Measuring success: Issues in performance management

Against the background of demands for accountability with respect to the work of NGOs, this 30-page publication addresses the vexed question how best to measure performance in a variety of contexts.

Discussion is ordered within a clear and logical structure. In introducing the climate of need and demand for evaluation, a useful distinction is drawn between the purposes of evaluation in terms of (a) accountability, and (b) facilitating learning so as to improve practice. The potential tension between these two functions is usefully pointed out. We then move to a brief historical overview of the origins and evolution of performance management before specific consideration is given to developments in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. The historical perspective here is interesting and relevant, and the distinctions between the three sectors important in the light of their distinctiveness. An account of attempts to create alternative frameworks is then offered, with discussion grouped around the major methodological approaches. Assumptions underpinning these approaches are usefully identified. Operational challenges are then considered with suitable sensitivity to factors of context and culture in addition to the more inherent features of systems of performance measurement. Discussion concludes with the identification of trends in the development sector.

How successful, then, is the publication? In my view, it succeeds admirably. It has condensed and made accessible recent experiences in a convincing, lucid account. A wealth of current literature from a number of fields is cited in a way that inspires confidence in the analysis. At the end of the day, it makes accessible an understanding of the field in a way that makes the key issues clear. With this as a basis for judgement, practitioners are well placed to make informed judgements. This publication represents a very pleasant balance between being useful and practical, on the one hand, and thoroughly academically respectable on the other. One hopes it will be read by performance management practitioners as well as by corporate management and donor organisations.

* Reviewed by Professor Ken Harley