Press Release: Intrafocus has created a City Council balanced scorecard template based on their work with UK City Councils to help them link strategy to measurement.
Intrafocus, who provides balanced scorecard software and training to a wide range of organisations, has created a balanced scorecard template based on its work with City Councils in the United Kingdom. The template, although not prescriptive, provides a structure and a large quantity of sample data to illustrate how a City Council could set up and use a balanced scorecard to integrate its measurement systems into its strategy.
“We have found that City Councils have invested heavily in creating systems to record and display information that they are required to make available to constituents,” says Intrafocus “However, there seems to be a disconnect between the information that is collected and many of the published strategies.”
Intrafocus believes that more attention needs to be given to measuring these things that contribute to a City Councils strategy and vision rather than the things that are easy to measure. They have provided an example of a typical disconnect as follows:
One City council has a strategic objective to “Increase the number of VAT registered businesses.” Although laudable as an objective, unfortunately there was no corresponding measurement to check that the number of VAT registered businesses had actually grown. The only measurement that was vaguely related to increased economic development was “Footfall in the lower high street.”
“It is possible to make a tenuous linkage between footfall in the high street and increased businesses,” commented Intrafocus, “but surely it makes more sense to actually count business growth, or better still do things to encourage business growth.”
The Intrafocus template is based on QuickScore which is the only Balanced Scorecard Software formally recommended by the Balanced Scorecard Institute. It provides the means to link an organisations strategy to objectives and metrics and finally to strategic initiatives. The sophisticated tracking interface turns metrics into ‘scores’ which are then rolled up to provide a typical red, amber, green, traffic light assessment for all levels within an organisation. This delivers an at-a-glance health-check to departments, divisions and headquarters that can be used as the starting point to drill-down back down for detailed information.
Intrafocus also holds classes on Balanced Scorecard implementation and management. The next class will be held in London between June 9th and June 13th 2014.
About Intrafocus:
Intrafocus is a Balanced Scorecard software reseller and consultancy. They provide the only software formally recommended by the Balanced Scorecard Institute. Intrafocus supplies QuickScore to Europe, The Middle East and Africa. QuickScore can link organisational strategy to objectives, metrics and initiatives. The tracking interface turns metrics into ‘scores’ which are then rolled up to deliver an at-a-glance health-check for departments, divisions and headquarters.
