Synopses & Reviews
This book provides the first in-depth analysis of a major federal management reform under the most difficult conditions for measuring performance and accountability: when government functions are contracted out to third parties. The authors systematically examine the workings of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, with consideration of the later Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) of 2002 in five agencies in U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These programs represent much of the range of federal government organizational structures and a diverse array of third-party arrangements, including states, native American tribal leaderships, scientists, medical schools, and commercial and non-profit health intermediaries and carriers. The authors explore the development of performance measures in light of the mandates of each program, conflicting statutes, political considerations and obstacles, and conditions of intergovernmental relations (where applicable). Their findings illuminate two major questions in public management today: the uses and limitations of performance measurement as a policy and management tool in government and the management of third-party government.
Synopsis
Measuring the Performance of the Hollow State is the first in-depth look at the influence of performance measurement on the effectiveness of the federal government. To do this, the authors examine the influence of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (with consideration of the later Program Assessment Rating Tool of 2002) on federal performance measurement, agency performance, and program outcomes. They focus a systematic examination on five agencies in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services--the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Health Resources and Services Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and the Indian Health Service. Besides representing a wide range of federal government organizational structures and program formats, these agencies offer a diverse array of third-party arrangements including states, native American tribes, scientists, medical schools, and commercial and nonprofit health care intermediaries and carriers.
Exploring the development of performance measures in light of widely varying program mandates, the authors look at issues that affect the quality of this measurement and particularly the influence of program performance by third parties. They consider factors such as goal conflict and ambiguity, politics, and the critical role of intergovernmental relations in federal program performance and performance measurement. Through their findings, they offer illumination to two major questions in public management today--what are the uses and limitations of performance measurement as a policy and management tool and how does performance measurement work when applied to the management of third-party government?
While scholars and students in public administration and governmental reform will find this book of particular interest, it will also be of use to anyone working in the public sector who would like to have a better understanding of performance measurement.