Performance Management in the Public Sector

In times of rising expectations and decreasing resources for the public sector, performance management is high on the agenda. Increasingly, the value of the performance management systems themselves is under scrutiny, with more attention being paid to the effectiveness of performance management in practice. This new edition has been revised and updated to examine:

• performance in the context of current public management debates, including emerging discussions on the New Public Governance and neo-Weberianism;
• the many definitions of performance and how it has become one of the most contested agendas of public management;
• the so-called perverse effects of using performance indicators;
• the technicalities of performance measurement in a five step process: prioritising measurement, indicator development, data collection, analysis and reporting; and
• the future challenges and directions of performance management

Performance Management in the Public Sector 2nd edition offers an approachable insight into a complex theme for practitioners and public management students alike.

Wouter Van Dooren is Associate Professor of Public Administration at the research group Public Administration & Management of the Department of Political Science, University of Antwerp, Belgium. Research interests include performance measurement and management, the political dimensions of public administration, accountability and participation.

Geert Bouckaert is Professor at the Public Governance Institute of the KU Leuven, Belgium, and Visiting Professor at the University of Potsdam, Germany. He is President of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences (IIAS) (2013–16) and was the President of the European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) (2004–10).

John Halligan is Professor of Public Administration, Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, University of Canberra, Australia. His research interests are comparative public governance and management, performance management and public sector reform.