Executive Session 

 December 15 - 17, 1998

Welcome - Elaine Kamarck, Director, Visions of Governance in the 21st Century Project, Kennedy School of Government 

What is an Executive Session? - Mark Moore, Kennedy School of Government

A Commitment to Action - Steven Kelman, Kennedy School of Government

Introductions - Members of the Executive Session

Wednesday, December 16

Accomplishments and Problems - Initial insights fro Session Members' experience with performance measurement and management

The Potential and Utility of Performance Measures - 

Making Measurement Useful -- for Whom  and for What?

• Value to managers - How can managers use performance measures and for what purposes?  How do the needs of appointed, elected, and career managers differ?  What kinds of measures are most useful to managers?  Are some kind of measures more useful than others?  For what kinds of activities?

• Value to the workforce - How can performance measurement help workers?  How can workers use performance measures and for what purposes?  What kinds of measures are most useful to the workforce?  Ares some kinds of measures more useful than others?  Are some sorts of activities more amenable to measurement than others?  What concrete actions can and should managers take to advance the use of measurement by workers?

• Value to managers who are also elected officials: chief executives - how can elected CEOs use performance measures?  What kinds of measures are most useful tot he elected CEO?  How do performance measures help politically How do they hurt?

• Value to the press - What makes government performance measurement newsworthy, something the press wants to write about?  What kinds of measures do the press find useful and for what purpose?

• Value to citizens and consumers - What kind of information do consumers want and what do they want to use it for?  How might that apply to the government?

• Value to elected officials: legislators - What kind of performance measures are useful to legislators?  For what purposes?  How can and when should performance measures inform budget allocation decisions?  How can and when should performance measures be sued for political purposes?  Are performance measures a loaded gun given to legislators?  If so, when should legislators pull the trigger and when should they hold back? Is it reasonable to expect a legislator to exercise restrain in using performance measures?

Thursday, December 17

Barriers to Performance Measurement - What have we learned and What challenges are emerging that need more attention?  What will motivate the use of performance measures in government?  What are the risks of using performance measurement?

The Work Before Us - What can and should be done?  What possible next actions can practitioner participants take that will address the challenges and barriers identified?  Discussion of the goals and tasks for the Executive Session and and associated Practioner Forums.

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