Use and Utilization of Performance Information in Hungary: Exemplary Cases from the Local- Government and the Higher-Education Sectors

Abstract

Performance information and performance management are usually seen as tools to promote the effi ciency and eff ectiveness of diff erent public-policy programs. Performance management is a hot topic in the post-NPM discourse, however most of the debate is centered on the Western European and Anglo-Saxon models of measurement and evaluation of public services. Th is paper examines how a Central European country with a strong Rechtsstaat tradition can adapt to the use of performance management, and what patterns we can identify in the actual manifestations of measurement and use of data. Th e authors argue that even though performance management is not known in Hungary as per defi ned in the academic literature, there are signs on the ground that PM ideology and actual use are gaining traction in every fi eld of public services, both in central and local governments.

Performance Evaluation of the Government Agencies of Kazakhstan

“…In some cases, the individual confi dence proved to play a signifi cant role in deciding on the use of evaluation data. Th e more the participants believe that the performance evaluation will benefi t their agency, the more they will integrate the evaluation information into the decision-making process of their government agency (Hajnal 2015;Taylor 2011). Such fi ndings of the scholars require ways to prevent the emergence of such paradoxes throughout the evaluation and performance.…”

Measuring for Absorption: How the Institutionalisation of EU Cohesion Policy Influences the Use of Performance Indicators in Hungary

“…Although indicator-based performance management exists in sporadic forms in the public administrations of these Member States (Nemec and Sagat 2011;Hajnal and Ugrósdy 2015), the regulations of EU Funds require the production of indicators of a scale and quality that far exceeds these other practices. Th e novelty of EU Funds in performance measurement is underscored by the administrative traditions of the region that emphasise legalism at the expense of effi ciency (Hajnal and Jenei 2007).…”

“…As in the case of PES, universities had to provide data for this system, while existing systems of data collection were ignored. Although the Ministry of Education collected data on some aspects of performance and a Higher Education Information System was being developed at the time (Hajnal and Ugrósdy 2015), these systems were considered incapable of providing performance data in a reliable way.…”

Teljesítménymenedzsment a magyar közigazgatásban : A közpolitikai transzfer lehetséges hatásai Magyarországon

“…Célom megérteni, hogy mégis miért jöhetnek létre működő teljesítménymenedzsmentgyakorlatok a hazai közigazgatáson belül (Hajnal & Ugrósdy, 2015), milyen kontextuális tényezők támogatják a TM megjelenését, illetve melyek gátolják azt. Mindezt a közpolitikai transzfer, mint a nemzetközi és országon jó gyakorlatok "szállítószalagjának" lehetséges hatását vizsgálom meg a TM létezésének segítségével a magyar közigazgatás három különböző szervezeténél.…”

“…Állításom mégis az, hogy a TM -a transzfernek köszönhetően -mégis képes ebben az ellenséges környezetben hatékonyan működni (Hajnal & Ugrósdy, 2015). Révész Éva többször is foglalkozott a TM magyarországi megjelenésével (Kiss & Révész, 2014), és azonosította a transzfert mint a megjelenés egyik lehetséges okát (Révész, 2015), azonban az ő kutatásai alapvetően más prioritásokat követtek, ezért is indokolt a transzfer TM megjelenésében játszott szerepének alaposabb vizsgálata.…”