A performance management framework.

• Author: Mucha, Michael J.
• Position: P[M.sup.2] Connections: PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT & MANAGEMENT

The National Performance Management Advisory Commission, a collaborative effort of 11 leading public sector management organizations, (1) released its public review draft of A Performance Management Framework for State and Local Government: From Measurement and Reporting to Management and Improving in July 2009. As performance management efforts have grown and gained attention, a sense of professional--even ethical--responsibility for focusing on performance improvement has grown as well. Managers are increasingly expected to incorporate performance management into their jobs. However, the actual definition of performance management has often varied--at times considerably--among the many individuals, organizations, and governments that practice it. With this effort, the National Performance Management Advisory Commission has attempted to create a flexible approach that will apply to all governments and create the foundation for defining public sector performance management that can be commonly communicated, agreed upon, and understood. In addition, the commission has worked to develop recommendations for implementing performance management that have been found to be successful across all levels and types of governments.

WHAT IS PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT?

Performance management is an ongoing, systematic approach to improving results through evidence-based decision making, continuous organizational learning, and a focus on accountability for performance. Performance management uses evidence from measurement to support governmental planning, funding, and operations. Better information enables elected officials and managers to understand stakeholder concerns, recognize success, identify problem areas, and respond with appropriate actions--to learn from experience and apply that knowledge to better serve the public. Performance management includes the concerted actions an organization takes to apply objective information to management and policy making in order to improve results. (2) While performance management and performance measurement are often used interchangeably, performance management implies an active approach, and this is an important distinction. For decades, some governmental entities have measured outputs and inputs, efficiency, and overall effectiveness. There is no doubt that this measurement and reporting is a critical component of performance management; however, measuring and reporting by themselves have rarely led to organizational learning and improved outcomes. Performance management, on the other hand, systematically uses measurement data to facilitate learning and improvement and to strengthen the organization's focus on results.

MAKING THE TRANSITION TO PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Early practitioners of performance measurement who effectively tracked measures of inputs and outputs have been frustrated that their investments did not yield the benefits described by most performance management advocates. While measurement and reporting helps monitor performance, performance management encompasses an array of practices...