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Public Sector Management

S/B/564. What are the characteristics of a good performance indicator?

WORDS:: 3450
DATE:: 2010
PRICE:: 39.99 GBP

Identifying both the positive, and also the negative, attributes of performance indicators, the paper defines the desirable qualities as: clarity, context, customer focus, definition, detail, relevance, simplicity, and strategy, followed by review. Their role in UK public management such as health service, education, and the emergency services is assessed, identifying the notion of ‘top-level indicators' which dictate the overall tone of their subsequent ‘low-level' or local indicators that reflect or measure the defined elements of service delivery standards. The culture of performance indicators, the number and scale of the indicators and the negative impact that they can play on the provision of services is debated.

KEYWORDS: Performance Indicator, PI, performance management, public sector, UK, public management, government, services, public services, health service, education, emergency services, parliament, national audit office, NAO, characteristics, departmental development, public resources, audit commission, measuring services, measuring resources, service delivery,