat is a substantial part of Maryland state government’s transparency enhancements relating to performance measurement.

The program, an outgrowth of the CityStat initiative Martin O’Malley began as mayor, was much touted in the early days of the O’Malley-Brown administration, but now chugs along in obscurity. While StateStat conveys much information, it can be substantially improved so that it comes close to living up to the high expectations inherent in the governor’s StateStat messaging.

O’Malley promotes StateStat as a tool for managing and reporting the state’s performance related to 16 wide-ranging, high-priority goals. Those goals are reported within four categories: Opportunity, Security, Sustainability, and Health. The Governor’s Delivery Unit (GDU) works closely with StateStat and Maryland agencies to monitor and track progress or deterioration for each goal.
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