A results framework can show what an organization intends to achieve. A performance report can describe what happened. Neither, on its own, tells us whether evidence changed a decision. That is the practical distinction at the heart of managing for results. The objective is not simply to collect indicators or... read more →
Oct
19
Oct
19
The question is not whether an organization has a plan, indicators or a reporting cycle. The more revealing question is whether these tools help it learn and act. Managing for results asks us to look beyond the existence of a framework and examine the habits surrounding it. When information arrives,... read more →
Oct
19
A new performance framework can change a template overnight. Changing how evidence is discussed, interpreted and used is a different task. Results systems operate within organizations with established expectations, professional practices and decision-making arrangements. Understanding that context is essential if the framework is to become more than a reporting exercise.... read more →
Oct
19
A lower price is not, on its own, a complete account of value. In public services, a useful discussion must also ask what resources achieve and whether the intended result is being delivered. Value for money is therefore a management question, not simply a spending question. It connects the resources... read more →
Oct
19
A convincing evaluation design cannot, by itself, tell us whether an outcome has been measured well. When policy analysis relies on surveys, questionnaires or tests, the instrument is part of the argument about what changed. Joshua B. Gilbert's article in Public Policy Journal brings measurement quality into the centre of... read more →
Oct
19
An organization can know a great deal about its activities and still have unanswered questions about its outcomes. More information does not necessarily close that gap. Colin Ross calls attention to this problem in his discussion of the performance audit paradox. Evidence can strengthen confidence about operations and outputs without... read more →
Oct
19
Making information available is an important part of accountability. It does not guarantee that people can understand, question or use it. Edidiong Bassey, Elizabeth Cookingham Bailey and Ileana Steccolini examine this gap through the concept of accountee-ability. Their article asks us to consider the capacities and conditions of those receiving... read more →
Oct
19
Performance information helps us examine what has happened and what is happening now. Managing under uncertainty also requires asking whether the conditions behind a plan may change. Strategic foresight brings that question into view. Its value is not a promise to predict a single future. It is an opportunity to... read more →
Oct
19
A meeting count can tell us that contact occurred. It cannot, by itself, tell us whether participants understood the information, influenced a decision or developed the capacity to act. When an initiative depends on partnerships and participation, the performance story needs room for those questions. Transactional measures remain useful, but... read more →
Oct
19
A discussion of regulation can become a discussion of activity: rules issued, inspections completed, approvals processed or compliance costs recorded. A results perspective asks a further question: what do those activities tell us about the outcome regulation is intended to support? The purpose is not to assume that more regulation... read more →