Survey: Public Overwhelmingly Wants Government Performance Measured, Managed

A new survey has found that while Americans' confidence in government is at an all time low, there's strong support across the political spectrum for performance measurement and management in the public sector.

The national survey was conducted for the Center for American Progress and its "Doing What Works" project. Key findings -- which won't surprise folks already involved in performance management and Managing For Results -- include:

• Strong majority support for government performance management, including "eliminating inefficient programs and redirecting support to the most cost-effective programs, with 71 percent saying very or fairly effective; evaluating government program performance and making it transparent (70 percent very or fairly effective); and improving the management methods and information technologies of the government (60 percent very or fairly effective)."
  
• More than 8 in 10 respondents -- 83% -- said that "requir(ing) every federal agency to set clear goals that are measured by real world results" would be an effective approach. This was the single most strongly supported approach.
  
• Candidates that make more effective government a key element of their campaigns are likely to attract strong and broad support as a result.
  

The results of the survey are presented in a 100-page PDF file, which you can download by clicking here. There's also a five-page executive summary you can download by clicking here.