Developing performance management in a local strategic partnership: context and issues

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to cover problematic issues concerning context, culture, strategy and processes affecting the development of performance management in the City of Stoke‐on‐Trent local strategic partnership (LSP) between 2005 and 2007. Design/methodology/approach – The author consulted LSP stakeholders and drew on selected literature on strategy and aspects of soft systems methodology (SSM). Findings – The paper enables the appreciation of performance management as involving various strategic‐related business processes. The development of such processes, in response to central government, represented a rationalising and corporate approach to management. Originality/value – The paper draws upon different but complementary research approaches and provided an SSM‐style conceptual model of a partnership and its focal management set within a complex context.