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Types of Performance Measures Output measures are useful in defining the activities or units <br /> of service provided by the government. A significant <br /> In planning, management, and budgeting, policy makers and drawback, however, is that they provide no indication of <br /> administrators will want to evaluate various aspects of whether the goals established for the service are being met, <br /> performance. Different measures can be used to provide nor can they be used to assess the quality of a program or <br /> specific information about the programs and activities service. A city's police department may point to an increase <br /> undertaken by the government. Among the types of in the number of patrol hours as one of accomplishments <br /> measures most fiequen�y employed by state and local for the year. However, the public is more likely to be <br /> governments are input, output, outcome, and efficiency interested in the number of crimes committed If patrol <br /> measures. Each of these types of measures is designed to hours have increased and there has been no corresponding <br /> answer different questions about a publicly provided service reduction in crime, an important objective of police services <br /> or activity has not been achieved Thus, output measures may be of <br /> limited interest to elected officials and citizens. <br /> Input Measures Input measures address the <br /> question of what amounts of resources are needed to provide Outcome Measures. Outcome measures focus on <br /> a particular program or service. Examples of input measures the question of whether or not the service is meeting its <br /> are: proposed goals. They are used to evaluate the quality or <br /> effectiveness of public programs. Examples of outcome <br /> • Number of full -time equivalent personnel measures include the following: <br /> • Total employee -hours worked <br /> • Total operating expenditures • Number of fires (Fire Prevention Program) <br /> • Total capital expenditures • Number of crimes committed per 100,000 <br /> population (Police Services) <br /> Nonpersonnel inputs such as vehicles, equipment, or • Number of calls about interrupted service <br /> property can also be measured. Input measures are useful in (Water/Wastewater Treatment Services) <br /> showing the total cost of providing a service, the mix of • Percentage of grants reduced due to employment <br /> resources used to provide the service, and the amount of (Public Assistance Programs) <br /> resources used for one service in relation to other services. • Percentage of lane miles in satisfactory condition <br /> (Road Repair Services) <br /> Output Measures Output measures focus on the <br /> level of activity in providing a particular program or service. Outcomes can be evaluated using both intermediate and <br /> Workload measures, which are designed to show how staff long -tern measures. Intermediate outcome measures are <br /> time will be allocated to respond to service demand, are most designed to assess the early results of a program, and are <br /> commonly reported Examples of such measures include the particularly useful when the primary objectives of the <br /> following: program will not be achieved until years into the future. For <br /> example, economic development programs may have a long- <br /> • Number of fire alarms answered (Fire Suppression term objective of increasing the dollar volume of export sales <br /> Program) of their clients. An intermediate outcome measure for this <br /> • Number of patrol hours (Police Services) program would be number of firms that have increased their <br /> • Number of water pipe leaks repaired interest in exporting as a result of assistance. [Hatry et al., <br /> ( Water /WastewaterTreatment Services) 1990, p. 93] <br /> • Number of public assistance applications reviewed <br /> (Public Assistance Programs) While outcome indicators are of the most interest among <br /> • Number of pavement miles resurfaced (Road policy makers and citizens, they also tend to be the least <br /> Repair Programs) utilized. This is due in part to the cost of collecting the <br /> information needed to produce the measures and to the <br /> Other types of output measures are concerned with the difficulty of ascertaining the relationship between the <br /> processes used in providing the activity. An example of this government program and the intended outcome. These <br /> type of indicator is the amount of time required to review an problems are disused more fully in the section below <br /> application for financial assistance (Economic Development describing obstacles to performance measurement <br /> Program). <br /> Efficiency Measures. Efficiency indicators - <br /> measure the cost (either in terms of dollars or personnel <br /> 3 <br />