ABSTRACT
This chapter explores performance measurement in the public sector, relating the discussion to planning where appropriate. The discussion is broadly divided into five sections. The first section explores the how of performance measurement, examining the key building blocks of a performance measurement system. The central sections of the chapter examine the why, who and what of performance measurement, by drawing on a broad range of theoretical discussions. The penultimate section examines a range of practical issues of public sector performance measurement, in particular preparation and implementation/use concerns. The chapter helps to establish the theoretical framework through which to critique performance measurement in the public sector in the UK generally and in planning specifically as described in the preceding chapters. It concludes, however, by briefly looking beyond the challenge of individual services, towards the wider challenge of organisational quality.
