Performance management only works when the data drives decisions. That was the throughline of ASTHO’s annual Public Health Performance Management Solutions Showcase. The event helps state and local agencies explore, evaluate, and strengthen their performance management (PM) systems.
An opening audience poll set the context. Most attendees said their agencies are either establishing PM with room to improve or actively implementing a PM approach. These agencies are past the question of whether PM matters. They are now working out how to make it operational.
Watch the full Metopio session
How ASTHO Defines Public Health Performance Management
ASTHO defines performance management as actively using performance data to improve public health, not simply collecting and reporting metrics. When it works, PM connects priorities to actions, turns data into decisions, and strengthens accountability across the agency.
ASTHO’s plan alignment model shows how that accountability flows. It runs from community-level plans like the State Health Assessment and State Health Improvement Plan, through agency strategic plans and division plans, down to individual performance. For agencies evaluating systems, ASTHO has published eight considerations for choosing a PM platform. You can read the ASTHO blog post here.
Assessment, Planning, and Performance Management on One Platform
Angie Grover, Metopio cofounder and COO, presented Metopio’s approach. She brings 30 years of experience across healthcare, government, technology, and public policy.
Metopio began as a community data curation tool. It has since expanded to cover community and state health assessments (CHA/SHA), community health improvement planning (CHIP), externally facing public Health Atlas, and now performance management and quality improvement (PM/QI).
The core thesis is that these are not separate workflows. They are different parts of the same work. The data that informs an assessment shapes the improvement plan, and the improvement plan defines the measures an agency manages against. Keeping all three in one Community Health Intelligence Platform removes the handoffs and duplicate data work that slow agencies down.
How the PM/QI Workflow Works: Five Steps
Metopio’s new PM/QI module follows a five-step workflow:
Establish goals and measures. Draw them from a CHIP or SHIP, strategic plan, grant, or any other source of commitments.
Define performance status labels in your agency’s own language. For example, “needs attention” rather than “at risk.”
Monitor a real-time status dashboard across every metric.
Trigger a structured QI response when a measure falls behind.
Track interventions and share progress through dynamic reports.
Quality Improvement with PDSA Cycles
The QI module follows the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle. Teams test a change, study the results, and then adapt, adopt, or abandon it.
Dynamic report links stay current as data updates. They require no login to view, so agencies can share progress directly with leadership, boards, and partners.
Linking Population Data to Program Measures
The module also addresses a long-standing problem in public health measurement: publicly reported population data typically lags one to two years. Metopio lets agencies link population health indicators, such as vaccination rates, alongside real-time program measures. Teams can track progress now rather than waiting for the next data release.
How Public Health Madison & Dane County Is Approaching PM/QI
Carleigh Olson, Strategic Projects Coordinator, of Public Health Madison & Dane County, shared how her team is approaching the module.
Customizable language was a priority. Agencies can define status labels and terminology that match how their staff already work, rather than forcing teams into unfamiliar vocabulary.
Trend-line visualizations help her team set up QI projects proactively, before a measure falls significantly off track.
Linking population-level data to internal program data also builds a stronger narrative for elected officials. Her team has connected maternal and child health (MCH) program data to population indicators to support resource requests. This shows decision-makers both what the program is doing and why it matters at the community level.
What Agencies Should Look for in a Performance Management System
The showcase reinforced a shift already underway across the field. Agencies need performance management that is connected to their assessments and improvement plans, not bolted on after the fact. When goals, measures, QI, and reporting live alongside community data, agencies spend less time assembling evidence and more time acting on it.
Watch the full Metopio PM/QI demo and practitioner discussion
Ready to see how PM/QI fits your agency’s plans and measures?
Frequently Asked Questions
What is performance management in public health?
Performance management is the active use of performance data to improve public health outcomes, not just the collection and reporting of metrics. It connects agency priorities to specific actions and tracks measures against goals. It also makes clear who is responsible for results, from state and community health improvement plans down to division and individual work.
What is a PDSA cycle?
PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) is a four-step method for testing change in quality improvement. Teams plan a change and carry it out on a small scale. They then study the results against what they expected, and act on what they learned by adopting, adapting, or abandoning the change. Each cycle informs the next.
How is performance management different from quality improvement?
Performance management is the ongoing process of monitoring measures against goals across an agency. Quality improvement is the structured response when a specific measure falls short, using methods such as PDSA to test and refine changes. Performance management shows where results are off track. Quality improvement changes the processes behind them.