OGEC's 2023 Key Performance Measures, Explained

The Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC) measures its performance each year through an Annual Performance Progress Report. This progress report consists of legislatively approved Key Performance Measures, also known as KPMs. OGEC recently released its 2023 Annual Performance Progress Report, highlighting our performance in six different areas. Here is a brief overview of each KPM and what they measure within the Commission.

Statutory time limit. The Commission aims to ensure that at least 85% of all preliminary reviews, investigations, staff opinions, and Commission advisory opinions are handled within statutory limits. As listed in the 2023 report,  OGEC staff completed preliminary reviews, investigations, staff opinions, and advisor opinions within statutory limits for an average of 86.25%. This met OGEC’s goal of 85% and demonstrates the ability of new staff to learn statutes and administrative rules.

Investigation quality. OGEC measures the quality of its investigations through peer reviews, striving for a perfect 5. Review categories include Timeliness, Accessibility, Objectivity, and Organization. With an average of 4.9, Commission staff will continue to strive for a perfect score and has put an emphasis on implementing quarterly audits and reviews to increase organizational scores and accurate data entry.

Training program’s effectiveness. The effectiveness of OGEC’s training programs is measured through the percentage of wrong answers by training participants before the training compared to the percentage of wrong answers after the training. It’s important to note that the question format was changed from Yes/No or True/False to multiple choice recently and, while appearing to have a negative effect on the numbers, provides learners with an in-depth experience that fosters comprehension. Since the training team has recently expanded with three new trainers, OGEC expects to see an increase in training scores going forward.

Minimization of case disposition costs. OGEC strives to settle all contested cases before hearings as a cost-saving method. While the legislation that originally pushed the Commission to settle all cases was changed in 2019, OGEC continues to push for – and meet – a 100% goal.

Customer service. The satisfaction of those served by the Commission is important. Thus, it is measured through customers rating their satisfaction with the agency’s service as “good” or “excellent” in several categories, including Overall, Timeliness, Accuracy, Helpfulness, Expertise, and Availability of Information. Commission staff scored well, but are continuously striving for higher marks and noted two pieces of legislation that impacted the scores within the report.

Governance best practices. OGEC staff always seek to follow the best practices set by the Commission and received a score of 100 for the third year in the row. The team has maintained smooth operations through COVID and staff turnover, which has only benefitted the Commission and its own ability in maintaining nonpartisanship and neutrality.

To read more about these KPMs and how their targets were met, you can read 2023’s Annual Performance Progress Report here. The OGEC staff looks forward to next year’s report and is always available for questions or comments.

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