Keeping score of Hampton Roads

by Leona Baker

The sweeping view from the penthouse of the state’s tallest building, the Westin at Virginia Beach Town Center, provided a symbolic backdrop for the Feb. 3 unveiling of a new tool designed to give citizens, government officials and business leaders an equally sweeping view of the quality of life in Hampton Roads.

Gov. Timothy Kaine was the keynote speaker at a small gathering of regional public officials and community leaders for the official launch of Hampton Roads Performs, a joint effort by the Hampton Roads Partnership and the Council on Virginia’s Future.

The event was capped by a demonstration of HamptonRoadsPerforms.org, a new Web site intended to provide easy access to a broad spectrum of data about the region via more than 35 indicators in key areas including the economy, government and citizens, education, health and family, public safety, transportation and natural resources.

The effort is a regional version of a similar statewide program called Virginia Performs, which Kaine initiated, and is a performance-based management tool for government, or as Kaine called it, a "yardstick" by which government can be held to task for improving the lives of its citizens.

"I’m a passionate believer that the way you make a difference is by setting really concrete and measurable goals," Kaine said, "holding yourselves accountable, putting that throughout the organization, letting citizens and everybody understand what your goals are. That’s what Hampton Roads Performs is about."

The Hampton Roads Performs Web site offers a detailed analysis of each of the indicators, summed up by a simple arrow direction – pointing up for areas that are improving, sideways for areas that are maintaining and down for areas that are worsening.

Under the economy heading, for example, Hampton Roads shows improvement in the areas of business startups, modeling and simulation, personal income, port/maritime, research and technology, and workforce quality. The region is holding steady in the areas of employment growth, poverty and unemployment. But Hampton Roads needs improvement in net migration, or the measure of people moving to and from our area.

Click on the Scorecard for the downloadable Web site version.

A page called "Hampton Roads Scorecard" provides a performance snapshot for all of the indicators. Click on a particular indicator and you’ll find more lengthy explanations as to why the indicator is important and some background on the score for that area – complete with colorful, detailed graphs and photos.

The tool has been useful at the state level, Kaine said, in making difficult budget decisions. Poorly performing areas have been given greater priority in terms of allocating resources.

"I think those in local government will be able to use it," he said. "I think those in the private sector will find it very instructive about strengths but also weaknesses. Thomas Edison once said discontent is the first sign of progress."

Hampton Roads Performs is an obvious resource for businesses considering relocating to the area.

Data is collected from more than 40 national, state and local reporting agencies from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics to Virginia Port Authority. Information on the site will be updated annually, but on an ongoing basis.

Though Hampton Roads is the first region in which the initiative is being implemented, the idea is to roll it out in other areas of the state if it proves successful.