ABSTRACT
By focusing on public services delivered by the voluntary sector, this chapter challenges the widely held assumption in operations management that the purpose of performance measurement activity is continuous improvement.The complexity of public service delivery creates measurement challenges that are very different to those experienced in a manufacturing context and a pervasive problem across public services is how to measure and manage service delivery.The chapter contributes to the topical debate on why and how we should measure public services by examining whether the continuous improvement loop of measurement and management is applicable to, and utilised by,public services that are delivered by the voluntary sector. The chapter adopts a broadly UK policy focus and begins by examining the
rationale for measuring the performance of voluntary organisations. Mechanisms for measuring such performance as documented in published international studies are then presented and a summary table is provided.Next the findings of a UK study in which empirical data exploring how the performance of voluntary organisations is measured in practice are discussed.These findings are considered in light of the literature and the shortcomings of the design of existing voluntary sector performance measurement systems are considered.The chapter concludes with a research agenda by offering propositions for interesting avenues for further work in this area.
As in the private and public sectors, voluntary sector organisations are under pressure from stakeholders to measure performance in order to demonstrate achievement and improvement.The requirement to demonstrate the effectiveness of the services delivered by the voluntary sector has been thrown into sharp relief with the emergence of revised public sector funding structures; particularly outcomes-based performance measurement, payment by results and,more recently, the measurement of social value. Opportunities have arisen for voluntary organisations to engage in public service delivery through commissioning frameworks; an opportunity which comes with the caveat that performance reporting requirements must be adhered to.
Against this backdrop it is surprising that the design and development of voluntary sector performance measurement systems has received relatively limited attention. As voluntary organisations take the opportunity to move into mainstream public service delivery, it is timely to appraise how their performance can and should be measured.
