Measuring the Performance of Public Services

Michael Pidd is Professor of Management Science and Head of the Management Science Department at Lancaster University Management School. He is a research fellow of the UK's Advanced Institute of Management Research and has served as the President of the Operational Research Society. His technical work in computer simulation has been recognised by awards and accolades in the UK and the USA. His current work focuses on improvement in healthcare delivery.

• List of figures; List of tables; Part I. Principles of Performance Measurement: 1. Measuring public sector performance; 2. Why measure, what to measure and what can go wrong; Part II. Different Uses for Performance Measurement: 3. Measurement for improvement and planning; 4. Measurement for monitoring and control; 5. Measurement for comparison; 6. Measurement for accountability; Part III. Practical Methods for Performance Measurement: 7. Measuring performance through time; 8. Scorecards and multidimensional indicators; 9. Composite indicators; 10. League tables and ranking; 11. Data envelopment analysis; Index.

'Globally, governments are coming under immense pressure to demonstrate that public finances are spent wisely. An important aspect of this trend is the need to ensure that public services are performing efficiently and effectively. Mike Pidd's timely book offers a comprehensive survey of the field. Drawing on a rich set of real-world examples, the book is an authoritative guide to both the reasons for measuring public sector performance measurement, and the techniques needed to produce credible measures.' Peter Smith, Professor of Health Policy and Co-director of the Centre for Health Policy, Imperial College