Toward a culture of consequences : : performance-based accountability systems for public services / / Brian M. Stecher ... [et al.].

• Superior document: Rand Corporation monograph series ; MG-1019
• TeilnehmendeR: Stecher, Brian M.
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Series: Rand Corporation monograph series ; MG-1019.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (274 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Performance-based accountability systems (PBASs) link incentives to measured performance to improve services to the public. Research suggests that PBASs influence provider behaviors, but little is known about PBAS effectiveness at achieving performance goals. This study examines nine PBAS's that are drawn from five sectors: child care, education, health care, public health emergency preparedness, and transportation.

Table of Contents

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Preface; Contents; Figure and Tables; Summary; Acknowledgments; Abbreviations; Chapter One: Introduction; What Is a Performance-Based Accountability System?; Problem Recognition and Adoption; Design of the Performance-Based Accounting System; Implementation and Monitoring; Effectiveness; Refinement; A Note About Terminology; Research Approach; Cases Examined in This Study; Child Care; Education; Health Care; Public Health Emergency Preparedness; Transportation; Organization of This Monograph

Chapter Two: A Historical Perspective on Performance-Based Accountability Systems Origins; Twentieth-Century Efforts to Improve Efficiency and Performance; Total Quality Management; Other Public-Sector Performance Management Initiatives; Government Performance and Results Act; National Performance Review; Recent State and Local Efforts; Chapter Summary; Chapter Three: Problem Recognition and Adoption; Reasons for Adopting a Performance-Based Accountability System; Concerns Over Quality Sometimes Build for Many Years; Specific Events Can Also Weigh Heavily in System Creation

Sometimes One System Leads to Another Influence of Stakeholder and Governance Context; Service Providers Are Usually Influential Stakeholders; Influence of Service Consumers and Other Stakeholders Tends to Be Episodic; Decentralized Governance Structures Provide Opportunity for Stakeholder Influence; Systems Are Often Created Without Clear Agreement Among Stakeholders About Key Design Issues; Understanding of Service Production Processes; There Is Considerable Variation Across Sectors in the Quality of the Knowledge Base for Performance-Based Accountability Systems

Tension Between a Performance-Based Accountability System and Other Oversight Structures Chapter Summary; Chapter Four: The Design of an Incentive Structure to Motivate Behavioral Change; Whose Behavior Must Change to Meet System Goals?; In the Sectors Examined, System Designers Quickly Identified Whose Behavior Needed to Change; System Designers Sometimes Seek to Change Organizational Behavior; System Designers Must Ensure That Individuals and Organizations Targeted for Change Can See the Connection Between Their Behavior and System Goals

A System Should Distinguish the Contribution of Individuals from That of Teams Individuals and Organizations Targeted in the Nine Cases Have Varying Levels of Control Over Desired Changes; Incentive Structure Used to Induce Behavioral Change; Context Shapes the Incentive Options Available; The Size of an Incentive Should Reflect the Value to the Government of Changing the Targeted Behavior; Training and Technical Support Can Sometimes Be Used to Enhance Incentives; Cases Studied Varied Widely in the Use of Rewards and Sanctions; Chapter Summary

Chapter Five: The Design of Measures That Link Performance to Incentives