The Context and Implications of Administrative Reform

Whether performance measurement can make governments more accountable to their citizens and more democratic is a key question for academics and practitioners alike. This chapter discusses the theory that undergirds performance measurement activities today and offers a case study illustrating how one local government’s practices can be placed in a theoretical context and show how government can learn from experience. We discuss the City of Charlotte’s New Public Management (NPM) approach, including use of the Balanced Scorecard performance measurement tool to operationalize accountability and democratic governance (see also Rivenbark, chapter 7 of this volume, on other North Carolina cities).