SMIO advances:

• City Council strategic priorities and performance management: Uses performance measures to guide and inform departmental work, aligning efforts with Council priorities while supporting accountability, transparency, and ongoing progress tracking.
• Cross-department strategic initiatives and partnerships: Leads collaborative efforts across departments and national partners to address complex challenges and deliver coordinated, citywide solutions.
• Enterprise grants strategy and management: Identifies grant opportunities and supports departments in managing funding to maximize external resources and advance priority programs and services.
• Wastewater BioIntel program and data insights: Leverages wastewater data to provide early detection and actionable intelligence that informs community health and decision-making.

SMIO serves as the City’s in-house consulting and facilitation team, partnering with departments as well as community, business, and academic stakeholders to research, design, and implement strategies that advance Tempe’s strategic priorities. Through this internal consultancy, SMIO supports departments in driving strategic, operational, and policy improvements that position Tempe as a national model for a local, modern, high-performing city.

Acting as facilitators, project managers, data analysts, researchers, and designers, SMIO delivers programs and services that strengthen organizational capacity—enabling continuous innovation, measurable outcomes, and data-informed governance.

Strategic Management

SMIO oversees the management and operationalization of the City Council Strategic Priorities into an actionable strategic plan, informed by data, and advanced with measurable strategies. The Strategic Priorities are critical, high-level vision areas established by the City Council.

Why Strategic Management?

• Aligns people, planning, and purpose
• Optimizes the use of City resources
• Strengthens the effectiveness of service delivery
• Creates focused opportunities for innovation
• Deepens understanding of City operations to enhance collaboration
• Uses data and evidence to guide decision-making
• Connects day-to-day work to strategic outcomes
• Represents organizational and operational priorities