ABSTRACT
Introduction Performance management has developed into a central part of public sector reforms in the last 30 years. It is a tool of governance that may be used for a variety of objectives, such as improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public services, but also for holding organizations delivering public goods and services accountable. While public service providers traditionally have been held accountable for the appropriateness of formal structures and decision procedures, this has changed with the gradual shift towards New Public Management and its focus on outputs. Being accountable is today more and more understood as being answerable for performance. The assumption is that when performance information is publicly available, service providers are more responsive to public accountability claims.
