ABSTRACT
Over the past few years, performance measurement has become part of the managerial language of museums and art galleries. A recent survey of local authority museums revealed that one-third of them claim to use perfomance indicators regularly (although another third never use them!). Measuring performance is a key plank in the government’s desire to keep tabs on the efficiency and value for money of services subsidized by the national or local taxpayer. This line has been strongly promoted by the National Audit Office, the Audit Commission for England and Wales and the Accounts Commission for Scotland.
