Applying Dynamic Performance Management to Public Emergency Management: An Analysis of the Wenchuan Earthquake

Abstract

Previous studies in public emergency management confirm that collaboration assumes a relevant role in strengthening society’s capacity to cope with complex phenomena, such as disasters. However, empirical researches on emergency management show problems in performance measurement, mainly in employing narrow measures focusing on the results of single organisations rather than the entire system. Starting from a Chinese earthquake (Wenchuan) case, as an example, we use the dynamic performance management approach to develop a performance framework. This framework aims at investigating the interrelationships of different actors involved in emergency management and designing appropriate public emergency management performance outcomes. Our study offers two significant findings. First, the use of dynamic performance management represents a novel approach to frame public emergency management performance outcomes. Second, such an approach, by making explicit how available strategic resources may impact on performance drivers, thereby influencing performance outcomes, offers a framework to support decision-makers in identifying key measures to monitor and designing effective policies to improve emergency management performance.