Metrics and Measuring Success in Comprehensive Planning

Course Details

Kansas City, Missouri's new comprehensive plan, the KC Spirit Playbook, was adopted in April 2023. The plan will guide citywide policy decisions related to development and land use for the next two decades in the metro's largest city. The Playbook represents a new path forward for standard long-range planning practices in Kansas City, moving away from PDF documents to a web-based plan that is designed to be user-friendly and interactive. Additionally, new tools are being set up to track implementation over time and make the process transparent to Kansas Citians.

The Playbook includes a list of 45 metrics that will be used to track implementation of the plan's recommendations which are distributed across the plan's 21 Objectives. These metrics were selected based on the recommendations in the plan, what those recommendations aim to accomplish, and what the city is either already tracking or has the capabilities to start tracking. Periodic audits and public-facing reporting tools will help increase long-term public participation in plan implementation and increase overall transparency. This session will discuss the Playbook and the tools and processes that have been set in place to guide its implementation.

Learning Outcomes

• Improve their own internal comprehensive plan implementation processes by using measurable metrics and technology to increase transparency and accountability. Core Competencies — Plan Implementation and Evaluation
• Create a framework to track comprehensive plan implementation across multiple policy areas and increase public awareness of implementation projects. Core Competencies — Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
• Create long-term public participation and trust in the comprehensive plan implementation process by using measurable outcomes to increase accountability and transparency. Core Competencies — Accountability and Transparency