Governing Regional Development Policy
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Governing Regional Development Policy

The Use of Performance Indicators

This report examines both the challenges and the opportunities associated with designing and using indicator systems as a tool for the governance of regional development policy. It draws on the experiences of a number of OECD countries and provides an in-depth look at the cases of Italy, the United Kingdom (England), the United States and the European Union.  It builds on previous OECD work on the governance of  regional development policy by extending lessons about contractual relations among levels of government to performance indicator systems.  
Publication Date :
23 Mar 2009
DOI :
10.1787/9789264056299-en
 
Chapter
 

Designing Indicator Systems that Work

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Authors:
OECD
Pages :
31–51
DOI :
10.1787/9789264056299-4-en

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Technical issues emerge when designing and using indicator systems to enhance the governance and performance of regional development policy. This chapter examines important issues in system design that should be considered when establishing indicator systems and when improving them over time. It begins with a look at what indicators should be included and the process of selection, before turning to the critical issue of incentives. Incentives that affect the behaviour of regional actors are inevitable when measuring and monitoring performance. The discussion in this chapter addresses how design considerations affect the type and degree of influence those incentives may have. Two additional design issues are also addressed: target setting and the use of performance information. Neither task is easy but must be considered if indicators are to be used to enhance performance.
Also available in: French