Government Performance Reforms and Non-Profit Human Services: 20 Years in Oregon

Abstract

Performance measure reforms have greatly influenced the operations of government entities over the past two decades. This case study investigates the impact of these reforms on nonprofit human service organizations in Oregon, a state with a long history of performance activities. We pursue two research questions: (1) what impact did these reforms have upon the performance and capacity of the nonprofit entities; and (2) what is the impact of the reported performance on the funding decisions made by the state legislature. We observe substantial improvement in the performance of the nonprofit organizations as well as increased capacity for their future performance. Somewhat surprising, we also observe that funding for programs with common performance measures received large increases in funding while programs with unique measures were cut dramatically. We compare outcomes measurement from performance measurement, accounting, and evaluation perspectives and conclude with several suggestions for future research.

Keywords: government; performance measurement; accounting; evaluation; Oregon; human services

JEL Classification: D73, H72, L30