Managing for Performance: A Report on Strategies for Improving the Results of Government

In recent years, the concept of performance management has taken hold in government systems worldwide, and managers attempting to gauge their success are relying increasingly on various performance measures.Yet improving the results of government involves more than measuring results. Measurements are important, but making meaningful improvements involves complex and subtle interactions.This reports explores five different aspects of performance management in government agencies: 1) the conflict inherent in holding managers accountable for programs they can't control, 2) the use of performance management in making big decisions, 3) how managers can use performance to shape agency dynamics, tactics, and strategies, 4) whether performance can be used to engage citizens in the process of governance, and 5) the problems involved in linking vertical government and horizontal governance.Donald F. Kettl is a nonresident senior fellow in the Governmental Studies program at the Brookings Institution and professor of public affairs and political science in the La Follette Institute of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison. His previous Brookings books include The Global Public Management Revolution (Brookings, 2000). William Fanaras is a research assistant in the Governmental Studies program at the Brookings Institution. Jennifer Lieb is a research assistant in the Governmental Studies program at the Brookings Institution. Elena Michaels is a former guest scholar at the Brookings