This paper seeks to contribute to the development of a new conceptual framework for performance management of social interventions: one which responds to the challenges posed by complex systems, and therefore moves beyond the conceptual limitations of the Outcome-Based Performance Management (OBPM) approach.
OBPM in the public sector is concerned with achieving positive impacts in the lives of those who experience social interventions, by making those who deliver such interventions accountable for the results they achieve (UK Cabinet Office, 2012).
However, this paper argues that the theory underpinning OBPM is flawed. An understanding of complex systems creates significant conceptual challenges for OBPM by breaking linear models of cause and effect. (Byrne and Callaghan 2014). This explains why OBPM creates ‘gaming’ (Bevan and Hood 2006): OBPM seeks to hold organisations accountable for results which they do not control. Therefore, they learn to manage what they can control, which is the production of data (Lowe 2013, and Lowe and Wilson forthcoming).
Performance management has begun to recognise the complex nature of contemporary public management, reflected in moves towards ‘performance governance’ (Halligan et al 2012). However, insights from complexity approaches are absent from such frameworks.
This paper therefore asks the question: ‘what is the conceptual framework required to manage the performance of people and organisations who deliver social interventions within complex systems, in order to promote positive outcomes?’
The paper begins to develop such a framework. It builds the theory from elements of Communities of Practice (Wenger 1998), horizontal accountability (O’Donnell 1998) and the role of evaluation for practice improvement in complex systems (Ivaldi et al 2015). It argues that increasing the adaptability of systems to meet purpose is the key to performance management, and explores opportunities for further research in this area.
References:
Bevan, G. and Hood, C. (2006), “What’s measured is what matters: targets and gaming in the English public health care system”, Public Administration, 84, 3: 517–38.
Byrne, D. and Callaghan, G. (2014). Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences: the state of the art. London: Routledge.
Halligan J et al (2012),"On the road to performance governance in the public domain?", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 61 (3) pp. 224 - 234
Ivaldi, S. (et al) (2015) “The practice of evaluation as an evaluation of practices”, Evaluation, 21(4) 497–512
Lowe, T. (2013), The paradox of outcomes: the more we measure the less we understand, Public Money and Management, 33: 3, 213-216
Lowe, T. and Wilson R (forthcoming) “Playing the game of Outcome-Based Performance Management (OBPM). Is gamesmanship inevitable? Evidence from theory and practice" , Social Policy & Administration, (accepted for publication, likely 2016)
O’Donnell G. (1998) “Horizontal Accountability in New Democracies”, Journal of Democracy, 9:3, 112-26
UK Cabinet Office (2012) Open Public Services White Paper. London: HM Government
Wenger, E. (1998) Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
The_Performance_management_of_social_interventions_in_complex_systems_v9.docx 