Main description:

The government performance movement has been in full swing for decades around the world. So, why do so many public programs and organizations continue to underperform? A major reason is that measuring the types of performance that people value most - real outcomes for citizens - continues to be an elusive goal. And why is performance measurement so difficult? Because performance managers have not taken full advantage of the tools and knowledge available in the
field of program evaluation; the worlds of performance measurement and program evaluation have much to learn from each other, but they remain largely separate for reasons of history, politics, and inertia.

Improving Public Services spotlights recent advances in the theory and practice of performance measurement with potential to bridge the divide. As the text's essays, case studies, and comparative analyses demonstrate, many of the challenges to outcome-based performance measurement are similar across national and cultural boundaries. And many of these challenges are amenable to solutions drawn from program evaluation, especially program theory as captured in logic models.

Key issues addressed include designing and implementing high-performance contracts, using administrative data to measure performance and evaluate program effectiveness, minimizing the unintended consequences of performance-based incentive schemes, measuring qualities of governance as well as service delivery, and fitting performance systems to different institutional settings. The authors offer insights relevant to charitable organizations, private service providers, international bodies,
municipalities, states, and national governments in developed, developing, and transitional countries. As the global debate over performance management rages on, this volume points to promising directions for future research and practice at the intersection of program evaluation and outcome-based public
management.

Contents:

1. Introduction
Douglas J. Besharov, Karen Baehler, Jacob Klerman

Part 1: Unifying Themes

2. Modern Performance Measurement: Monitoring Program 'Outcomes' Instead of 'Impacts'
Douglas J. Besharov, Douglas M. Call

3. Measuring and Managing Farther along in the Logic Model
Karen Baehler, Jacob Klerman

4. Indicators, Assessments, and Benchmarking of the Quality and Governance of Public Human Development Services
Ariel Fiszbein, Dena Ringold, Halsey Rogers

5. Does Measuring Performance Lead to Better Performance?
Mary Bryna Sanger

Part 2: National Applications

6. Top-Down Strategies for Service Improvement in UK Public Services
James Downe, Steve Martin, Tony Bovaird

7. Quality Improvement and Performance Measurement in Israeli Social Services
Tamar Zemach-Marom

8. Institutional Contexts and Service Delivery Reforms
Ariel Fiszbein, Yasuhiko Matsuda

9. Performance-Based Payments in the Turkish Health System
Gulbiye Yenimahalleli Yasar, Pinar Guven-Uslu

Part 3: Performance Contracting

10. Holding Nonprofits Accountable for Accomplishments, Not Appearances
Christina Standerfer, Joseph Schafer

11. Welfare-to-Work Performance-Based Contracts in New York City
Swati Desai, Lisa Garabedian, Karl Snyder

12. The Efficiency of Contracting Out Local Public Services in the Czech Republic and Slovakia
Beata Mikusova Merickova, Juraj Nemec, Zuzana Vozarova

13. Workforce Development Program Performance over the US Business Cycle
Kevin Hollenbeck, David Pavelchek

Part 4: Conclusion

14. Using Logic Models to Strengthen Performance Measurement
Douglas J. Besharov, Douglas M. Call

Index