How Focusing on Cold, Hard Data Can Improve the Lives of the Needy

Governing: In the 1990s, the New York City Police Department launched a new management approach, called CompStat, that has since transformed the way many governments operate across the country.

It requires regular reports from bureaucrats and meetings about the performance statistics that they collect. The aim of such "Stat" programs is to achieve better outcomes: whether that means repairing potholes faster, driving the murder rate down or improving the water quality.

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