Evidence-Based Policy and Performance Management
- 1 September 2007
- journal article
- other
- Published by SAGE Publications in The American Review of Public Administration
- Vol. 37 (3), 255-277
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0275074007301957
Abstract
Both the evidence-based policy and performance management movements aim to improve government effectiveness by developing and utilizing a more rigorous base of information and scientific evidence to guide decisions about program design, funding, implementation, and management. In practice, however, differences and tensions between these movements—such as their methods and standards for assembling and analyzing data, and the strategic timing and use of this information to influence policy and hold public managers accountable for performance—could limit their success. Using cases and empirical studies, this article considers questions about what should count as evidence, how it should be communicated, who should judge the quality and reliability of evidence and performance information, and how to achieve a balance between processes that produce rigorous information for decision making and those that foster democratic governance and accountability. Recommendations are made for improving government effectiveness by using more rigorous information in decision making, along with acknowledgment of the limitations and risks associated with such efforts.Keywords
This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- Does Performance Budgeting Work? An Examination of the Office of Management and Budget’s PART ScoresPublic Administration Review, 2006
- WHAT’S MEASURED IS WHAT MATTERS: TARGETS AND GAMING IN THE ENGLISH PUBLIC HEALTH CARE SYSTEMPublic Administration, 2006
- The Effects of Welfare‐to‐Work Program Activities on Labor Market OutcomesJournal of Labor Economics, 2006
- Aiming for evidence-based gun policyJournal of Policy Analysis and Management, 2006
- Setting the Standard in Performance Measurement SystemsInternational Public Management Journal, 2005
- End-User Satisfaction and Design Features of Public AgenciesThe American Review of Public Administration, 2005
- An Empirical Investigation of Gaming Responses to Explicit Performance IncentivesJournal of Labor Economics, 2004
- Teenage Childbearing as a Public Issue and Private ConcernAnnual Review of Sociology, 2003
- Implementation of evidence-based medicine: evaluation of the Promoting Action on Clinical Effectiveness programmeJournal of Health Services Research & Policy, 2001
- An Investigation into the Determinants of Customer SatisfactionJournal of Marketing Research, 1982