The ability of the public sector to formulate goals for improving policy impact and public services, and deliver on these ambitions remains a crucial issue in the study of public administration. However, much has changed in how these goals are formulated (involving more actors and continuously evolving priorities), how public ambitions and policies are achieved (requiring the collaboration between public, private, and community actors), and how public performance and policy outcomes are measured and scrutinized (involving multiple actors holding the government to account).
This permanent study group seeks to understand the challenges of public sector performance by exploring both traditional and innovative approaches to address the key drivers and effects of policy and performance management cycles on individual behaviours, organizational performance, and societal outcomes. We welcome contributions addressing a range of relevant issues in various policy domains, including (but not limited to): (i) formulation of policy objectives, goal setting and the design of performance management systems; (ii) the adoption and implementation of policies/services to achieve these goals; (iii) the measurement and evaluation of their effectiveness; (iii) the use of performance information, data and evidence to enhance public value creation.
We capitalize on the lessons of decades of research into performance management and the use of performance information, accountability, and public management, but we also need fresh insights into the mechanisms and effects of ‘new’ approaches such as collaborative performance management or evidence-based policy making to assess and improve public sector performance.