Measuring and Managing Results: Lessons for Development Cooperation

Public sector performance has been a driving issue in the 1980’s and ‘90’s as taxpayers and voters challenge governments to demonstrate value for money in public services. Governments have responded in a variety of ways. Analysis of bureaucracies identified weaknesses in organisations and procedures: poorly specified objectives, ill-defined responsibility and too much emphasis on spending money rather than getting results. The response by many of the OECD member states has been to fundamentally reform the ways government departments do business.