The Public Performance Measurement and Reporting Network (PPMRN) started as a project sponsored by the National Center of Public Performance and Rutgers-SPAA and funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant.

PPMRN is a web-based tool created to enhance the performance measurement and reporting field by providing free resources to the greater community.

Our Mission

The Public Performance Measurement and Reporting Network aims to strengthen connections among citizens, government officials and administrators, nonprofit managers, academics and other groups that focus on the measurement and improvement of public sector performance.

Statement on the Value of Performance Management and Reporting

Performance measurement and reporting serves three purposes:

• Informs government policy and management practices and should lead to: performance improvement and policy development that results in better practice and alignment of governmental services to community need.
• Provides data that enables accountability and transparency.
• Enables informed communication between citizens, government and nonprofits to foster trust.

Management

Performance measurement is an evidence-based tool that informs decision-making at all levels and by all stakeholders. It encourages continuous service improvement and organizational learning to make services more efficient and effective. As such, what is being measured reflects what an organization values.

• A performance measurement system is characterized by indicators permeating the mission, the strategic plan, the budget and day-to-day operations.
• An effective performance measurement system is reliable and valid so as to positively impact decisions ranging from policymaking through resource allocation to implementation.
• A performance measurement system's indicators are commitments to what an organization aspires or promises to achieve in the near term and long term.
• A performance measurement system enables government and nonprofits to advance the interests and values of its stakeholders, including citizens, only to the extent that all stakeholders have opportunities for input into the system.
• A performance measurement system helps government and nonprofits add value to the lives of citizens.

Accountability

Performance measurement enhances accountability if the information collected, utilized and reported is not only accurate, but also clear, available and relevant at every level of decision-making and to all stakeholders. As such, the reported data has to strike an appropriate balance between being comprehensible to stakeholders and useful to decision-makers and managers.

• Accountability includes, but is not limited to, reporting. Reporting should encourage and enable managers to use stakeholder feedback so that program modifications and adjustments are possible. Reporting should also enable stakeholders to understand how actual performance significantly differs from expected performance.
• Accountability implies that performance measurement data must be fit for use in decision-making in terms of quality, detail and timeliness; measurement must capture geographic and demographic nuances.
• Accountability implies that data are subject to independent review.
• Accountability means that disaggregated data must address the interests of different audiences via performance reports.

Trust

Performance measurement and reporting, by enhancing transparency and participation, augments the level of trust that citizens have toward their governments and nonprofits. As such, performance measurement that is accessible to citizens helps to generate a more trusting relationship between citizens, government and nonprofits.

• Trust and accountability are linked when the specific informational needs of different stakeholders are satisfied.
• Trust in government and nonprofits on the part of citizens is built when citizens are given opportunities to listen, ask questions, and provide meaningful input toward both the data to be produced and the performance measures to be used.
• Trust in citizens on the part of government and nonprofit managers is built when citizens take an active role in utilizing data to assess and improve government and nonprofit performance.

Our Goal

The goal of the Public Performance Measurement and Reporting Network is to promote the use of valid, reliable data as a key element in improving the delivery of public services.

In support of the Network, the National Center for Public Performance has implemented a series of initiatives: A comprehensive and continuously updated database of publications and cases; national conferences and workshops; measurement-based publications; an online Public Performance Measurement Certificate; and a monthly e-newsletter.