ARC Governing Performance research project

Performance measurement involves quantifying aspects of organisational and individual behaviour in order to monitor, rank or manage this conduct. It is now central to public governance and used to allocate funding, services and benefits. By attaching rewards and penalties to these forms of calculation, performance measurement actively seeks to shape organisational, social and individual practices. This can have considerable impact upon the lives of citizens, and significantly reshapes policy domains and political relationships. This four year multidisciplinary project is conducting a sustained examination of the social, political and ethical dynamics of performance management in Australian social policy. It involves a comparative analysis of performance management across four different policy domains:

• Schooling
• Higher education
• Primary health care
• Social security

Research Team

Research Activities

1. Mapping performance measurement systems across each policy domain, through documentary analysis and interviewing of senior policy makers and organisational stakeholders.
2. Conducting detailed case studies of two locations in each policy domain. This will involve surveys and individual interviews of administrators and policy users.
3. Building Web 2.0 interactive sites to gather public views on performance measurement, and to trial different participatory forms of public service accountability.

Findings and Results

Publications and Presentations

Funding

On this site