Apprehending and Embedding Customer Expectations in the Collaborative Development of Performance Indicators

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to detail a systematic and systemic approach to capturing and embedding multiple customers’ expectations into a framework which facilitates the development of mutually agreeable performance indicators for local government operations. This process and its components are exemplified through four case studies within local government agencies who sought to identify and understand diverse customer expectations in relation to performance indicators for their cultural precincts. It addresses a methodological gap in public administration knowledge concerning stakeholders’ contribution to performance indicator development, and it has not previously been identified in literature or attempted in practice. It is posited that this presented approach is sufficiently generic in its activities to have high adaptive utility in a range of local government performance measurement development contexts. At the same time, it seeks to effectively address the need for a systemic understanding that assimilates input from multiple constituencies and stakeholders.