From performance management to strategic local government leadership: lessons from different cultural settings

Effective performance measurement and management is a cornerstone of contemporary public sector management. As governments, at all levels, decide on the most appropriate allocation of resources and the means by which services are delivered, they need to know the impact of their decisions over time. Building basic compliance related information provides the base on which individual governments, especially at the local government level, can make informed strategic choices relating to specific local issues. In this paper we examine performance management systems in local government in Victoria Australia and Sardinia Italy in order to learn how well local governments build this information framework. Without a robust compliance related performance management information system council choices around new strategic investments are dubious at best.