A productive society is dependent upon high-performing government. This third edition of The Public Performance and Productivity Handbook includes chapters from leading scholars, consultants, and practitioners to explore all of the core elements of improvement. Completely revised and focused on best practice, the handbook comprehensively explores managing for high performance, measurement and analysis, costs and finances, human resources, and cutting-edge organizational tools. Its coverage of new and systematic management approaches and well-defined measurement systems provides guidance for organizations of all sizes to improve productivity and performance. The contributors discuss such topics as accountability, organizational effectiveness after budget cuts, the complementary roles of human capital and “big data,” and how to teach performance management in the classroom and in public organizations. The handbook is accompanied by an online companion volume providing examples of performance measurement and improvement manuals across a wide variety of public organizations. The Public Performance and Productivity Handbook, Third Edition, is required reading for all public administration practitioners, as well as for students and scholars interested in the state of the public performance and productivity field.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Marc Holzer and Andrew Ballard Section I: What Works, What Does Not, What to Avoid 1. Three Parallel Movements to Improve Government Decision Making: Performance, Evidence, and Behavioral Public Administration John M. Kamensky 2. Approaches to Improving Performance in Government: Making Sense of Where We’ve Been and What’s Next? Kathryn Newcomer and Clint Brass 3. Public Performance: Some Reflections and Lessons Learned Geert Bouckaert 4. How to Judge the Quality of a Government Performance Management System Prajapati Trivedi 5. Launching and Sustaining a Performance Management System: Some Suggestions Lyle D. Wray 6. Performance Management: Back to Basics Mark D. Abrahams 7. Winning Hearts and Minds for Performance Management Chris McMillan 8. Why Strategic Initiatives Fail - Lessons from a Practitioner Van Badzik 9. Performance-Informed Management: Lessons Learned Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene 10. Learning from Performance Improvement: The New Zealand Experience and Insights on How a Performance System Survives Barbara Allen Section II: Managing for High Performance 11. Sustaining Performance in the Public Sector: What is Needed from Public Managers Evan Berman 12. Management Things We Never Tell Brian Elms 13. Linking Strategic Planning and Performance Management in Government Agencies and Impacts on Organizational Performance Åge Johnsen and Stephen Affleck Reid 14. Accountability: What Does It Mean, Constructively Managing It, and Avoiding the Blame and Claim Game Shelley H. Metzenbaum 15. A Shotgun Marriage? Performance Management in the Hybridized Government Jarmo Vakkuri, Jan-Erik Johanson, and Tomi Rajala Section III: Measurement and Analysis to Guide Performance Programs 16. Evaluation Guide for Public Service Program Managers Harry Hatry 17. Evidence-Based Practice and Performance: You Can’t Always Get What You Want, but Sometimes You Get What You Need Jeremy L. Hall 18. Data Science Contributions to Performance Management Gregory Dobler and Maria P. Aristigueta 19. The Psychology of Information: Pitfalls and Potential in the Use of Performance Data Andrew Ballard Section IV: Financing Performance 20. Allocation Tools, Productivity, and Performance Donijo Robbins and Andrew Crosby 21. Organizational Effectiveness after Budget Cuts: Disentangling the Effects of Performance Measurement and Performance Management Hala Altamimi and Benedict S. Jimenez 22. Performance Budgeting: Linking Administrative Strategies to Budgetary Outcomes Jingyuan Xu and XiaoHu Wang 23. Best-Practice Cases on Performance Budgeting in German and Dutch Local Government Jan van Helden and Christoph Reichard 24. Sector Specific Financial Indicators for Improved Productivity and Performance Andrew Crosby and Donijo Robbins Section V: Managing Human Resources for Peak Performance 25. Harnessing Human Capital for Peak Performance: How Emotion Work Strengthens the Citizen-State Encounter Mary E. Guy 26. The Effects of Pay, Education, Training, and Working Hours on Public Sector Performance Jeannette Taylor, Thuy Hang Duong and Saul Taylor Section VI: Applying Twenty-first Century Organizational Tools 27. The Effects of Pay, Education, Training, and Working Hours on Public Sector Performance Alan Shark 28. Public-Private Partnerships: Promises, Productivity and Performance Lessons from Infrastructure Technologies Graeme Hodge and Carsten Greve 29. Applying Competencies: State Capability Enhancement Project Sampath Kumar, Aroon P. Manoharan, and Jayasharadha Chandrakalatharan Section VII: Accessing and Adapting Best Practices 30. Benchmarking for Performance Improvement David N. Ammons 31. Best Practices: Adapting Award-Winning Performance Innovations Patria de Lancer Julnes and Marc Holzer 32. Teaching Performance Marc Holzer and Andrew Ballard