Governor's GMAP Forums

What are GMAP Governor Forums?
Where can I find a schedule of upcoming Governor’s Forums?
How are the measures and reports developed for Governor’s Forums?
Where can I find a list of key dates and tasks when doing a Governor’s Forum?
Which analyst should I contact?
How do I build a GMAP Report?
What are common pitfalls in preparing for a Governor’s Forum?
What should I expect during a Governor’s Forum?
How is the room set up and what are other logistics considerations?

What are GMAP Governor Forums?

Result Areas

  1. Economic Vitality
  2. Health Care
  3. Vulnerable Children & Adults
  4. Safety
  5. Transportation
  6. Government Efficiency
  7. Environment
  8. WorkFirst

Governor Gregoire holds her agency directors accountable for delivering the results that are important to citizens. Reporting in person on a regular basis, agency directors report information on the most important management and policy challenges they face in achieving results. The forums are organized by key result area, not agency. This is done to:

  • align with Governor Gregoire’s priorities and maintain a focus on results.
  • encourage inter-agency cooperation by allowing leaders and managers from different agencies to hold each other accountable for results.
  • cover more areas of state government in less meeting time.

The dialogue is honest and direct — often challenging. Decisions are based on thoughtful analysis of data and evidence about what strategies work best. Agencies are held accountable to follow-up and report back on outstanding issues.

Where can I find a schedule of upcoming Governor’s Forums?

Visit the GMAP Website schedule for upcoming Governor's Forums. Contact Aaron Eisenbarth via email or by phone at (360) 902-3069 for information on forums not yet scheduled.

How are measures and reports developed for Governor’s Forums?

The Governor’s GMAP analysts lead a measure team responsible for developing GMAP measures and reports. The measure teams include GMAP leads and technical staff from relevant agencies, and analysts from the OFM Budget Office and the Governor’s Policy Office. GMAP analysts convene measure teams two to three months prior to a Governor’s Forum to begin the process of developing measures, content, and presentations.

Measure team membership, schedules, and approaches vary depending on the complexity of the subject, the number of agencies involved, and whether the topics addressed are in early development or mature. The table below summarizes a typical Governor’s GMAP forum timeline. See The Governor’s GMAP Forum Process for more details.

Where can I find a list of key dates and tasks when doing a Governor’s Forum?

Governor’s GMAP Forum, Key Dates, and Tasks:

What Who Time From Forum
First Measure Team Meeting to set the agenda Measure team 12 weeks before
1st Draft reports due to GMAP office – Measure Team Meeting 2 Agencies 10 weeks before
2nd Draft reports due to GMAP office Agencies 6 weeks before
Final agency GMAP reports and OFM fiscal report due to GMAP office Agencies (GMAP reports) and OFM (financial reports) 2 weeks before
Final Measure Team Meeting (dry run) Measure team 1 week before
Final briefing documents to Governor’s office GMAP Analyst 5 Days before
GMAP Forum All -
Follow-up memo to agencies GMAP Analyst 10 days after
Next Forum GMAP staff Typically ~ 3 months after

Which analyst should I contact?

A Governor’s GMAP Analyst leads measure teams for each result area.

Result Area GMAP Analyst Phone
Economic Vitality Bruce Botka (360) 902-0586
Health Care Joseph Archuleta (360) 902-9809
Public Safety Joseph Archuleta (360) 902-9809
Transportation Michael Bezanson (360) 902-9816
Environment Michael Bezanson (360) 902-9816
Government Efficiency Karen Sampson (360) 902-7934
Vulnerable Children Robin Campbell (360) 902-0575
WorkFirst Robin Campbell (360) 902-0575

How do I build a GMAP report?

GMAP reporting methods are evolving. GMAP began using PowerPoint for reports and it is still the most common reporting tool. See the GMAP Template for a suggested format. The GMAP office is exploring how business intelligence tools and web based reporting tools can be used.

What are common pitfalls in preparing for a Governor’s Forum?

Regardless of the presentation and reporting method, GMAP analysts have observed four common pitfalls in preparing for a Governor's Forum:

  1. Approaching GMAP reports as a presentation:  A GMAP report is a focused, data-based report. Content is more important than appearance.  It is important to tell a story and draw connections. Governor's Forums are very interactive and rarely go through the material in the sequence that slides and data are presented. Not all preparation conventions for presentations are applicable, e.g., using only a limited number of bullet points on a slide.
  2. Approaching GMAP as a policy discussion: The Leadership Team discusses high-level indicators and new approaches to set context. GMAP focuses on how well key policies and programs are executed.
  3. Insufficient analysis: An analysis is not a restatement of what outcome data shows. A good GMAP analysis provides an evidence-based explanation of what factors influence reported results.  For example, it is not enough to assert that employee turnover due to low salaries drives poor performance. It is important to dig further. Does evidence from employee surveys indicate salary issues drive turnover? Do you conduct exit surveys, and does that data confirm that is the primary driver? How do your agency or program salaries compare to similar positions in peer organizations?
  4. Vague action plans: A key result from a GMAP session is a concrete and specific action plan. The action plan should identify specific tasks to accomplish before the next GMAP session, who will be accountable for them, and when they will be done.

What should I expect during a Governor’s Forum?

A GMAP session is a dialogue, not a presentation. The leader – or staff – presenting reports may have a few minutes in the beginning to make introductory comments and introduce a topic. Once the GMAP Forum is underway, the Leadership Team may ask very specific and detailed questions about, or direct attention to, any material in the report. It may help to review a list of sample GMAP questions.

How is the room set up and what are other logistics considerations?

The GMAP room layout is designed to bring the Governor’s Leadership Team and agency leaders together with the information needed to make decisions. See GMAP Session Tips for a summary of forum logistics.

A dry run for those not familiar with the setting and equipment is often useful. A dry run is not a rehearsal, because GMAP is a dialogue and not a prepared presentation. GMAP logistics will evolve as GMAP improves its processes and incorporates new and more flexible data presentation and management approaches.

Download the full Guidelines in PDF