Performance Measurement for
Government & Nonprofit Organizations

Description: A renewed commitment to performance measurement has become pervasive throughout government and the nonprofit sector in response to demands for increased accountability, pressures for improved quality and customer service, and mandates to "do more with less," as well as the drive to strengthen the capacity for results oriented management among professional public and nonprofit administrators.  In addition to stand-alone performance monitoring systems, performance measures are critical to the success of strategic planning efforts, quality improvement programs, performance management processes, results based budgeting systems, and program evaluation processes. 

While the idea of setting goals and identifying measures of success in achieving them might appear to be a straightforward process, a myriad of conceptual, managerial, logistical, cultural, and organizational difficulties - as well as methodological issues - make this a very challenging enterprise.  This course presents a 10 step process for designing and implementing effective performance measurement systems in public and nonprofit agencies, with an emphasis on enhancing utility in improving organizational and program performance.  The focus is on the interplay between measurement and management, and all topics are illustrated with examples from a wide variety of program areas. 

The first day overviews the basics of performance measurement and looks at the identification of outcomes and other dimensions of performance, data sources and the definition of performance measures, criteria for evaluating potential indicators, quality assurance, the analysis of performance data, and reporting formats.  The second day addresses selected topics such as comparative performance measurement, balanced scorecard models, monitoring customer feedback, and developing performance measures to help manage programs through intergovernmental systems or inter-organizational networks.  The course concludes with a discussion of the "process side" of the design and implementation of performance measures and strategies for building effective monitoring systems.

Instructor's text, Performance Measurement for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (Jossey-Bass, 2003), and case studies, and other materials are provided.

Instructor: Dr. Theodore H. Poister is Professor of Public Administration in the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University where he specializes in public management and applied research methods. He has previously served on the faculties of Southern University and Penn State University and for a year was a visiting professor at George Washington University. He has a long-standing interest in the use of applied research methods and statistics to evaluate the performance of public programs, and is the author of early books in the field including Public Program Analysis: Applied Research Methods (University Park Press, 1978), Applied Program Evaluation in Local Government (Lexington Books, 1979), and Performance Monitoring (Lexington Books, 1983).  His newest book is  Performance Measurement for Public and Nonprofit Organizations (Jossey-Bass, 2003).

Much of his research is concerned with results-oriented management strategies in the public sector and the use of such tools as strategic planning and management, performance management, program evaluation, performance measurement, and quality improvement methods in government. He has published widely in such journals as Public Administration Review, Public Productivity & Management Review, Public Administration Quarterly, Evaluation Review, American Review of Public Administration, The Journal of Urban Affairs, and Public Works Management & Policy Review.

Dr. Poister has a substantive interest in transportation policy and management, but he has also worked in a variety of other program areas including housing, criminal justice, mental disabilities, child support enforcement, and public and community health. Beyond classroom teaching and academic research, he enjoys working in the field with practicing public and nonprofit managers, and over the years has conducted applied research projects, program evaluations, statistical analyses, strategic planning efforts, and performance measurement system development projects - as well as professional training and development programs - for a wide variety of state, federal, local, and nonprofit agencies. Organizations he has worked with in the past few years include the Georgia Department of Administrative Services, the Georgia Office of Child Support Enforcement, the Georgia Department of Community Health, the North Dakota State Auditor's Office, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, the Williamsport Bureau of Transportation, the Transportation Research Board, and the U.S. Maritime Administration.

Certificate: CAEP IIA.c

Fee: $795