International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=44&year=2010&vol=1&issue=4 Inderscience Publishers Ltd en-uk International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management 1741-1041 1741-105X © 2010 Inderscience Publishers Ltd editor@inderscience.com https://www.inderscience.com/images/files/coverImgs/ijpspm_scoverijpspm.jpg http://www.inderscience.com/browse/index.php?journalID=44&year=2010&vol=1&issue=4 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=33224 Over the last years, there have been several research efforts to measure the quality of governance of nations (e.g., World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators). These efforts have been criticised by several academics. Less research has been conducted on indicators of the quality of local governance. In this article, we investigate whether different indicators of the quality of local governance in Flanders (Belgium) correlate with each other. Since they all proclaim to measure the quality of governance, we expect strong correlations. We identified 12 rankings based on eight data sources. This resulted in 66 correlations, of which only 17 were significant in the expected the direction. The vast majority of the correlations were insignificant. This suggests policy makers and academics need to be very careful when interpreting rankings of the quality of governance. Therefore, future rankings of governance should be targeted at the micro level of public service delivery, instead of the macro level of the public sector in general. The quality of local governance – ranking local governments in Belgium
Steven Van Roosbroek, Wouter Van Dooren
International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 330 - 345
Over the last years, there have been several research efforts to measure the quality of governance of nations (e.g., World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators). These efforts have been criticised by several academics. Less research has been conducted on indicators of the quality of local governance. In this article, we investigate whether different indicators of the quality of local governance in Flanders (Belgium) correlate with each other. Since they all proclaim to measure the quality of governance, we expect strong correlations. We identified 12 rankings based on eight data sources. This resulted in 66 correlations, of which only 17 were significant in the expected the direction. The vast majority of the correlations were insignificant. This suggests policy makers and academics need to be very careful when interpreting rankings of the quality of governance. Therefore, future rankings of governance should be targeted at the micro level of public service delivery, instead of the macro level of the public sector in general.

]]> 10.1504/IJPSPM.2010.033224 International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 330 - 345 Steven Van Roosbroek Wouter Van Dooren Acaciastraat 43, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium. ' Department of Political Science, Universiteit Antwerpen, Sint Jacobsstraat 2, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium governance quality local governance Belgium Flanders performance governance indicators good governance validity reliability World Bank ranking local government public service delivery public sector. 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00 1 4 330 345 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=33225 This article is a comparative analysis of the different actors behind the establishment and design of local government performance measurement systems. The article distinguishes between two broad approaches that can be discerned in identifying the origins of local government performance measurement systems. The first is where such systems are largely seen as a creature of higher levels of government, which they use to monitor the performance of local authorities. The second is where local government performance measurement systems are seen as creatures of local authorities themselves, initiated and designed by office-holders as a management tool or for communication purposes. The article argues that due to differing motives, the question of whether local government performance measurement systems are an initiative of local authorities themselves or of higher levels of government has a significant effect on the characteristics of the system. Who designs local government performance measurement systems?
Mark Callanan
International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 346 - 359
This article is a comparative analysis of the different actors behind the establishment and design of local government performance measurement systems. The article distinguishes between two broad approaches that can be discerned in identifying the origins of local government performance measurement systems. The first is where such systems are largely seen as a creature of higher levels of government, which they use to monitor the performance of local authorities. The second is where local government performance measurement systems are seen as creatures of local authorities themselves, initiated and designed by office-holders as a management tool or for communication purposes. The article argues that due to differing motives, the question of whether local government performance measurement systems are an initiative of local authorities themselves or of higher levels of government has a significant effect on the characteristics of the system.

]]> 10.1504/IJPSPM.2010.033225 International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 346 - 359 Mark Callanan Institute of Public Administration, 57-61 Lansdowne Road, Dublin 4, Ireland comparative performance measurement comparative local government benchmarking performance indicators performance management local authorities. 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00 1 4 346 359 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=33226 This paper is an analysis of the municipal performance measurement systems in Ontario and Quebec affecting about 2/3 of all Canadian citizens. The article describes these two systems; how the systems came to be, their goals, types of indicators, accountability and reporting requirements, data analysis, and requirements for performance reporting. After a discussion of the broad literature related to municipal performance measurement both globally and in Canada, the two cases are described in terms of political background, system components, measurement requirements, and reporting requirements. Analysis of these systems then follows comparing the two systems which are similar but unique in significant ways. This analysis has implications for these provinces as well as other jurisdictions with, or considering, mandated municipal performance systems. A comparative study of municipal performance measurement systems in Ontario and Quebec, Canada
Alicia M. Schatteman, Etienne Charbonneau
International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 360 - 375
This paper is an analysis of the municipal performance measurement systems in Ontario and Quebec affecting about 2/3 of all Canadian citizens. The article describes these two systems; how the systems came to be, their goals, types of indicators, accountability and reporting requirements, data analysis, and requirements for performance reporting. After a discussion of the broad literature related to municipal performance measurement both globally and in Canada, the two cases are described in terms of political background, system components, measurement requirements, and reporting requirements. Analysis of these systems then follows comparing the two systems which are similar but unique in significant ways. This analysis has implications for these provinces as well as other jurisdictions with, or considering, mandated municipal performance systems.

]]> 10.1504/IJPSPM.2010.033226 International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 360 - 375 Alicia M. Schatteman Etienne Charbonneau School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University – Newark, 360 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Hill Hall, 7th floor, Newark, NJ 07102-1801, USA. ' School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers University – Newark, 360 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Hill Hall, 7th floor, Newark, NJ 07102-1801, USA performance management local government implementation performance measurement systems Canada municipal performance performance indicators accountability analysis performance reporting. 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00 1 4 360 375 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=33227 Performance measurement has become an established means by which local governments worldwide strive to improve public services. In the United States of America (USA), performance measurement is frequently combined with benchmarking. Benchmarking presupposes comparability of services and performance metrics. When each local government is free to create its own performance measurement system and select its own performance metrics, the result can be a 'Tower of Babel' that precludes valid benchmarking. This article presents a case study of the Florida Benchmarking Consortium (FBC), a group of some 48 local governments that have come together in an attempt to develop common service definitions and metrics in order to facilitate benchmarking. Comparative performance measurement in decentralised systems: the case of the Florida Benchmarking Consortium
Lawrence L. Martin, Laura P. Mikovsky
International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 376 - 389
Performance measurement has become an established means by which local governments worldwide strive to improve public services. In the United States of America (USA), performance measurement is frequently combined with benchmarking. Benchmarking presupposes comparability of services and performance metrics. When each local government is free to create its own performance measurement system and select its own performance metrics, the result can be a 'Tower of Babel' that precludes valid benchmarking. This article presents a case study of the Florida Benchmarking Consortium (FBC), a group of some 48 local governments that have come together in an attempt to develop common service definitions and metrics in order to facilitate benchmarking.

]]> 10.1504/IJPSPM.2010.033227 International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 376 - 389 Lawrence L. Martin Laura P. Mikovsky Department of Public Affairs, University of Central Florida, 3280 Progress Drive, Orlando, Florida, 32816, USA. ' Department of Public Affairs, University of Central Florida, 3280 Progress Drive, Orlando, Florida, 32816, USA performance measurement benchmarking Florida Benchmarking Consortium FBC local government USA United States service definitions metrics. 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00 1 4 376 389 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00 http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=33228 The increasing amount of pressure being put on governments, including at the local and regional levels, to spend within the means available to them more effectively and efficiently, has elevated the role of output indicators in budgeting, financial and performance processes. A 2006 study of 17 North-Western European municipalities, set up within the Department of Public Administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam has shown that only very modest progress has so far been made in the effective use of output indicators. The road to greater output orientation is one of perseverance. The challenges are many: information overload, cost allocation issues, unclear means-end relationships, the problem of joint products, etc. Nevertheless further investments to affect a shift from input to process, from process to performance or even from performance to outcome may be rewarding. After all, there are examples of this: York and Bath in Great Britain. Local budgeting and the process of providing an account from a comparative perspective: a comparison of progress made
Henk Klaassen
International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 390 - 408
The increasing amount of pressure being put on governments, including at the local and regional levels, to spend within the means available to them more effectively and efficiently, has elevated the role of output indicators in budgeting, financial and performance processes. A 2006 study of 17 North-Western European municipalities, set up within the Department of Public Administration at the Erasmus University Rotterdam has shown that only very modest progress has so far been made in the effective use of output indicators. The road to greater output orientation is one of perseverance. The challenges are many: information overload, cost allocation issues, unclear means-end relationships, the problem of joint products, etc. Nevertheless further investments to affect a shift from input to process, from process to performance or even from performance to outcome may be rewarding. After all, there are examples of this: York and Bath in Great Britain.

]]> 10.1504/IJPSPM.2010.033228 International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 1, No. 4 (2010) pp. 390 - 408 Henk Klaassen Erasmus University Rotterdam, Faculty of Social Science, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA Rotterdam, The Netherlands performance management local government output indicators local budgeting accounting processes. 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00 1 4 390 408 2010-05-13T23:20:50-05:00