Public Services Delivery

✍ Scribed by Anwar Shah

• Publisher: World Bank Publications
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 262
• Series: Public Sector, Governance, and Accountability
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The globalization of information?Xsatellite TV, internet, phone and fax?Xserve to enhance citizens?¦ awareness of their rights, obligations, options and alternatives and strengthens demands for greater accountability from the public sector. However, the power of accountability is significantly reduced if citizens are unable to measure their government?¦s performance in a meaningful way, which is precisely the topic of this timely book. The abstract concept of ?§government performance?? can only be an effective tool in public debate when there are concrete statistics measuring performance and benchmarks against which current indicators can be compared. Public Services Delivery offers a comprehensive view of government performance measurement. The first part examines systems or frameworks for measuring the performance of government at the national level and at local levels of government. The second part of the book focuses on particular sectors that form the core of essential government services: health, education, welfare, waste disposal, and infrastructure. This book provides powerful tools to: a) development practitioners to evaluate projects, b) to policymakers to reform their government?¦s policies, and c) to public interest groups that wish to pressure their government for improvements in government services.

✦ Table of Contents

Contents......Page 7
Introduction to the Public Sector Governance and Accountability Series......Page 4
Foreword......Page 11
Preface......Page 13
Acknowledgments......Page 15
Contributors......Page 17
Abbreviations and Acronyms......Page 23
Overview......Page 25
1 Issues Associated with the Implementation of Governmentwide Performance Monitoring......Page 41
Current Efforts at Governmentwide Performance Monitoring......Page 44
Difficulties in Execution......Page 51
Prospects for Governmentwide Performance Planning......Page 63
Annex 1.A: Outcome Measures in the Oregon Plan......Page 70
Annex 1.B: Outcome Measures in the Florida Plan......Page 71
Annex 1.C: Outcome Measures in the Alberta Plan......Page 74
Annex 1.D: Outcome Measures in the Nova Scotia Plan......Page 75
Annex 1.E: Draft Outcome Measures for the Canadian Government......Page 77
2 A Simple Measure of Good Governance......Page 79
Measuring Governance Quality......Page 80
Impact of Fiscal Decentralization on Governance Quality......Page 86
Quality of Governance and Decentralization......Page 92
2.5 Omissions from Original Indexes......Page 94
Annex 2.A: Sources and Quality of Data and Explanations Regarding Development of Component Indexes......Page 97
Annex 2.B: Composite Indexes......Page 100
3 Assessing Local Government Performance in Developing Countries......Page 103
Evaluation Criteria......Page 104
Evaluating Conformance to Legislation and Process......Page 105
Evaluating Responsiveness......Page 112
Evaluating Efficiency......Page 115
Evaluating Accountability......Page 117
Conclusion......Page 120
What Is Outcome Measurement?......Page 125
Obstacles to Outcome Measurement in Developing Countries......Page 126
4.1 Outcome Indicators for Elementary and Secondary School Systems......Page 128
Basic Outcome Measurement Procedures and Their Costs......Page 133
Measurements of Extent of Corruption......Page 138
Measurements of Response Time......Page 139
Using Outcome Data......Page 140
Final Note......Page 142
Annex 4.A: Household Questionnaire......Page 143
Annex 4.B: Trained Observer Procedures......Page 147
Annex 4.C: Examples of Performance Indicators for Tracking Anticorruption Efforts......Page 152
Public Sector Alternatives......Page 157
Private Sector Provision......Page 168
Public-Private Partnerships......Page 179
Summary......Page 185
6 Assessing the Performance of Health Services in Reaching the Poor......Page 193
Channeling Resources to the Poor......Page 196
Reaching the Poor: Equity of Coverage for Interventions Addressing the Needs of the Poor......Page 202
Equity and the Impact of Health Sector Financing......Page 218
6.3 Summary of Major Questions to Be Answered in a Health Financing Assessment......Page 225
7 Measuring Public Sector Performance in Infrastructure......Page 233
The Nature of the Problem......Page 235
Choosing Performance Indicators......Page 236
Evaluating Performance......Page 246
Conclusion......Page 247
4.B.1 Trained Observer Rating Scale......Page 151
6.1 PRSP Framework—Determinants of Health Outcomes......Page 194
6.2 DALYs Lost per 1,000 Population by Cause......Page 198
6.3 Eight Steps to Effective Coverage for the Poor......Page 203
2.1 Components of Governance Index......Page 81
2.2 Ranking of Countries on Governance Quality......Page 84
2.3 Governance Index Correlation Coefficients......Page 85
2.4 Correlation of Subnational Expenditures with Governance Quality Indicators......Page 88
4.2 Outcome Indicators for Youth Welfare......Page 129
4.3 Outcome Indicators for Solid Waste Collection......Page 131
4.B.1 Toronto Road Condition Rating Scale......Page 150
5.1 Private versus Public Sector Delivery in Canada......Page 171
6.1 Sources of Data for Assessing Coverage......Page 204
6.2 Example of Determinants of Coverage with a Core Package of Activities......Page 205
7.1 Examples of Performance Measures for Power Infrastructure......Page 238
7.2 Examples of Performance Measures for Telecommunications Infrastructure......Page 239
7.3 Examples of Performance Measures for Transportation Infrastructure......Page 240
7.4 Examples of Performance Measures for Water Infrastructure......Page 241
7.5 Examples of Performance Measures for Sanitation Infrastructure......Page 242