Better Public Services: the case for monitoring and evaluation

Abstract

The recent release of ten result areas with associated performance indicators as a way of focusing and enhancing government services means that at some point in the future it will be necessary to check whether or not those results are being or have been achieved. It is timely, therefore, to review whether and how New Zealand government agencies monitor progress towards desired outcomes and evaluate key policies and programmes. In this article we consider the important role of monitoring and evaluation in achieving ‘better public services’, and how New Zealand needs to do better if we are to be sure we are achieving key outcomes and learning about what does and does not work to achieve these outcomes.