Measuring and Managing Performance in the Public Sector
Performance in the Public Sector has been the focus of enormous media and political attention for some time. Following the introduction of ‘New Public Management’ reforms in a number of OECD countries, considerable attention has been paid to performance measurement and management by governments, practitioners and the media. In the UK, government departments estimate that they spend more than £150m per year solely to monitor progress on national targets (this figure does not include the costs of front line organisations providing data).
Empirical research conducted in this field has shown how performance measurement can be generally productive and help improve organisational performance. However, if done poorly, it can be very expensive, and not only ineffective but harmful and indeed destructive. Therefore, the way in which an organisation measures and manages its performance is crucial for realizing value and ensuring the longer-term sustainability of the organisation.
The Centre for Business Performance, through its Public Sector Performance Roundtable, is undertaking dedicated research into the use of performance measurement and management in the Public Sector. In particular, we are interested in topics such as:
- How to create a culture of performance in the public services
- Development of performance measurement systems in public sector organisations
- Setting appropriate performance targets and indicators
- Sustaining and spreading change in the public services
- Applications of process improvement and lean thinking
- Applying private sector performance management techniques to the public sector
- Looking at organisational performance from a multi-stakeholder point of view.
The roundtable membership details can be found in the
Public Sector Performance Roundtable Leaflet.pdf
For further information please contact:
Dr Pietro Micheli (p.micheli@Cranfield.ac.uk)