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Performing the state: the socio-political dimensions of performance measurement in policy and public services

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  • Paul Henman

Abstract

This opening paper outlines the rise of public sector performance measurement and performance governance from New Public Management, its trajectory from an administrative tool for organisational monitoring and management, to its insertion into service performance and accountability, to a policy tool defining policy itself. Four key conceptual ways of approaching public sector performance measurement are outlined, and the significance of understanding performance measurement as a socio-technical policy instrument is argued. The paper thematically reviews the papers that follow and how they demonstrate new points of critical analysis in policy studies, including the multiple, mixed and sometimes contradictory purposes for performance measurement, the formation of performance measurement tools, the linkages of performance numbers and governance structures from macro to micro, and the reconfigured roles of professionals in public service delivery. The paper issues a clear challenge to policy researchers to take performance measurement more seriously in understanding the dynamics of policy performance, the achievement of policy objectives, the reframing of policy and the experience of citizens.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul Henman, 2016. "Performing the state: the socio-political dimensions of performance measurement in policy and public services," Policy Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(6), pages 499-507, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:cposxx:v:37:y:2016:i:6:p:499-507
    DOI: 10.1080/01442872.2016.1144739
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    Cited by:

    1. Giovanni Esposito & Andrea Terlizzi & François Pichault, 2024. "The Panopticon reloaded: A critical analysis of performance management systems in the trans-European transport network policy," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 42(3), pages 476-498, May.
    2. Fabio De Matteis, 2022. "Elementi di performance governance nei servizi sanitari: alcune evidenze empiriche sullo stato dell?arte nella sanità p," MECOSAN, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2022(121), pages 7-30.

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