Internal and external use of performance information in public organizations: results from an international survey

This paper analyses how public managers use performance information. A sample of over 3,100 high-level public sector executives from six European countries, provided evidence of significant country variations. Considerable variations were also found in patterns of use in different policy fields; and performance indicators were not used as often in central government as in local and regional government. Implementation of performance management instruments in an organization had a strong effect on the actual use of performance information.