Glossary of terms
Result Area – Ten high-level outcomes that citizens expect from government, similar to topics in Governor Gregoire’s GMAP Forums. Each result area has a team in the POG, and these Result Teams do much of the front-line work. Result areas are:
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Improve student achievement in elementary, middle and high schools
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Improve the value of postsecondary learning
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Improve the health of Washingtonians
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Improve the security of Washington's vulnerable children and adults
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Improve the economic vitality of business and individuals
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Improve statewide mobility of people, goods, and services
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Improve the safety of people and property
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Improve the quality of Washington's natural resources
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Improve cultural and recreational opportunities throughout the state
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Strengthen government's ability to achieve results efficiently and effectively
Indicator – Short for “indicator of success”, a way that citizens would know if we are making progress toward the high-level results.
Strategies – Proven or promising ways of achieving results, based on experience and research. Some result areas have sub-strategies.
Causal Factor Map, Strategy Map or logic model – A diagram showing the relationship among the result, indicators, and strategies.
Activities – Discrete work elements carried out by state government agencies, described in a citizen-oriented way. An activity could be considered as similar a “program”, although there is not a one-to-one correspondence between existing programs and activities. Result teams have access to a catalog of activities known as the Activity Inventory. Agencies submit a “cross-walk” showing how their program staff and dollars translate to activities, and can link activities to the strategies to which they contribute.
Performance Measure – A “quantitative description” of an activity’s work and results. Every activity is supposed to have a performance measure to show how it is performing, but not all of them have measures, not all measures are satisfactory, and even good measures may not have data.
Purchase Plan – The final list of activities, prioritized according to which are most important or successful at achieving results, based on demonstrable performance measures, research, or other evidence.
Tollgate is basically an assignment: a product and a deadline.