Performance Management Systems: Clashing Symbols or Marching Tunes? Dr Ruth Dixon Department of...
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Performance Management Systems: Clashing Symbols or Marching Tunes? Dr Ruth Dixon Department of Politics and International Relations University of Oxford Managing the Politics of National Performance Targets: Country Scorecards, National Results Frameworks, Delivery Units World Bank Seminar 3 May 2012
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Transcript of Performance Management Systems: Clashing Symbols or Marching Tunes? Dr Ruth Dixon Department of...
Performance Management Systems: Clashing Symbols or Marching Tunes?
Dr Ruth DixonDepartment of Politics and International Relations
University of Oxford
Managing the Politics of National Performance Targets: Country Scorecards, National Results Frameworks, Delivery Units
World Bank Seminar 3 May 2012
Performance Management Systems: Clashing Symbols or Marching Tunes?
Dr Ruth DixonDepartment of Politics and International Relations
University of Oxford
Christopher Hood and Ruth Dixon, 2010. The Political Payoff from Performance Target Systems JPART 20 (Suppl. 2): i281-i298.
Ruth Dixon 2012 3
UK Government Performance Systems
•Executive Agencies; Audit Commission; National Audit Office.
1979-1990 Margaret Thatcher
•Citizen’s Charter.
1990-1997 John Major
•Public Service Agreements (PSAs); 3-year spending plans.
1997-2001 Tony Blair 1st term
•PM’s Delivery Unit; 20 key PSAs; Efficiency Programmes.
2001-2005 Tony Blair 2nd term
•Departmental Capability Reviews.
2005-2007 Tony Blair 3rd term; Gordon Brown
•Departmental Business Plans.
2010-… David Cameron
Ruth Dixon 2012 4
Symbolic or Substantive?What did they claim?
•Autonomy; Market discipline; Value for Money / Cost-cutting.
1979-1990 Margaret Thatcher
•Focus on service users.
1990-1997 John Major
•Perf management for central depts; “Education”; targeted spending.
1997-2001 Tony Blair 1st term
•Accountability – high-stakes targets; Public money well spent; Pledges met.
2001-2005 Tony Blair 2nd term
•Developing capability and leadership in civil service.
2005-2007 Tony Blair 3rd term; Gordon Brown
•‘No More Targets’; Budget cuts.
2010-… David Cameron
Ruth Dixon 2012 5
Symbolic or Substantive?Did achievements match claims?
•Agencies created across public service; Cost of government rose.
1979-1990 Margaret Thatcher
•Public satisfaction fell to record lows; Admin costs fell slightly
1990-1997 John Major
•Education standards rose sharply; NHS continued to languish.
1997-2001 Tony Blair 1st term
•NHS standards rose ; Public spending rose; Targets increasingly unpopular.
2001-2005 Tony Blair 2nd term
•Focus on delivery throughout civil service.
2005-2007 Tony Blair 3rd term; Gordon Brown
•Public spending still rising; ‘Process targets’ appear in business plans.
2010-… David Cameron
Ruth Dixon 2012 6
Education Standards Rose in Blair’s First Term
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
Key Stage 2 SATS results (age 11)Percentage achieving level 4 or above
English
Mathematics
Target 2006 (set 2002)
English Target 2002 (set 1998)
Maths Target 2002 (set 1999)
Children's Plan Goal 2020 (set 2007)
2001 PMDU
1997 SEU
Ruth Dixon 2012 7
Hospital Waiting Lists Fell in Blair’s Second Term
Source: Department of Health Annual Report 2006
Ruth Dixon 2012 8
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009
Dissatisfied with aspects of the NHS (very + quite dissatisfied)
How the NHS is run
Hospital experience (for in-patients)
Hospital experience (for out-patients)
A&E (Emergency) departments
Local doctors (GPs)
Public Opinion Improved
British Social Attitudes Survey
Blair’s second term
Ruth Dixon 2012 9
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
1999 2001 2003 2005
Per
cen
tag
e o
f ar
ticl
es
negative
neutral
positive
Hood and Dixon, 2010
Targets became increasingly unpopular with public and press
UK Newspaper Articles on Health and Education Targets
Targets remained popular with central bureaucrats and NHS managers
Source: http://www.nhsmanagers.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/targetspressrelease.pdf
NHS Managers surveyed June 2010
Whitehall Civil Servants interviewed 2004-2005Opinion of targets for raising standards in public services
Negative
Neutral
Positive
Q: Targets are history and that’s a good thing.
Hood and Dixon, 2010
4 %
34 %
62 %
Ruth Dixon 2012 11
Delivery Targets as Symbols
• Credit claiming• Blame shifting• Demonstrate control• Political reputation• Appear fiscally responsible
See Hood 2011 The Blame Game
If standards improve Incentive to succeed ‘Impose’ best practice Delivery important Understand spending
– or Levers for Improvement?
“Action expresses priorities” (Gandhi)
Ruth Dixon 2012 12
Acknowledgements
I am very grateful to Christopher Hood, Gladstone Professor of Government, University of Oxford, who led the research described here and who has shaped my thinking on political science.
My thanks also to Dr Catherine Haddon, Institute for Government, and to several current and former senior civil servants for helpful discussions.
This work was funded by the Leverhulme Trust and the ESRC Public Services Programme.
See also xgov.politics.ox.ac.uk and christopherhood.net
