NonProfits Have an RCT Problem
Stanford Social Innovation Review (open access)
Randomized controlled trials are touted as the benchmark for evaluating social programs. The social sector should focus instead on an improvement orientation to evaluating performance.
Implementing Performance Management Recommendations
U.S. Government Accountability Office
Agencies and OMB have implemented most recommendations GAO made related to the implementation of the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act of 2010. However, the Office of Management and Budget has yet to fully implement 18, more than one quarter of GAO’s 61 recommendations, particularly those addressing crosscutting challenges.
Performance Audits and Community Input
Barrett & Greene
While performance audits in cities, counties and states around the country are often chosen by audit committees or through a quiet internal process, Nathan Pickard, an independent who was elected auditor in December 2024, reached out to the Tulsa community to see what residents wanted to see audited.
LinkedIn (Ayca Tumer Arikan)
Is it po-TAY-toe or PA-TAW-toe?
Measuring Strategy in Public Management
International Public Management Journal
Bert George and John Bryson write that “The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize and measure strategizing in public management as a set of interconnected activities. . . . we first offer our conceptualization of strategizing drawing on the ten strategy schools and extant public administration and other research on strategy.”
Quiet Death of “Results Washington” and Accountability
Seattle Times
With the stroke of his pen, Gov. Bob Ferguson killed Results Washington — once hailed as the nation’s model for government accountability and transparency. Executive Order 25-06 ended a program that dared to measure progress on the things that matter most to Washingtonians, and replaced it with a Customer Experience program.
Accountability and Reform Research Consortium Launched
The Volcker Alliance
As the federal government undergoes significant workforce reductions and program cuts, the Volcker Alliance announces the launch of the Accountability and Reform Research Consortium (ARRC), a cross-university research collaborative that will deliver rigorous and timely research on how these changes affect public service delivery, citizens, and democratic governance in the United States.
The “Performance Counts” Summit
Government Executive
The best ideas in government performance don’t always start in Washington. They come from state capitols, city halls and county offices, places where leaders are solving real problems for real people and showing that performance management can be a driver of impact, not just a reporting requirement.
Performance Management in Collaborative Governance
Public Performance & Management Review (gated article)
When public, private, and nonprofit organizations work together to solve complex social problems, questions emerge regarding how their collaborative performance can be managed. In this article, we review and synthesize findings from existing research on performance management in collaborative governance.
Happy Birthday to a Performance Pioneer
Barrett & Greene
Terrell Blodgett, who turns 102 today (Sept 15), is one of the pioneers of the modern-day adoption and use of performance management at the state and local levels. Wish him well, and thanks for his decades of public service!
5 Types of Performance Management Systems & How Best to Use Them
ClearPoint Strategy
This commercial website explores different performance management systems such as Balanced Scorecards, Management by Objectives, Objectives & Key Results, etc., and describes their tradeoffs and which to use and when. It touts its own services, of course, but provides an interesting context.
Resource of the Week: Performance Measures and Results Management in Utah
Governor’s Office of Planning & Budget
This link provides training materials and resources for state agency personnel to support implementation of the broader Results Management initiative of the state.
ASPA Center for Accountability & Performance 